travel, hotel and booking Information

Hotel Booking When the British came to Hong Kong in the 19th century, they famously described it as a ``barren rock.'' They weren't exactly right. Hong Kong has more than 400 native varieties of trees, and traditional Chinese villages scattered around the territory at the time were built next to areas known as ``feng shui woods,'' where trees were seen as spiritual protectors of the people.

218 Electric Road North Point, Causeway Bay. Newton Hotel Hong Kong Located in the heart of Hong Kong Island. The Newton Hong Kong is within easy reach of the bustling business district, the shopping mecca of Causway Bay and the bright lights of Wan Chai%® entertainment area. All guest rooms offer full amenities and most rooms have bay windows with enchanting the spectacular Victoria Harbour view. This hotel offers a rooftop swimming pool for relaxation and is ...

Travel Agency It was, and by tradition still is, forbidden to cut such trees, which are likened to guardian angels that provided shelter from winter winds, shade from summer skies and safety from landslides.

With no fewer than nine airlines battling it out, haul travel... Hong Kong, Blue Chip Route to China

Cheap Hotel But much of Hong Kong was barren after centuries of people chopping away many of the trees that used to cover the entire territory, and conservationists say the generations that have been replanting it ever since have largely ignored the trees put here by nature.

Calling Hong Kong Long Distance As a Special Administrative Region of China, Hong Kong adheres to China%š universal time, China Time. Like China, Hong Kong does not participate in Daylight Saving Time so its time difference from much of the U.S. and Europe changes over the year. Hong Kong is 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the United States. However, during Daylight Saving Time in the U.S., Hong Kong is only 12 hours ahead of the eastern U.S.

Flight Booking Now, they worry some of Hong Kong's natural trees are on the verge of disappearing as property developers and city planners opt for exotic species that are easier to grow or known for more beautiful flowers.

What's Popular in Hong Kong Viator. What's Popular in Hong Kong Can't decide what to see or do in Hong Kong Browse our list of top tours, harbour tours, China day trips, what's popular, what's new, traveler picks and more in diverse Hong Kong. All 34 things to do in Hong Kong » Print this page Email this page

Travel Agent ``It's quite unfair to native species -- they are in general better adapted to the local environment,'' said Ken So, a conservation officer at the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden research institute.

I would have preferred stronger water pressure, but I'm spoiled by hotels like the the Langham in Hong Kong.

Hotel Chicago Conservationists at Kadoorie have been trying to germinate seedlings collected from native tree species and replanting them in the wild, hoping they can reverse what some see as an otherwise inevitable decline of Hong Kong's native trees.

Online Booking Since the program started with 15,000 seedlings from 50 species five years ago, the collection at Kadoorie has expanded to 100,000 seedlings from 180 species, So said.

Travel Health Insurance The seedlings normally stay at the nursery for a year before being distributed to universities, government departments, schools and commercial developments for greening, landscaping and research.

Hotel Reservation An outstanding example was on a poorly soiled plot on Hong Kong's highest mountain, Tai Mo Shan, where researchers planted 500 seedlings from five native species.

London Hotel Booking ``The environment is quite bad -- it's very steep and exposed -- but within two to three years, the seedlings have grown to four or five times their original height, with some now reaching 2 meters (6.7 feet) tall,'' So said.

Discount Travel In contrast, one biodiversity professor at the University of Hong Kong took aim at the government's decision to spend $1.3 million to plant 100 foreign palm trees on an entry road to the Disneyland theme park now being built.

Orlando Hotel ``It's wasting taxpayer's money,'' said assistant professor Billy Hau, who has childhood memories of the feng shui trees near the 900-year-old village where he was raised.

Booking Agency The high-priced trees leading into Disneyland will create an image that's not real Hong Kong -- with 26-foot palm trees that originally came from Spain's Canary Islands but were grown in Australia.

International Travel Medical ``Foreigners often have a misconception, thinking Asia must have tall palms and coconuts, but what we have here are only the small ones,'' said Hau. ``It would give Disney visitors a unique flavor of South China if we plant native Chinese banyan instead.''

New York Hotel The government defends its decision -- and the hefty tree bill -- as the right way to make the park look more like Disney's flagship in southern California.

Online Travel Booking Hau and other green advocates fear the local subtropical trees may vanish completely as Hong Kong puts up colorful or hardier exotic varieties -- in public squares, along roadsides and highways and even in country parks where urban dwellers escape for a taste of nature.

Travel Medical Insurance Conservationists say some Hong Kong trees are almost gone already, with some species down to just one, although most trees found naturally here are also thriving across the border in China's Guangdong province so they aren't on the verge of extinction.

Miami Hotel The naturalists say local birds and animals have problems with some imported species.

Air Deccan Booking Walking through older districts full of Hong Kong's orchid trees, or bauhinias, one finds birds flocking and chirping everywhere. The bauhinia is Hong Kong's official flower -- it is featured on the red and white Hong Kong flag and replaced the head of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II on coins as the colonial period ended.

Las Vegas Nevada Travel Now, many other areas are full of the easily grown Taiwan acacia. But don't go looking for birds in that tree's thin canopy and weak branches -- they won't be there.

Las Vegas Nv Hotel ``Native species demand a better environment,'' said Patrick Lai, senior nature conservation officer at the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. ``They are not as tough, they are hard to grow or grow too slowly, so they aren't able to prevent soil erosion.''

Hotel Florence Booking Online Containing loose soil is important for Hong Kong to stop landslides that have killed thousands of people through the years.

Orlando Travel Lai said that when Hong Kong reforests its country parks, about half of the trees are imports, although about 70 native tree species are also used to make up the other half.

Hilton Hotel Conservationist So would like to see more.

Booking Delta Com ``Many of the native species are very beautiful and can be used to green our environment as well as contain soils,'' So said. ``All we need are further studies and trials to explore their potential.''

Travel Insurance Online Associated Press - 7/7/2003

Topic: Forests & Trees

[ Comment, Edit or Article Submission ]