West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade

Outdoor, public park, free of charge, open spaced, not cramped by Hong Kong highrises, along the water. Relaxing, cycling, picnicing, busking, dog walking… just being! Absolutely pay the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade and really the West Kowloon Cultural District Park that is emerging in this area a visit.
We had cause to be in this area to attend one of the «Freespace Happenings» that takes place the second and fourth Sunday of each month from September to March in the Nursery Park portion of this emerging cultural district. What a great outdoor, open space for all of Hong Kong to enjoy. This was then how we discovered the walking promenade.
Not super easy to get to, we took the MTR from Hong Kong on the orange line to Kowloon Station and kind of followed the signs to the West Kowloon Cultural District, that will also get you to the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade. It is maybe a 10 – 15 minute walk, because you have to take the foot bridge up and over the busy tunnel road.
Along the promenade itself, it is lovely. Seemed pretty clean and it was a great view of Hong Kong and the harbour. We kind of meandered around and just enjoyed the outdoor space. There were thousands of people out and about enjoying the day. Wedding photos were being taken, graduation commencement gatherings were around, picnics of friends, people signing as buskers to the public. There are some public toilets up near the nursery portion of the park as well.
The West Kowloon Cultural District (as this whole area is formerly called) is in the middle of a huge expansion and build out of M+ Pavillion (run-​up facility to opening of art museum itself), M+ Building (the actual modern art museum), Xiqu Centre (for traditional xiqu performaces and cantonese opera), Lyric Theatre Complex (dance & theatre) and Freespace (for concerts and events). So although the promenade is a great outdoor space, just wait. It appears it is literally just the start of some cultural greatness for Hong Kong to come in 2017 – 2020. So why not stroll over there and check it out now.

Lapping waves, an awesome view across to HK Island, and a cool mixed-​use space await you here. I’ve been twice — for HK’s Freespace Fest and for a random wandering on my own. Once was during the daytime, and once at night. Both were enjoyable times! You could bring snacks and eat outdoors, or use your selfie-​stick for some kick-​ass photos. There are also bikes to rent, and relatively clean public toilet facilities.
The place doesn’t earn more stars, for me, for several reasons. One — because it’s quite a walk to get there from the nearest bus stop (there’s a large depot underneath Elements) or MTR station. Two — because it has so much unmet potential. There are major plans in the works for this area, and with its prime waterfront location and stunning views, it could be so much more, so I await the upcoming arts and culture complex with bated breath. Three — because the way to get to the actual promenade is, quite frankly, pretty ugly and run-​down. Again, there is so much potential! But who wants to walk for 7 minutes past barbed-​wire fences and multi-​lane highways full of exhaust to get to a pleasant picnic spot?
I’ll be keeping my eye on the Promenade and hopefully it will transform into something amazing, earning many 5-​star reviews :)

If there was one place that you could really wow your friends and family from abroad about the Hong Kong skyline– this would be it. The Western Kowloon Promenade runs along the side of the Western Kowloon Reclaimation Area– so it is right by the sea side with nothing to block the amazing view. If you move to the bottom corner of the park, you will be able to see Macau high speed ferries moving right infront of you– surreal to the point as if they were moving by in your backyard.
For kids this is a good place too– you can bike, play at the playground built there, fly kites and so on. On weekends this place become extremely busy and the carpark is guarateed to be full. However, that doesn’t stop people from walking in from Kowloon Station and Elements. Who could blame them? Its just too pretty.
The latest intitative includes a rent a bike programme to let you bike from one end of the park to the other– its not a long way but for a more leisurely way to move about its worth it; especially for Hong Kongers who don’t do a lot of exercise.
The mass expanse of green park area means that this is a good picnic site and many people do come here with their little basket. There aren’t a lot of shops here so you wouldd be well advsied to pick up everything you need beforehand. This is one of those places that make you proud ot be part of Hong Kong.

Probably one of the largest event hosted at the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade is Clockenflap, the outdoor music event every year at November/​December. In a mere windows of 3 days, around 50 bands from all over the world gather at the Promenade, providing live music performances at 6 main stages along the promenade, from day till night. It is really fun to see huge crowds gather at specific stages for a particular band, and after the performances finish, the crowd again, disperse to other stages for the next shows. If you are not sure what is good to see next, you can sure follow the direction of the largest crowd, good stuff guaranteed!
Apart from the excellent band shows, there are also art exhibits, film screening and children/​adult activities available on the site, thus every year we see lots of families bringing their children out to picnic. If you intend to stick around for a bit, remember to bring a cloth mat so you can relax on the grass!
Outdoor comfort food and beer sure adds points to our level of enjoyment! Also there are people with interesting costumes like dressing as a shoe or an orange alien, and also cool trendy people with hair dyed pink green blue purple red at the same time. Arriving in the afternoon, we mucked around activity centers, snacking, drinking, and photo snapping until it’s time for the music.
Of course the sunset at the promenade is a must see. During Clockenflap 2013 a traditional Hong Kong junk with huge brown sails was put in the Victoria Habor, and with the huge egg-​yolk sunset in the background it’s probably one the most beautiful postcard sights you can see. Then after around 5 beers you get a little tipsy and with the exciting band music, nothing matters anymore LOL. What a great way to enjoy good music, and life!
2013’s Lineup included the well-​known Franz Ferdinand, The 1975, 2manyDJs, Metric, Cui Jian, with Ketchup and G.E.M from Hong Kong. And while there are rumors flying around saying that after the Chinese opera house is built, Clockenflap will have to be moved to the Hong Kong Central Waterfront promenade which is much smaller, recent announcement on the Clockenflap website shows that in 2014, we are still going to be at West Kowloon Waterfront! Really, it’s the best location for Clockenflap! Can’t wait!

To me, the West Kowloon was something imaginary when the government announced the development of it from time to time. Yet in fact, I usually pass it by — when I’m taking a bus to cross the West Harbour Tunnel to school. I was told that the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade is a place to take a break from our hectic life, and we can go cycling there with the magnificent harbour view. So to mark the start of my summer holiday, why not kick out our lazy habits, and do something healthy and relaxing?
I went there with my family on a Sunday. We took a bus (e.g. 904, 905, 970, 970X) in Prince Edward, and dropped off at Western Harbour Crossing Toll Plaza. There were plenty of signage and some security guards stationing, so it was quite easy to get there by following their routes in 10 mins. You can have a picnic at the grassy areas while enjoying the iconic sceneries of the Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong Island from another angle. Next to the sheltered lookout is the SmartBike service booth. You can first buy a Smart Card for $ 50, which covers $ 10 handling charge. You have to present your ID information when registering a new Card. Renting a bicycle is $ 20 per hour, which means you can keep the card for the payment for the other ride later. Just the same as using the octopus card, what you should do is to tap the Smart Card on the machine and then take the bike out. After adjusting the bike, it’s time to have a ride! It takes around 15 minutes to ride along the entire cycling route. Try to keep away from electrical gadgets, perhaps except your camera, and relish the natural beauty — the sunshine, the mild wind, and what’s more, the time you stay with your beloved ones. These are the elements that are overlooked by people in this modern society, and so let’s grasp the chance to treasure them! Though we were all sweating, the smiles on our faces can tell everything. Right, that’s the chemistry of exercise!
Remember to bring plenty of water and a towel with you — especially you’re going there during the scorching summer. I also strongly suggest you should apply enough sunscreen on the exposed body areas as I got tanned shortly after cycling…