Hong Kong’s Harbourfront Spaces Get a Community-Driven Update

Creativity, community and inclusivity are the watchwords of Hong Kong’s Harbourfront Shared Spaces, playful and engaging public spaces by the sea

Hong Kong may be known as a concrete jungle, but beyond the towering skyscrapers and dense urban life lie expanses of countryside and glittering ocean, views of which can be enjoyed from some incredible vantage points. 

To celebrate the diversity of Hong Kong’s harbourfront spaces, the Development Bureau and Harbourfront Commission were tasked with creating a refreshed, diverse harbourfront environment for public use. The result is the Harbourfront Shared Space initiative, an open-management model of public spaces with fewer restrictions and limitations, intended to encourage people to enjoy the city’s waterside areas in their own ways. 

A key feature of these revamped public spaces, which can be found across the city, is that they have been designed to include family- and pet-friendly elements. At Kennedy Town’s Belcher Bay Promenade, formerly a Public Cargo Working Area, mobile cargo pallets have been used to create a children’s playground and modular seating areas. K-Farm, an NGO-run community garden with various facilities and features, spans 2,000 square metres and offers guided tours and farming activities for all ages. 

The Water Sports and Recreation Precinct in Wan Chai has Harbour FUN pedal boats available for hire, and groups can visit the site’s new floating restaurant or onshore rooftop and al fresco dining areas after. Meanwhile, the Belcher Bay Promenade, East Coast Park Precinct, Revitalised Typhoon Shelter Precinct in Causeway Bay and Water Sports and Recreation Precinct in Wan Chai are all pet-friendly and visitors are welcome to bring their dogs along.

Bringing people closer to the water is another aim of the Harbourfront Shared Space initiative. For example, the East Coast Park Precinct in Fortress Hill — the first breakwater in Victoria Harbour to officially open to the public — offers uninterrupted 360-degree views of the sunset over the ocean. Another feature is fenceless access to the water, like at the Tsuen Wan Promenade, a popular sunset spot thanks to its prime views of the Ting Kau Bridge.

Another feature is the series of new arts and culture initiatives. The most recent example is Causeway Bay’s Revitalised Typhoon Shelter Precinct, which boasts unobstructed views of the typhoon shelter. Visitors can join Walla-Walla guided boat tours to explore the typhoon shelter and Causeway Bay and learn more about the lives of Hong Kong’s fishermen. At HarbourChill, next to Wan Chai Ferry Pier, various interactive activities, pop-up installations and public furniture have been installed. 

Throughout the year, seasonal and festive decorations are added to the harbourfront spaces. For the Lunar New Year festivities in 2023, for example, local artists were invited to create pop-up installations combining lighting, visual art and interactive games for six of the harbourfront sites.

The project’s next stage will see the promenades on both sides of Victoria Harbour extended to 34 kilometres by 2028.

Text / Faye Bradley
Images / Mike Pickles

This story is presented in partnership with the Hong Kong Tourism Board