Hong Kong + Guangzhou: skyscrapers, ferries and the home of dim sum
An hour by fast train between two halves of one culture: British inheritance on one side of the border, the Cantonese south of China on the other.
Why they are next to each other and why they differ
Hong Kong and Guangzhou speak the same Cantonese, eat the same food and stand in the same delta. But a hundred and fifty years of British rule made Hong Kong a different city: left-hand traffic, double-decker trams, English on every sign, its own currency and its own immigration border. An hour by train and you are in mainland China, where everything works differently.
Hong Kong: four days
Victoria Peak by funicular in the evening, for the view over the most vertical city in the world. The Star Ferry across the harbour, which costs pennies and replaces any tour. The markets of Mong Kok: birds, flowers, the ladies' market. The Big Buddha on Lantau with a cable car over the hills, and the stilt village of Tai O. And the greenery: three quarters of Hong Kong is parks and hills, and the Dragon's Back trail brings you out to the sea in a couple of hours.
Guangzhou: three days
Shamian Island with colonial mansions and plane trees. The Chen Clan ancestral hall with its wood and ceramic carving. The Canton Tower and the Pearl River embankment in the evening. But the main thing here is the food: Guangzhou is considered China's culinary capital, and morning yum cha with dim sum is a local ritual that takes two hours and is not to be rushed. Order in small portions and many of them.
The road and the border
A high-speed train from West Kowloon station reaches Guangzhou in about an hour. Border control is done at the station in Hong Kong itself — convenient, but leave time for it. There are also ferries and buses across the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau bridge, the longest sea crossing in the world. A metro route with changes exists too, but it is the slow option.
When to go
October–December: dry, a little over twenty degrees, the best season in the delta. From May to September it is hot, humid and typhoons arrive — during a typhoon the city officially stops, by a system of signals. January and February are cool and often overcast, but that is Chinese New Year, when everything is decorated and closed at the same time.
Green Hong Kong
Three quarters of the territory is not city but hills and parks, and that is the most underrated part of the trip. The Dragon's Back on Hong Kong Island: an hour and a half along a ridge with views over the bay, ending in the village of Shek O by the sea. Victoria Peak has, besides the viewing terrace, the Lugard Road loop — level, shaded and almost empty. On Lantau a trail runs to the Big Buddha and on to the Po Lin monastery. Buses reach nearly every trailhead and no equipment is needed.
Dim sum: how it works
Yum cha, the morning tea with dim sum, lasts for hours and starts early, often at six or seven. In traditional houses trolleys are wheeled between the tables and you point; in modern ones you tick a form. The base set: har gow (prawns in translucent wrappers), siu mai, char siu bao (pork buns), cheung fun rice rolls, egg tarts for dessert. Tea is topped up constantly, and to thank the person pouring you tap the table twice with two fingers rather than saying thank you.
What to keep in mind
Hong Kong is visa-free for a Russian passport for a short stay, and mainland China allows up to 30 days under the current visa-free arrangement — check before buying tickets. These are two separate customs territories: you cross a border in both directions and goods count as imported. The currencies differ, and Hong Kong dollars are not accepted in Guangzhou. Familiar internet services work in Hong Kong and not across the border.
Moscow → Hong Kong → Guangzhou
Route and nights go into the form — adjust the date and passengers.