New Territories, Hong Kong: neighborhood guide

The New Territories is the large landmass between Kowloon and the Shenzhen border, leased to Britain in 1898 and now home to about 3.3 million people. It is not one neighbourhood: the west and north hold dense new towns such as Tuen Mun, Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai, the centre holds Sha Tin and Tai Po along the rail corridor, and the east is Sai Kung, a peninsula of villages, coves and country park.

For a visitor the draw is landscape rather than streets. Country parks and the MacLehose Trail run from Tuen Mun across to Pak Tam Chung in Sai Kung, and the government's NT Cycle Track Network links Tuen Mun to Ma On Shan over roughly 60 km of segregated path. Villages are working places, not preserved exhibits, and stray dogs and messy roadside strips are part of the picture.

Stay if you are in Hong Kong for a week or more, if you have already done Central and Kowloon, or if hiking and cycling are the point of the trip. Sha Tin and Tai Po give the best balance: East Rail Line trains reach Admiralty and the border, and hotel rates are usually below comparable Kowloon rooms. Sai Kung suits travellers with a car-free plan built around trails and seafood, though buses are the only practical way around the eastern side.

Do not stay if this is your first visit and you have three or four days. The classic sights sit on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, and a daily 30–60 minute each-way commute removes two hours from a short trip. Nightlife is thin outside the new towns' malls, and late trains are less frequent than in the city core.

Food here is local and cheap, built around new-town malls, wet markets and village restaurants rather than a dining scene. Sha Tin and Tai Po have the widest choice, from Cantonese roast meat and noodle shops to cha chaan teng set meals; Tuen Mun and Yuen Long are known for street snacks and dessert shops. In Sai Kung, the waterfront seafood restaurants let you pick from tanks and agree a cooking style and price first — ask before ordering, since the bill is by weight.

Village stores, called si dor, sell drinks and instant noodles along cycling routes, but opening hours are unpredictable and there is no convenience store once you leave the new towns. Carry water on any ride or hike.

Two rail lines do most of the work. The East Rail Line runs from Admiralty through Sha Tin, Tai Po, Fanling and Sheung Shui to Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau, the two Shenzhen crossings; fares jump sharply on the final stretch to the border, and you should check the destination display before boarding back. The Tuen Ma Line crosses west to east from Tuen Mun to Wu Kai Sha via Austin and Kai Tak. The Tseung Kwan O Line is short, from North Point to LOHAS Park.

Kowloon Motor Bus covers the region, including airport routes E41, E42, E33, E34, A41, A41P and A43. For Sai Kung, ride the MTR to Diamond Hill and take bus 92 from the ground-level bus station above it, allowing about 45 minutes. Bus 64K between Tai Po and Yuen Long is a slow but useful cross-country link past Kat Hing Wai and the Wishing Tree. In the west, Light Rail connects Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai and Tuen Mun, with a fare discount when you interchange with the Tuen Ma Line on an Octopus card. Fortune Ferry runs from Tuen Mun Ferry Pier to Tai O via Tung Chung and Sha Lo Wan.

Cycling is the best way to see the countryside. Rentals are available in Sha Tin, Tai Po Market and Yuen Long, and many shops let you drop the bike at another point on the network. The northern strip along the Shenzhen border is a frontier closed area: non-residents need a permit, and Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau stations are for border crossing only. Sha Tau Kok, a closed border town, admits individual tourists under a permit scheme capped at 2,300 per day, applied for online with a phone number and ID scan.