Lei Yue Mun - A charming harbor fishing village

On both sides of Victoria Harbour, which is lined with skyscrapers, Lei Yue Mun is a rare place that has preserved its natural coastline, which is very special. Here, spectacular rock formations and overwater stilts complement each other to create a beautiful seaside scene. Lei Yue Mun is also unique in that it is an aboriginal settlement with a long history in Hong Kong. The narrow estuary made it an excellent natural shelter, popular with pirates, but they were eventually replaced by local fishermen and miners working in nearby quarries. Today, Lei Yue Mun is a paradise for seafood lovers, but in addition to the food, there are many other attractions worth visiting. The strong fishing village atmosphere makes Lei Yue Mun a sharp contrast with the bustling and noisy urban area of ​​Hong Kong, but in fact it is only a few steps away from the MTR Yau Tong Station. After exiting the station, walk southwards and once you see fishing boats moored at the Sam Ka Tsuen Typhoon Shelter, you have arrived at Lei Yue Mun. Continue walking along the seaside promenade and you will enter a covered seafood street, with aquariums of all sizes filled with fresh seafood on both sides. Eating a seafood feast is the first priority when coming to Lei Yue Mun. The process is very simple. You just need to choose a restaurant, face the aquarium outside the store, and point out to the waiter the seafood you want to eat - lobster, crab, geoduck, clams... Just gesture with your hands to indicate what you want to eat. The waiters will take these fresh ingredients to the kitchen and let the chef cook them using authentic Cantonese techniques. There are dozens of seafood restaurants in Lei Yue Mun, and the competition is fierce. Among them, there are several that are highly recommended. Nandaemun, located on the waterfront of Victoria Harbour, is famous for its stunning sea views; Happy Harbour Restaurant’s cheese-baked lobster and steamed scallops with garlic vermicelli are popular; Longteng Seafood Restaurant is a great place to taste authentic Teochew frozen crabs. After dinner, remember to go to Ruixiang Garden for dessert. This famous Hong Kong bakery was founded by master baker Li Ju in 1957 and is known for its classic Chinese pastries such as wife cakes, coconut buns, and almond cakes. As we continued walking forward, we saw fewer and fewer seafood restaurants on the roadside, replaced by small bungalows along the beach. You will pass by the Lei Yue Mun Wishing Tree. It is said that this big banyan tree is particularly effective in praying for love, so passers-by will tie ribbons on the tree in the hope of attracting good luck in love. You can also go to the observation deck to enjoy the stunning sea views along the eastern coast of Victoria Harbour. Then we arrived at the Lei Yue Mun Tin Hau Temple which has a history of over 200 years. There are more than 100 Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong, but this special one faces the sea and is backed by huge rocks, making it extremely quaint and romantic. Pirates were rampant in this area in ancient times, and a cannon next to the temple is a witness to the past. When the British occupied Hong Kong in 1841, in addition to the trouble caused by pirates, they also worried that other rivals such as the Russian Empire would compete with them for Hong Kong. As a result, they built batteries and forts around Victoria Harbour in the late 19th century. Starting from the Tin Hau Temple, walk up for 20 minutes and you will reach Devil's Hill, where the century-old Gough Fort ruins are located. Here you will find the remains of various bunkers, sentries, ammunition depots and gun emplacements. "Hong Kong is a relatively peaceful and stable city historically, so it's interesting to see these war relics," said local hiking enthusiast Daryl Chan. The forts saw fierce fighting during the Japanese invasion in 1941, but other than that they have been largely idle, save for a few tourists who visit on weekends. “It’s not difficult to climb Mount Devil’s Hill, and you can also see the beautiful view of Victoria Harbour from the mountain,” said Daryl. Looking down from the hill at the narrow mouth of Lei Yue Mun Bay, it is easy to understand why pirates, fishermen, military forces and tourists have loved this place for hundreds of years. #Lei Yue Mun#Fishing Village#Yau Tong