lantau Photos

Lantau island (or Lantao) is the largest island in the Hong Kong area, its 147 square kilometres being double the surface of Hong Kong island.

With a luxurious vegetation, half of the island being a national park, with pink dolphins sometimes spotting its waters, and fishing villages, all that make the island of Lantau a picturesque place, still preserving the old traditional atmosphere of the area.

Lantau, known in the old times as Tai Hai Shan, was mentioned frequently on seamaps. It was once a pirates and thieves nest, and it was one of the first European trade settlements. The Portuguese came here in 1510. The British followed them, long before they settled in Hong Kong.

Only fishing villages could be found here initially, but the island began to change in modern times. The Ngong Ping plateau is dominated by a huge bronze statue of Buddha, called Tian Tan Buddha - the largest bronze statue showing the Buddha sitting, placed in the open air. The plateau also sheltered a Shaolin monastery.

Tai O is one of the most picturesque sights on the island. It is a fishing village founded over 300 years ago, in the north-western part of the island.