The Islands District (離島區) is located in the south-west of the New Territories, is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong, occupying the largest area but with the second smallest population [1] and is part of the Hong Kong Island West constituency for the Legislative Council geographical constituency election. [2]
The Islands District is made up of more than 20 islands of various sizes spread across the south and south-west of Hong Kong, with Lantau Island being the largest island in the district, and also including small islands such as Po Toi, Lamma, Cheung Chau and Peng Chau. The vast majority of the district is rural in nature, although Ap Lei Chau, Ma Wan, Tsing Yi, and some of the bays of Lantau Island (e.g. Penny's Bay, Sunny Bay, and Siu Ho Wan) are not included. Of the many islands in the Islands District, only Lantau Island and Chek Lap Kok (Airport Island) have road links and bus services.
Overview[]
South Lantau[]
Before the development of North Lantau, residents on the island were mainly located in Mui Wo, Tai O and Discovery Bay. Being located in the countryside, the environment is quieter than that of the urban areas, which has attracted some environmentalists or nature lovers to move to Lantau Island, especially expatriates from Europe and the United States. In addition, there are many tourist attractions scattered all over Lantau, some of which are natural countryside scenery such as Phoenix Hill, Tai Tung Shan and Yi Tung Shan; some are fishing villages and towns such as Mui Wo (Silvermine Bay),Pui O, Cheung Sha, Tong Fuk and Tai O Water Village; and some are important religious sites such as Po Lin Monastery.
The Lantau Island is the largest island in the Islands District. Franchised bus services on Lantau Island started in 1960, operated by the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (KMB), the predecessor of NLB Route 1. Due to the inconvenient traffic conditions in the area, KMB gave up the operation of the routes in 1965, and the residents had to operate their own bus routes, but the quality of the routes varied, and the vicious competition resulted in heavy losses. In 1973, the local bus companies merged to form the New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited to reorganise the local bus services and were granted franchises on 1 April 1974, making them the third franchised bus company in Hong Kong.
The Lantau Island relies entirely on ferries and kaitos for external transport, and the only ferry pier is located in Mui Wo, making Mui Wo the centre of gravity for administration, community facilities and bus services for the outlying islands.
North Lantau[]
With the commencement of the Hong Kong Airport Core Programme (ACP) in early 1990 and the opening of the Tian Tan Buddha in December 1993, North Lantau began to flourish. With the opening of the Lantau Link and the North Lantau Highway on 22 May 1997, Lantau residents no longer had to rely solely on the sea to get to the urban areas, and Citybus and Long Win Bus joined the Hong Kong International Airport shuttle bus routes and the external routes between the airport and the Tung Chung New Town, thus changing the centre of the island's land transport from Mui Wo to the Tung Chung New Town. With the opening of the Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok on 6 July 1998, the Airport (Ground Transportation Centre) has become the busiest bus terminus on the outlying islands with tens of millions of passengers travelling between the airport and other places every year.
With the opening of the Discovery Bay Tunnel in May 2000, Discovery Bay residents no longer have to rely solely on the sea traffic for travelling to and from the urban areas. The Disneyland at Penny's Bay, which straddles the administrative boundaries of the Islands and Tsuen Wan Districts, was also opened on 12 September 2005.
All non-air-conditioned buses of NLB were retired from service in March 2006, but the non-air-conditioned fares of 21 routes were retained until June 2008, making the Islands District the second administrative district outside Hong Kong Island to be served by fully air-conditioned buses (the first one being Yuen Long District).
With the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the third runway of the airport in full swing, the Lantau Island will become an important hub for regional and international travel between Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta. To capitalise on the benefits of the major infrastructure projects on Lantau, the Chief Executive established the Lantau Development Advisory Committee (LDAC) in January 2014 to map out an economic and community development strategy for the island. According to the revised Concept Plan for Lantau, the overall planning approach for Lantau is to concentrate major economic infrastructure and urban development in North Lantau to make the best use of the transport network and infrastructural facilities, while protecting the remaining parts of Lantau for recreational and tourism uses within the context of the overall conservation objectives and in line with the principle of environmental sustainability.
Like other police districts in Hong Kong, the Lantau Police District (including Lantau North Divisional Police Station, Penny's Bay Police Post, South Lantau (Mui Wo) Divisional Police Station, Boundary Crossing Facilities Police Base and Reporting Centre) and the Airport Police District (including the Airport Terminal Reporting Centre and the Airport Police Station) are equipped with detention facilities to meet their daily operational needs. [3]
Street/Road structure[]
In the Islands District, only Lantau Island and the Hong Kong International Airport are served by carriageways. The rest of the islands are served by footpaths, which are restricted to non-motorised motor vehicles and emergency vehicles only.
Closed roads on Lantau Island[]
Shek Mun Kap Control Point
The Lantau Island was used to be a rural area separated by hills to the north and south. The road network on Lantau as a whole was different from that in the urban area and was of a rural type, providing for low volume traffic demand. At that time, Lantau Island mainly relied on South Lantau Road, Keung Shan Road and Tai O Road to connect South Lantau with Mui Wo to Tai O and the villages along the road, whereas residents in Tung Chung had to use Tung Chung Road, which was still a single-lane, dual two-way road of about 3.5 metres in width at that time, for most of the road sections to link up with South Lantau Road for travelling to other districts.
In view of the poor road conditions in Lantau, the Administration has designated the roads in South Lantau as 24-hour closed roads since the 1970s. Except for public buses and emergency vehicles, all motorised vehicles are prohibited from entering the roads, and only residents and business persons/organisations on the island holding Lantau Closed Road Permits are allowed to use the roads. At present, the road sign at the roundabout of Tung Chung Road southbound near Shek Mun Kap Control Point reads "Non-permit holders entering will be prosecuted".
The South Lantau Road runs through Mui Wo and Shek Pik Police Post in South Lantau and the terrain along the road is steep. Passengers travelling to tourist attractions in the west have to pass through Keung Shan Road, Sham Wat Road/Ngong Ping Road (towards Ngong Ping) or Tai O Road (towards Tai O). Before NLB banned double-decker buses to Tai O and Ngong Ping from the 1980s to 1992, there was an interchange arrangement on Route 2 whereby double-decker buses would terminate at the Shek Pik Terminus and passengers would have to change to single-decker buses for travelling to and from Ngong Ping.
Nowadays, individual roads in the area are still rugged and NLB now provides only very limited low-floor bus services, with Route 34 not being able to use low-floor buses. The opening of Ngong Ping 360 in September 2006, while providing an additional choice for travellers, has resulted in a serious loss of patronage on NLB Route 23.
Airport and Tung Chung[]
- The main article of this section is Hong Kong International Airport.
Tung Chung New Town is located in the northern part of Lantau Island and is connected to Chek Lap Kok (Hong Kong International Airport) and the North Lantau Highway of Route 8, which provides access to the rest of Hong Kong via the Lantau Link. The new town was built in 1997 and is separated by the North Lantau Highway to the north and south. The Tung Chung Station is the largest MTR station on the outlying islands, through which passengers can interchange for public transport to the airport or other parts of Lantau. The Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) services are mostly located in the east, with the Airport Logistics Area to the south and west.
Tung Chung Road has a limited capacity and some sections of the road are steep with a gradient of 1:6. Despite the completion of the improvement works to the section of Tung Chung Road between Lung Tseng Tau and Cheung Sha in February 2009, which has significantly reduced the risk of vehicular accidents when travelling on Tung Chung Road, the section of Tung Chung Road from Shek Mun Kap to South Lantau Road is still a closed area from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm every day in addition to being a closed road 24 hours a day. Except for franchised buses, Lantau taxis and holders of Tung Chung Road Closed Area Permits, no motorised vehicles are allowed to enter this closed area. In addition, goods vehicles weighing more than 5.5 tonnes are also prohibited from entering this section of Tung Chung Road 24 hours a day, except for holders of a Tung Chung Road Closed Area Permit. In the past, the northern part of Tung Chung Road, near Tung Chung Battery and Tung Chung Old Pier, was also under the Lantau Closed Road Control Area, but this arrangement has now been cancelled.
The Transport Department (TD) launched the "Lantau Self-drive Tour" scheme on 26 February 2016 to allow 25 private cars to enter south Lantau for recreational and leisure purposes on weekdays, and members of the public can apply for Lantau Closed Road Permits online in advance.
Benefiting from the development of the airport, low-floor buses have been deployed to most of the North Lantau External Routes and the airport routes since the early stage of its introduction to Hong Kong, enabling the public and tourists to enjoy a comfortable bus service.
Discovery Bay[]
Area around Discovery Bay Pier
Discovery Bay has been self-sufficient in providing internal bus services for residents since the 1980s. With the expansion of the estate and the opening of Discovery Bay Tunnel in May 2000, the demand for Discovery Bay's bus services has increased and the number of bus routes now exceeds ten, including five external bus routes.
The Discovery Bay Tunnel is regulated under the Discovery Bay Tunnel and Tunnel Link Regulations (Cap. 520) and is a controlled area. Vehicles intending to enter Discovery Bay must obtain approval from the Transport Department.
In the past, taxis were strictly prohibited from entering Discovery Bay. Starting from 26 October 2014, urban and Lantau taxis are allowed to enter Discovery Bay in the vicinity of the DB North Plaza [4], but special permission has to be sought for other roads in Discovery Bay.
Bus termini[]
Template:List of Islands District Bus Termini
Hong Kong International Airport[]
- The main article of this section is Hong Kong International Airport.
Tung Chung[]
- The main article of this section is Tung Chung.
Closed roads on Lantau Island[]
Aerial view of Tai O
- Mui Wo: Located in the south-eastern part of Lantau Island, it is the administrative centre and traditional economic centre of the Islands District.
- Tai O: located on the western coast of Lantau Island, it is famous for its fishing village style and is a well-known tourist attraction in Hong Kong.
- Ngong Ping: Located in the western part of Lantau Island, the Po Lin Monastery and the Big Buddha are situated here, which is a well-known tourist attraction in Hong Kong.
- Tong Fuk: Located in the south of Lantau Island, the beach along the coast attracts many people for swimming.
Discovery Bay[]
- The main article of this section is Discovery Bay.
Siu Ho Wan[]
Siu Ho Wan is located in Northeast Lantau Island, where depots of Citybus, Long Win Bus (LWB) and New Lantao Bus (NLB) are located, with Cheung Tung Road being the only external road; NLB Route 36 runs in both directions via Cheung Tung Road, and Siu Ho Wan Vehicle Detention Pound is used as a circular point.
Northeast Lantau Island[]
The Northeast Lantau Island was under jurisdiction of Tsuen Wan District, see Tsing Chau Tsai Peninsula for details.
Disused termini[]
- Shek Pik: Located in the western part of Lantau, where the Shek Pik Reservoir is located.
- Cheung Sha Beach: Located next to the car park of Upper Cheung Sha Beach on South NLB Road, which used to be the terminus of NLB Route 4 and NLB Route 8.
- Cheung Sha Tsuen: Located on South Lantau Road near the junction of Cheung Fu Street, which was once the terminus of NLB Route 4R.
- Chi Ma Wan: Located at Chi Ma Wan Ferry Pier, once the terminus of NLB Route 7S.
- Tung Chung Old Pier: Located at the northern end of Tung Chung Ma Wan Chung Tung Chung Road, the earliest major bus terminus in Tung Chung.
- Chek Lap Kok Ferry Pier: Located at the end of East Coast Road, closed for the construction of the Airport SkyCity.
- Chek Lap Kok: a temporary open-air bus terminus during the construction of the Airport, which was closed after the airport was completed.
- Ching Yat House: A temporary bus terminus at the initial stage of the completion of Yat Tung Estate, all buses have been relocated to the new terminus after the opening of Yat Tung Estate Bus Terminus.
- Siu Ho Wan (Government Maintenance Depot): Located at Cheung Tung Road near Siu Ho Wan Government Maintenance Depot, now used as an intermediate stop.
Bus routes[]
| Bus routes terminating or turning back in Islands District (shown below are destination districts) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HK Island |
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| Kowloon |
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| NT East |
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| NT West |
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| Note: (#) MTR Sunny Bay Station, Penny's Bay (Hong Kong Disneyland Terminus) and Ma Wan are all located in Tsuen Wan District, please refer to the District Council Constituency Boundary Map. Italic: Specific service hours/part-time route; →: Outbound service only; ←: Inbound service only | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes and References[]
- ↑ Second only to Wan Chai District, source: Census and Statistics Department
- ↑ The Hong Kong Island West Constituency comprises the Southern, Central and Western, and Islands Districts.
- ↑ LCQ8: Police's law enforcement actions at airport and Lantau Island, 6 November 2019.
- ↑ Hong Kong Resort Company Limited, "Taxi and Public Tour Bus Services", October 2014.
External Links[]
- Official Website of the District Council: Introduction to the Islands District
- Home Affairs Department Official Website: Islands District
- Official Website of Transport Department: Lantau Island Closed Road Permit and Tung Chung Road Closed Area Permit
- Highways Department: Improvement to Tung Chung Road between Lung Tseng Tau and Cheung Sha
- Hong Kong Airport Core Programme website
- District Council Constituency Boundary Map 2019: Islands District
- District Council Constituency Boundary Map 2015: Islands District
- District Council Constituency Boundary Map 2011: Islands District
- District Council Constituency Boundary Map 2007: Islands District
Template:Administrative Districts
Islands District Council, Lantao Island, Lantau Island, Lantau, Lantao, South Lantau, Lantau South, North Lantau, Lantau North, West Lantau and Lantau West