How to Time Your Trip to Hong Kong

Hong Kong is almost synonymous with prosperity, and this wealth sustains a vast array of arts and entertainment. The city bills itself as "the undisputed events capital of Asia."

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Clothes
• Travel Clothes
• Travel Organizers
• Umbrellas
• Local Guidebooks
• Maps
• Airline Tickets
• Travel Services
• Camcorders
• Cameras
• Film
• Maps
• Cameras
• Umbrellas

General Considerations

1. Prepare for Hong Kong's humid subtropical climate. Summers are rainy and hot, with an average temperature of 83 degrees F. The average temperature in spring and fall is 74 degrees F; fall is the sunniest season. The winter is comfortable, with an average temperature of 63 degrees F.

2. Check the Hong Kong Tourist Agency's amazing Web site for festivals, attractions and live performances. You'll find the array, quality and scale of festivals in Hong Kong to be out of this world.

3. Take care of your flight, transportation and accommodations.

4. Check the weather forecast shortly before leaving, and pack accordingly.

Attractions and Seasonal Events

5. Celebrate September's Mid-Autumn Festival and see Hong Kong's parks and public places lit up with thousands of colorful lanterns. Watch the swollen harvest moon rise and eat moon cakes, used to convey hidden messages during the 14th-century revolt of the Chinese against Mongolian occupation.

6. Cheer on competing dragon boats as oars churn the water to the beat of huge drums. The Dragon Boat (Tuen Ng) Festival has been held on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month (June 6, 2000) for more than 2,000 years.

7. Attend the Chinese Arts Festival in late October at the Hong Kong City Hall Theater. The theme changes from year to year, but it always features the best of Chinese talent. Needless to say, the tickets don't come cheap.

8. Party in a city that knows how. Hong Kong's millennium celebrations lasted from November 1999 to Chinese New Year in early February 2000. This city goes all-out for holidays, especially Chinese New Year, and the number of events during this period is staggering.

9. Visit one of Hong Kong's many Buddhist temples on the Buddha's birthday in May. In addition to daily rituals, devotees give statues of the Buddha a birthday sponge bath. Famous temples nearby include the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island, the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery in Sha Tin and Miu Fat Monastery in Tuen Mun in the New Territories.

Tips & Warnings

• Hong Kong's population density is through the roof, making it a place for serious urbanites. If you need your space and feel claustrophobic in big cities, Hong Kong might not be the place for you.