Sunday, April 26, 2015

Tortoise Rock Wars: Cheung Chau vs Po Toi!



Earlier this week, I visited the dumbbell-shaped island of Cheung Chau.  There are many reasons why it's one of my favorites of Hong Kong's Outlying Islands, including it being the setting of Just One Look, a lovely nostalgia-tinged movie that could be said to be Hong Kong's Cinema Paradiso.  But even though the district authorities seem to take great pride in Cheung Chau's many fancifully-named rock formations, I have to say that they are probably the most disappointing part of the island to me.

In contrast, I find many of the rock formations on Hong Kong's southernmost island of Po Toi to be plenty impressive.  In particular, every time I see it -- the latest earlier today -- I'm amazed by how the Tortoise Rock (aka Turtle Rock) really does resemble a real life tortoise (or turtle) going up a hill!
 
But maybe it's just me so I'd like to ask you, gentle readers, what you think: i.e., which do you consider resembles a tortoise (or turtle) more -- Cheung Chau's or Po Toi's Tortoise Rocks (both pictured at the top of this blog entry)?  For me, there's absolutely no contest -- but how about you let me know your opinions in this blog entry's comments section? ;b

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there,

Many of the name of the rocks in Cheung Chau were made up in the past decade of two.

I remember there were only a handful of them back in the 1970s. Name 'The Vase' (Fa Ping Shek), 'The Five Elements' (Ng Hang Shek) to name a couple. You could verify these in old guide books of the period in Central Library, I think. There weren't that much rock formation being named back then.

I don't usually pay much attention to the new inventions anyway..... :-P

T

YTSL said...

Hi T --

So... can it be said that your vote goes to the Po Toi Tortoise Rock? ;)

Whatever their age, I have to say that the named Cheung Chau rock formations are the ones that appear to have been named most "just for the sake of it". For my money, many of the rocks in Po Toi and also Tai Tau Chau (near Shek O) get my imagination flowing more! ;b

Anonymous said...

Hi There,

Beauty is to the eye of the beholder.

Maybe it is just me, I don't see much relevant names for those rock formations in Cheung Chau except those already there post WWII.

This being said, I don't know if the new inventions were products of the district board, in an attempt to create some new tourist attraction. Anyway, Cheung Chau to me is only good on weekdays, which the crowd is basically absent.

T

YTSL said...

Hi again T --

Well, there's beauty and then there's recognisability... ;)

Also, you mean before rather than post-World War II, right? If so, can you tell me which were the ones named then -- are they the ones on the countryside maps (rather than the signs on Cheung Chau)?

And for me, Cheung Chau is definitely preferable to visit on weekdays but it's still enjoyable on weekends. (I do like the seafood restaurants there. Think they're good value compared to, say, Sai Kung.)

Anonymous said...

Hi There,

Discovery Hong Kong calls Ng Hang Shek as the Reclining Rock (http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/see-do/great-outdoors/outlying-islands/cheung-chau/reclining-rock.jsp)

For Fa Ping Shek, there are lots of images around (https://www.google.com.hk/search?q=%E9%95%B7%E6%B4%B2%E8%8A%B1%E7%93%B6%E7%9F%B3&espv=2&biw=1195&bih=626&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=y8w9VaTDF4T5mAXk4oDYCA&ved=0CCsQsAQ)

I only remember these two. I'll try to look up references next time I'm in Central Library.

T

YTSL said...

Hi once again T --

Both of these are mentioned in the Countryside map as well as posted signs on the island. To be honest, I don't find them all that impressive -- and definitely not as similar to the objects described in their names as Po Toi's Palm Cliff and Tortoise Rock! ;b