Happy Valley Cemeteries
Happy Valley contains one of Hong Kong Island’s most unexpected urban contradictions. On the eastern side of Wong Nei Chung Road, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s racetrack is one of Hong Kong’s most popular entertainment attractions for the city’s living.
But just across the way, a picturesque string of cemeteries accommodate the dead of various religions. Muslim, Roman Catholic, Hindu, Parsee and – in the Hong Kong Cemetery (formerly known as the Colonial Cemetery) – the graves are mostly - but not entirely – of Protestant Europeans; Russian Orthodox and followers of other religions without their own dedicated burial ground find a final resting place. Numerous pre-war Japanese residents are buried here – many graves are of young women.
Further up in Happy Valley, near the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s palatial clubhouse on Shan Kwong Road, a small, beautifully maintained Jewish Cemetery lies tucked away behind the Tung Lin Kok Yuen, a Buddhist nunnery and charitable school for girls established in 1935 by a wealthy local Eurasian family.
In this walk we will explore the Roman Catholic, Hong Kong (Colonial) and Parsee Cemeteries, and along the way learn about the contributions made by various distinct ethnic communities, over the past century and a half,to Hong Kong’s social and economic development. It may surprise some to learn that some of these communities were specifically local, non-Chinese Hong Kong communities.
A few examples include the local Portuguese – descendants of migrants from Macao - Parsees – who moved to Canton, Macao and Hong Kong in the wake of British commercial expansion - and the White Russians, refugees from the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in their homeland, have now largely vanished from the local scene.
But other distinctly “local” communities, such as the Eurasians, continue to play an important, if somewhat changed, role in contemporary Hong Kong society.
Please note: All walks require appropriate footwear for walking. Please remember to carry water. We also suggest insect repellent, sunscreen, hat and an umbrella.
Meeting Point:
In front of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Museum, adjacent to the main stands on Wong Nei Chung Road.
Finish Point:
Parsee Cemetery, Wong Nai Chung Road.
Price:
$325HKD per person for a scheduled walk. For private group booking enquiries please contact us.