Tung Chung travel guide

Tung Chung, Hong Kong

By the Travel Wiki editorial team

Tung Chung

Introduction

Tung Chung sits on the northwestern coast of Lantau Island, a new town built on what was once a rural fishing village beside Tung Chung Bay, along the delta and lower courses of the Tung Chung River and Ma Wan Chung. As one of Hong Kong's most recent new towns, it pairs contemporary development with a setting that still recalls its fishing-village origins.

The area carries a longer history than its new-town skyline suggests: during the Ming and Qing dynasties it served as an important defence stronghold against pirates and foreign military. Keep that past in mind as you explore the bay and riverfront, where the village's maritime and defensive heritage sits beneath the surface of the modern town.

Getting around

Tung Chung is a compact, purpose-built new town, and its metro station anchors the town centre, with most housing estates, shops and hotels within easy walking distance of it. Walking between the station, your hotel and the shops is usually straightforward, and some attractions are a short stroll away — Hau Wong Temple, for example, is about twenty minutes on foot from the train station. To see the older side of the town, head for the surviving fishing villages near Tung Chung Bay.

The MTR Tung Chung line is the backbone of day-to-day travel, linking the town directly to the urban core and connecting onward at Sunny Bay, where you can interchange for the Disneyland Resort line. Buses fill in the gaps and are often the only way to reach parts of Lantau: Citybus, Long Win Bus and New Lantao Bus all run routes in and around Tung Chung alongside green minibuses. New Lantao Bus A35 runs to Mui Wo via Tung Chung, Tong Fuk, Cheung Sha and Pui O, while B4 links the airport and the SKYCITY Transport Terminal, and B6/B6S connect the Tung Chung area to MTR Tung Chung Station. For the airport, "A" routes run to a wide spread of urban and New Territories destinations, and overnight "NA" routes and New Lantao Bus N35 serve the Hong Kong Port in the small hours. Taxis are colour-coded by operating area — blue Lantau taxis for island destinations, red urban taxis for cross-harbour or city trips — and it helps to have your destination written in Chinese. Pay for buses and the metro with a stored-value smart card, which also unlocks concessionary interchange fares within the same franchised bus company, and check whether your route runs only at certain times or on certain days, as some do.

Three days in Tung Chung

Day one: Start in Tung Chung itself, getting your bearings along Tung Chung Bay and the mouth of Tung Chung River, where the old village of Ma Wan Chung sits near the water. Walk up to Hau Wong Temple, a Ming and Qing era foundation that anchors the older part of the settlement, then spend the afternoon exploring the neighbourhood streets. In the evening, head to SKYCITY Transport Terminal for a meal and a look around before returning to your base in Tung Chung.

Day two: Use the MTR from Tung Chung Station to Sunny Bay, then continue to Disneyland Resort for a full day at the park. If theme parks aren't your thing, take a Lantau bus instead — Citybus, Long Win Bus and New Lantao Bus all serve the island — and ride south to Mui Wo, Tong Fuk or Cheung Sha for a slower day of coastal walking and beach time. Return to Tung Chung in the evening.

Day three: Spend your last morning on Lantau Island, walking a section of the Lantau Trail or simply enjoying the views back over Tung Chung Bay. Keep an eye on the time if you're heading onward — buses and taxis connect Tung Chung with Hong Kong Port and the rest of the New Territories, and the MTR Tung Chung line links you back to central Hong Kong. Pay your fares with an Octopus card or in cash, and allow extra time for the journey.

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