Tung Chung's Old Forts and Temples
Six muzzle-loading Qing Dynasty cannons still sit on the northern ramparts of Tung Chung Fort, aimed out over a valley that no longer needs defending from pirates, and that mismatch between old military purpose and quiet present-day setting is most of what makes Tung Chung’s sightseeing worthwhile.
Tung Chung Fort
Built in 1832 as the naval headquarters for the Right Battalion of the Dapeng Brigade, tasked with suppressing coastal piracy and opium smuggling, the fort keeps its granite defensive walls, three arched gateways, and an inner courtyard that later housed a school and rural committee. The six original cannons on the northern wall are the standout detail. Reach it by Bus 34 or 38 from Tung Chung MTR toward Yat Tung Estate.
Tung Chung Battery
A smaller, older sibling to the fort, built in 1817 at the foot of Rocky Lion Hill near the waterfront. It disappeared under hillside jungle for over a century and a half before being rediscovered in 1980, and what’s preserved now is an L-shaped granite defensive wall with a corner gun platform, a genuinely obscure stop that most visitors to the fort skip entirely.
Hau Wong Temple
Dating to 1765, this temple honours Yeung Leung-jit, a Song Dynasty general remembered for protecting the last child emperors of Song as they fled south to Lantau. Look for the Shek Wan pottery roof figurines and antique iron bells cast during the Qianlong reign, set in a grove overlooking Tung Chung Bay.
The waterfront and its aviation viewpoint
The Tung Chung Waterfront Promenade faces directly across the channel to Chek Lap Kok, and on a clear afternoon it turns into an informal plane-spotting deck, with Boeing 777s and Airbus A350s lifting off the runway while the cable car climbs the mountain behind you. It’s an odd, specific kind of view that only exists because the airport and the mountain both sit this close to the water.
All four sites sit within a short bus hop of each other and of Tung Chung MTR, so a single afternoon covers the fort, the battery, the temple, and the promenade without needing a car, which is just as well since South Lantau’s roads are closed to private vehicles anyway. For how to fold a longer Lantau bus ride into the same day, see bus tours in Tung Chung .
Go to Tung Chung Battery in the late afternoon rather than midday; the site has no shade and no facilities, so timing it around the heat matters more than at the fort or the temple.