A British colony up till 1997, this bustling metropolis is home to approximately 7 million residents, cramped into 236 islands, the main of which is Lantau.

Famous for its exciting nightlife and good hawker food, Hong Kong draws an estimated 29.5 million tourists in 2008. Here are interesting places you must visit when you are in Hong Kong.

Disney Land
Recently opened in 2005, the 310 acre HongKong DisneyLand draws 4.5 million visitors yearly. The park, like its sister parks around the world, has four themed ‘lands’ – Main Street, TomorrowLand, AdventureLand and FantasyLand. The smallest of all DisneyLands, HongKong DisneyLand was built to accommodate up to 34,000 visitors a day but has so far not met this target. For visitors sick of the queuing at the other DisneyLands, this is definitely a relief.

The park uses mostly English and Mandarin for communication with visitors but has guide maps available in Chinese (simplifed and traditional) in addition to Japanese and English.

Victoria Peak
One of the most scenic places to visit in Hongkong, this 552m tall mountain overlooks the Kowloon City and Victoria Harbour, offering breath-taking views at night. Known locally as The Peak, Victoria Peak is found on the western half of Hongkong. The top-most portion of the mountain is closed to public due to the telecommunications tower but most other parts are open to the public. Drawing some 7 million visitors to the peak, the site get crowded towards the evening where visitors enjoy spectacular views of the city lights. With 2 shopping centres built to cater to tourists, Victor Peak offers a full day of shopping in the morning and dining plus photo-taking in the evening.

Ocean Park
Ocean Park is a marine-themed amusement park opened in 1977 and draws close to 5 million visitors a year. Among the most popular attractions there are ‘The Dragon’ roller coaster and the California sea lion display.