lion rock country park

Lion Rock Country Park is located in the northern part of Kowloon and the southern part of the new territories. It spans the mountain area between North Kowloon and Sha Tin. The western end of the park is adjacent to the Jinshan country park, with Tai Po Road as the dividing line.

Lion Rock Country Park is one of the three earliest designated country parks in Hong Kong. It was established on June 24, 1977 with a total area of 557 hectares.

Shizishan is a long and narrow mountain range from east to west. The south slope is steep and the vegetation is weak. However, the north slope is quite different. There are not only abundant water resources, but also many plants.

lion rock country park

Lion Rock Country Park (designated on 24 June 1977) is a country park in Hong Kong. The park spans 557 hectares across northern Kowloon and southern New Territories. The park area includes Lion Rock, Tai Po Road in the West and Jinshan country park. There are Wangfu stone and Lion Pavilion in the country park. There are two nature education paths in lion mountain country park: Yingchao mountain nature education path and Hongmei Valley nature education path.

geographical position

Lion Rock Country Park is located in the north of Kowloon and the south of the new territories,

It stretches across the mountains between North Kowloon and Sha Tin. The western end of the area is adjacent to Kingsoft country park and is bounded by Tai Po Road.

About the park

Lion Rock Country Park is one of the three earliest designated country parks in Hong Kong. It was established on June 24, 1977 with a total area of 557 hectares. Shizishan is a long and narrow mountain range from east to west. The south slope is steep and the vegetation is weak. However, the north slope is quite different. There are not only abundant water resources, but also many plants.

Geologically, like the adjacent Jinshan country park, it was formed in the upper Jurassic. The common granite types are Songgang, Changzhou and Maanshan.

The famous scenic spots of lion mountain country park include the towering and steep lion mountain, the Wangfu stone with a moving story, and the Bijia mountain, which is said to be used for sending messages. In addition, the famous long-distance mountain trails in Hong Kong, including MacLehose trail and Wilson trail, are traversed. Although its area is not large, it also has two natural education paths, including yingchaoshan natural education path and hongmeigu natural education path.

ecological environment

animal

Lion mountain country park is famous for producing two kinds of wild animals, namely black eared eagle and long tailed macaque. Black eared eagle is a common migratory bird in Asia and Australia. It is a good "scavenger". It likes carrion, garbage and dead fish in the harbor. Jianshan is a woody mountain in the park. It is probably one of the areas with the most hawk nests near the harbor due to its high pine density. Many macaques live in the jungle near Tai Po Road. These monkeys are not native wild animals, but the offspring of monkeys released here in the 1920s. These monkeys will attack people from time to time, especially in mating season or in case of damage to the young monkeys nearby. Visitors should be careful not to feed.

From Tai Po Road to the northeast to shatianao, the north facing hillside is rich in plant resources; the river valley is densely distributed, and the water source is sufficient. It is an excellent living place. In addition, the adjacent Jinshan country park has the same advantages. Although it is not very spacious, it has four ponds with abundant rivers and streams, which attract many birds to live. Especially in the area of Yingchao mountain and yanwangfu mountain, it is like a paradise for birds. There are many kinds of birds. In addition, due to the abundant plant resources, there are many species of butterflies and dragonflies in the area.

Botany

As for plants, the original trees and natural plants in the country parks were severely damaged during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong and the early restoration period. Today's green trees are the result of intensive care and reforestation since 1947.

The most common plants in country parks are Pinus massoniana, Myrica rubra, acanthopanax octophylla, Celastraceae, ragweed, Bambusa Bambusa, Aquilaria odorifera, Eupatorium odoratum, Campanula and Melastoma. One of the places is famous for its flourishing Myrica rubra trees, so it is named Myrica rubra Ao. There are also a lot of shrubs and ferns in the valley of the park. After years of planting and nursing, it has become a mixed forest of man-made and natural.

Park facilities

The fifth section of MacLehose trail is 10.6 km long and takes 3 hours to walk. The fifth section starts at Ma On Shan Country Park and ends at Sha Tin AU to enter Lion Rock Country Park. The whole section of Lion Rock Country Park is a mountain road, and there are many steep sections, such as the section of shatianao up to Jixiong mountain, the section of huihuiting up to Bijia mountain and the section of Bijia mountain down to Bijia mountain. However, in the fifth section, there are many shops offering hot and cold drinks in Sha Tin Au. There are also many pavilions in the middle of the way for small breaks. There are also enough toilets. Therefore, they are very popular among mountain goers.

The fifth section of Wilson path is 7.4 km long and takes 2.5 hours to walk. Most of the whole journey is on level roads, such as the section at shierhu village and the section down to Hongmei valley. The rest is downhill road, which is a choice for beginners. In addition, from the ridge behind shierhu village, visitors can have a bird's-eye view of Tai Wai and Sha Tin. When you get to the water diversion Road, you will pass the intersection of Hongmei Valley nature education path and shangwangfushi. You can visit it by the way.

Yingchao Mountain Nature Education trail is located near four and a half meters of Pu Road. The starting point is adjacent to Jiulong Mountain management station. It is surrounded by the mountain for one week and ends at the same place as the starting point. If you look ahead, you can see the first reservoir built in Kowloon. Please do not miss the Wild Peony with purple flowers and the green bamboo during spring and summer. There are some wild macaques in this area, but they can only be seen from a distance. Do not feed or disturb them. Hongmeigu nature education trail mainly expounds the influence of trees on ecological environment and introduces the development history of Shatin.

famous scenery

Wangfu stone is located in a small hill on the opposite side of Hongmei Valley in Shatin, with an altitude of more than 250 meters. It is one of the continuous hills of Shizishan. The origin of Wangfu stone is that it is said that there was a peasant woman whose husband left his wife and son to make a living in other places. The anxious and helpless wife has no choice but to go up the mountain every day to look forward to her husband's return. However, heaven does not follow people's wishes. At the beginning of departure, her husband had been buried in the sea by accident. In despair, she was pitied by heaven and turned into a watchman's stone to keep watch on the mountain forever.

The approach channel of Lion Rock Country Park is almost completely smooth and easy to walk. One of the longest waterways runs along the northern boundary of Lion Rock Country Park, passing through the rolling mountains on the south side of Shatin. The six kilometer water diversion road starts from Tai Po Road opposite the Kowloon reservoir and runs from Jianshan to Sha Tin Ao along the foot of the Kowloon hills. At the beginning of the route, a large area of forest stands between small clumps of plants such as Jatropha curcas and ferns, and there are macaques running everywhere.

Located in the west of Shizi, Bijia mountain is 453 meters high. It used to have a peak fire platform, so it is also known as Yandun mountain. Its name comes from the fact that the residents of Qing Dynasty used it as a warning when they found pirates or foreign invasion. Another rule is to spread weather information such as wind direction. At present, the observatory also has a weather station here.

In commemoration of Hong Kong's return to China, a return pavilion was specially built on Lion Rock for the public to have a rest. The return Pavilion is located on the hillside of lion rock. Visitors can have a clear view of the Kowloon Peninsula.

The best of Parks

As the name suggests, lion rock is the most distinctive scenic spot in country parks, witnessing the transformation of Hong Kong from a fishing village to a metropolis. Lion Rock Mountain is 495 meters high. The West Cliff of the mountain is rocky. It looks like a lion lying on its face. The lion's head is facing the West. A lion crouches on the mountain and looks at the Xiangjiang River.

On the East and west sides of Lion Rock, there are two old stone paths. On the west side, the stone path winds from Heng tau Hom, Kowloon to Lion Rock depression and then leads to Sha Tin. The stone path has been restored by AFCD for the convenience of climbers. Another stone path runs through Sha Tin Au Road, connecting Tsz Wan Shan and Sha Tin as a bund pit in Kowloon. In the Qing Dynasty, these two stone paths were the main passageways between Sha Tin and Kowloon.

Transportation guide

It is very convenient to get to Lion Rock Country Park. Buses are available in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the new territories.

Bus 72 (Taihe Cheung Sha Wan), bus 80 (from Meilin estate in Tai Wai to Kwun Tong pier), bus 81c (Yao on estate in Ma On Shan to Hung Hom Station), bus 81m (San Tin Wai estate in Sha Tin to Kowloon Tong MTR Station), bus 81 (Wo Che estate in Sha Tin to Jordan Road pier), bus 85 (Fo Tan (Shan Wei Street) - Kowloon City Pier), bus 85B (Qin Shi estate in Sha Tin) - Kowloon City pier, bus 86 (Wong Nai tau Mei foo), bus 86B (Sha Tin Hin Keng estate Mei foo), bus 86A (Sha Tin Wai estate - Cheung Sha Wan Gan Chuen Street), bus 86C (Ma On Shan Lee on Estate - Cheung Sha Wan Gan Chuen Street), bus 87A (Sha Tin Pok Kang estate - Mong Kok Pak King WAN), bus 87B (Sha Tin San Tin Wai estate - Victoria Harbour), bus 88m (Sha Tin Tin Wai estate) Bus No. 89 (Lek Yuen Estate, Sha Tin Yuet Wah Street, Kwun Tong), bus No. 89B (Wai estate, Sha Tin Yumin square, Kwun Tong), bus No. 170 (Sha Tin railway station - Wah Fu estate, Aberdeen), bus No. 182 (Yu Tsui Wan, Sha Tin - Hong Kong Macau pier, central)

Address: North Kowloon, Hong Kong