A Tour of China in Winter
Part 6a
A Photographic Visit to Ocean Park, Hong Kong
By Howard Norfolk
Original to Aquarticles.com
After a 14-hour flight from my home in Vancouver Canada, I arrived in Hong Kong on the
evening of December 22, 2004. I was to met my friend from India who was working in south
China, and fly on to Beijing on Christmas Eve to start our tour of China. I had visited
Hong Kong before, so planned just one day there to get over my jet lag. (I landed in Hong
Kong at 9pm local time, but it was still only 5am back home). One sight I hadn't seen was
the Ocean Park aquarium and amusement complex. I decided to spend my one free day there.
From our hotel in Kowloon we took the subway under the waters of Victoria Harbour to
Admiralty Station on Hong Kong Island. Just outside the station was a bus stand for Ocean
Park, and we each paid HK$330 (US$42.31) for the return double-decker bus ride and
entrance to Ocean Park.
We entered Ocean Park by the Tai Shui Wan gate, and
eventually left by the main entrance, at the other end of the park.
Click on photos for enlargements, then go 'BACK'
Ocean Park is a not-for-profit organisation with a mission "to provide visitors
with experiences that combine entertainment and education and assist in the understanding
and practice of wildlife conservation." It has grown immensely since its opening in
1977, and now it provides all this on a very large scale.
Ocean Park is divided into two zones, Lowland and Headland.
We entered Headland, at the top right of this map.
 
Near the entrance was the Flamingo Pond, and also the Aviary,
which we didn't visit.
We rode a long series of outdoor escalators to reach the top of a
hill and the main Headland area.
Halfway up the hill was the Mine Train ride, and a
wonderful view.
We walked even further uphill to the top of the complex, towards Pacific
Pier.
Looking back we could see more of what was to come! This is just one
corner of the Ocean Park Headland area - the Abyss (a freefall
experience), the Dragon (another roller coaster), the Ferris Wheel, and Dolphin
Encounter.
At the top of the hill was a simulation of the rocky coast of
northern California, complete with lighthouse.
 
The 'boardwalk' let us watch the underwater antics of the 20
resident seals and sea lions.
There was, of course, a gift shop - one of many to be found
throughout Ocean Park.
We then walked by the Space Wheel...
 
...and the Raging River, a water ride. It represented a
fast-flowing logging river in Western Canada, and I was amused at the attempt at Canadian
Indian totem poles and the 'Canadian miner' at the restaurant entrance!
 
There were Picture Spots, where you could "Capture
your infinite fun in pictures." Here I am, having "infinite fun" near a
Christmas tree.
 
Our timing was wrong for the Dolphin Encounter, so we
walked past that stadium and went to the Shark Aquarium.
It was very crowded and I wasn't the only one taking photos!
 
Entering a shark's open mouth, we went through the shark tunnel.
This was the first aquarium tunnel in Asia. The tank contains 70 sharks from 35 species.
Beyond the tunnel there was lots of information about sharks.
Fish skeletons and preserved shark jaws.
  
Some tanks held small live sharks, such as these young
brown-banded bamboo sharks (Chiloscyllium punctatum) from the Bay of Bengal
and the South China Sea, and the puffadder shyshark (Haploblepharus edwardsii)
from South Africa. Ocean Park has managed to breed some rare shark species in
captivity.
Meanwhile, in the Skill Games area, everyone was having
'infinite fun.'
We walked up another hill to the Atoll Reef building.
There was a touch pool...
...and these squid (Loligo spp.).
 
The main attraction was a large lagoon tank, that could be viewed
from above and on two other levels.
It was crowded!
Atoll Reef contains 2000 fish from 250 species.
A blacktail snapper (Lutjanus fulvus) was posing nicely.
Small tanks beside the lagoon held this dragon or leopard moray eel
(Enchelycore pardalis)....seahorses...leafy seadragon...
 
...white-spotted jellyfish (Phyllorhiza punctata).... moon
jellies (Aurelia aurita).
It was lunchtime. We checked the food stands (notice the Santa
hat!), and the fast food joints...
 
...But I knew there must be a 'good' restaurant somewhere, and we
found it. The view from our table was fantastic.
We also looked down at this koi pond in the Japanese Garden.
Ocean Park must be the only aquarium in the world with a gondola! We
rode the Cable Car along the coastal cliffs of the South China Sea down to the Lowland
Gardens area. A wonderful experience.
Cable Car Plaza had souvenir shops, food stands, 'skill
games' and an indoor video games centre.
There were many more attractions in the Lowland Gardens. We
didn't have time to see everything, and missed the Whiskers Theatre sea lion
show, the Grand Prix go-carts, the Birds Theatre, Whiskers Wild
Ride, and Dolphin University (where, in 2001, dolphins were bred for the
first time using artificial insemination). But we did see a few things...
 
We passed a pond with swans, koi, a pagoda, flamingos, and a
waterfall...
...and arrived at the Giant Panda Habitat.
The two pandas, An An and Jia Jia, each have a separate living
space. An An seemed to be enjoying his snack while he sat in his neat bed of leaves!
A skeleton of a mastodon...
 
...led to Dinosaurs - Now and Then.
This T. Rex raised its head, opened its mouth, and let out a loud
roar.
An aquarium building displayed freshwater fish of China, including
bitterling, grass carp and Chinese sailfin suckers.
  
In the Butterfly House, a breeding programme has helped
save endangered butterfly species.
We came to Kids' World...
...and were enticed into a theatre. We didn't stay there very long -
not my kind of show!
But we did spend some time in the Goldfish Pagoda, and I've
written a separate article about this (which comes next in this series).
 
Another zone with lots to see was Amazing Amazon. There
were aquariums, ponds, and displays of Amazon wildlife. It was getting late, so I just got
this snap of a green iguana.
Santa was riding his sleigh across the tropical gardens.
His home was the North Pole Village, which had lots of
gifts and souvenirs.
We headed towards the main exit on a path lined with Christmas
trees...
...and came across a school choir (in their British style school
uniforms) singing Christmas carols.
We listened to the carols as evening fell. It was finally feeling
'Christmassy' to me, even in the tropics!
It was even more Christmassy as we left via the Main Entrance.
We had to walk through a storm of artificial snow made from real ice crystals!
Back in Kowloon near our hotel, the streets were all lit up for
Christmas.
We didn't have time to see everything there was to see at Ocean Park. We didn't even
enter some of the major exhibits or attend the 'shows' and 'feeding times' that many of
them have, let alone try out any of the rides and other amusements. Any one of the
major aquarium exhibits would have been worth a special trip, and any one of them might
proudly be called 'The Aquarium' in a smaller city.
If I lived in Hong Kong I'd buy an annual pass to Ocean Park (US$48 to $63), and next
time I go there I'll be sure to visit again!
Go to the next in this series:
China Tour Part 6b: The Goldfish Pagoda at
Ocean Park, Hong Kong
The whole Tour of China in winter series:
Part 1a: Introduction, and the Tourist Sights
of Beijing (Tourist sights)
Part 1b: A Visit to the Beijing Aquarium
(Public aquarium)
Part 1c: An Arcade of Aquarium Shops in
Beijing (Aquarium shops)
Part 1d: The Beijing Museum of
Natural History (Tourist sights)
Part 2a: Xi'an and the Army of
Terracotta Warriors (Tourist sights)
Part 2b: An Aquarium Market in Xi'an
(Aquarium shops)
Part 3a: The Spectacular Scenery of Guilin
(Tourist sights)
Part 3b: A Visit to the Guilin Ocean
Aquarium (Public aquarium)
Part 4a: The Space-Age City of Shanghai (Tourist sights)
Part 4b: A Visit to the Shanghai Ocean
Aquarium (Public aquarium)
Part 4c: Jiangyin Road, a Street of Aquarium
Shops in Shanghai (Aquarium shops)
Part 5: Fish Seen in Chinese
Restaurants (Native fish)
Part 6a: A Photographic Visit to Ocean Park, Hong Kong (Public
aquarium)
Part 6b: The Goldfish Pagoda at Ocean Park,
Hong Kong (Public aquarium)
See also (after a previous visit to Hong Kong):
Tung Choi. The Amazing Aquarium Store Street in Hong
Kong (Aquarium shops)
Or, back to:
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