As Hong Kong and the mainland achieved the first phase of "customs clearance" on the 8th of this month, the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail also resumed service after three years of silence. The familiar orange figure-the MTR "Dynamic" departed from West Kowloon Station again on the 15th.

  It is reported that in the initial stage of the high-speed rail resumption, short-distance services between Hong Kong West Kowloon Station and Futian, Shenzhen North and Guangzhou South Stations will be resumed, and services between Guangzhou East Station will be added.

Intermediate stations include Guangming City, Humen, Qingsheng and the newly added Dongguan South and Dongguan Stations.

  Although Hong Kong's social, economic and people's livelihood development has been severely tested in the past three years, Hong Kong has never stopped its development, especially in the areas of culture and tourism. It has made great breakthroughs and is always ready to welcome tourists to Hong Kong again.

The further improvement of the West Kowloon Cultural District, the quiet rise of M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum, and the new look of the Peak Tram all happened during this period.

  To this end, the reporter prepared a travel guide for traveling around Hong Kong by high-speed rail.

Hong Kong West Kowloon Station fully introduces electronic ticketing.

Photo by Li Zhihua

West Kowloon Station goes digital

  Passengers take the high-speed rail to Hong Kong West Kowloon Station.

This high-speed rail station with a dynamic arch shape is located in the heart of Hong Kong, adjacent to the shore of Victoria Harbour.

  After three years, Hong Kong West Kowloon Station welcomes passengers with a new look, fully introducing electronic ticketing.

According to MTR, there will be no more paper tickets in the future, and electronic tickets will be linked with the passenger's travel document information, and passengers can enter the gate and board the train with the document.

The gate entry process is on par with the national high-speed rail, "one card in hand, nationwide access", which is more convenient.

  In order to cooperate with the arrangement of electronic ticketing, all the original 76 gates at Hong Kong West Kowloon Station have been upgraded, and 12 new gates and 6 electronic counters have been added.

The ticket hall and baggage inspection hall on the B1 departure floor have also been re-arranged, with 6 new staff passages and 10 self-service passages.

After the simplified procedures on the departure layer, passengers can complete the real-name authentication and gate entry procedures in one go, and the self-service channel verification can be completed in about 5 seconds.

Hong Kong West Kowloon Station fully introduces electronic ticketing.

Photo by Li Zhihua

  In addition, the West Kowloon Station introduced a new large-scale luggage X-ray inspection machine, and re-arranged the location of the passageway to facilitate passengers with large luggage.

  It is worth mentioning that West Kowloon Station continues to improve services and strengthen passenger information, introduces a self-service taxi number system, and introduces shops and restaurants with Hong Kong characteristics to cater for the different needs of passengers.

The MTR will launch high-speed rail e-ticket lazy bags, educational videos, and distribute the latest information through different channels, hoping that passengers can travel easily.

A must-see for cultural and youth——West Kowloon Cultural District

Video: [Xiaoxin's vlog] Visiting Hong Kong Art Month with "Hong Kong Drifters"

Source: China News Network

  Located on the waterfront of Victoria Harbor and adjacent to the West Kowloon Station, the West Kowloon Cultural District is a must-see for leisure and entertainment for young people who have emerged in the past two years.

It is one of the largest cultural projects in the world, integrating art, education and public space.

  The West Kowloon Cultural District has a 180-degree view of the Victoria Harbour. Passengers can choose to walk along the seaside promenade, overlook the opposite Hong Kong Island, rest and have a picnic in the park and a large grassland, or sit in a seaside cafe and enjoy the sea breeze. Food is a good choice.

The West Kowloon Cultural District is a must-go place for cultural and youth leisure check-ins that have emerged in the past two years.

Photo by Zhang Wei

  The newly built M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum are not to be missed.

  The M+ building uses striking terracotta to cover the vertical building, and its south façade is equipped with a multifunctional LED display system: the M+ curtain wall, which is used to display moving images and collections in the museum.

At 6 o'clock every evening, the LED lights are turned on, and the flowing visual culture is reflected on the waterfront of Victoria Harbour.

  As the first international museum of contemporary visual culture in Asia, visitors can encounter art at any time when entering M+. The highly anticipated first special exhibition "Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Present" is being held in the museum. The largest retrospective of artist Yayoi Kusama in Asia outside of Japan, featuring more than 200 works across a variety of mediums.

Extended until May 14, 2023.

The special exhibition "Yayoi Kusama: 1945 to Present" is being held in M.

Photo by Li Zhihua

  The rest of the opening exhibitions, such as "Hong Kong: Here and There", "M+ Sigg Collection: From Revolution to Globalization", "Individual, Origin and Expression", etc., are wonderful, and M+'s unique moving image center, a series of moving image works from the M+ collection , so that tourists can feast their eyes.

  On the west side of M+, with its elegant beige-gold exterior wall and vermilion gate, is the Hong Kong Palace Museum, which just opened last year. It displays more than 900 precious cultural relics from the Palace Museum, many of which are exhibited in Hong Kong for the first time. Some of the collections have never been publicly exhibited.

  In the Hong Kong Palace Museum, visitors can not only appreciate the national treasures of the Palace Museum at close range, but also appreciate the lively and lively Hong Kong curatorial techniques, and appreciate the charm of the Forbidden City culture from a new perspective. In addition, it serves as a platform for dialogue between Chinese and Western civilizations Visitors can also visit the special exhibition "Treasures in the Art Garden - Famous Collections of the Liechtenstein Royal Family".

Visitors can see the national treasures up close in the Hong Kong Palace Museum.

Photo by Li Zhihua

  The cultural differences in different regions in the history of human civilization can be magnified, compared, and of course connected on this platform.

The collections of the Ming and Qing courts and European royal families gathered for the first time in the Hong Kong Palace Museum. The differences in collection tastes, as well as the images expressed by Chinese and Western artists in the paintings of the same period, are all clearly seen in this horizontal comparison across time and space.

Video: [Hong Kong Stories] Designers reveal the ingenuity of the construction of the Hong Kong Palace Museum

Source: China News Network

The new-look Peak Tram

  Climbing to the top of Victoria Peak to enjoy the night view of Hong Kong is another must-do during the trip.

The Peak Tram, which has a history of more than 100 years, carries the collective memories of Hong Kong people and witnesses the development of Hong Kong.

After being out of service for a year for renovation, the Peak Tram has now been fully upgraded, and the sixth-generation Peak Tram was officially put into service last year.

  Compared with the wine-red carriages of the previous generation, the refurbished new-generation cable car is dark green.

The height of the new car is similar to that of the past, but the length has nearly doubled. The passenger capacity of the car has increased from 120 in the past to 210.

The renovated Peak Tram.

Photo by Li Zhihua

  While retaining the previous wooden decoration style inside the car, a wave-shaped platform is set up inside the car to facilitate passengers to stand more stably. The windows on the side and top of the car body have also been expanded, which is convenient for passengers to take pictures and check in along the road. beautiful view.

  Walking from West Kowloon Station to nearby Kowloon Station, travelers can take the Tung Chung Line to Central in just one stop, and board the refurbished Peak Tram.

Along this mountain path with a history of more than 100 years, drive to the top of Victoria Peak, where the historical heritage and modern vitality meet in the quaint carriage decoration and the urban building view outside the window.

Two major theme park upgrades

  The two major theme parks, Hong Kong Disneyland and Hong Kong Ocean Park, are also making full preparations for the return of tourists.

Disneyland specially held a welcome event at West Kowloon Station on the day when the high-speed rail was re-opened. Mickey Mouse appeared at the high-speed rail station to welcome the first batch of mainland tourists to enjoy Disney.

  Hong Kong Disneyland's new castle "Wonderful Dream Castle" will be officially opened as early as 2020 after about 4 years of construction.

This is the world's first renovated castle in Disneyland operation. The new castle is more than twice as tall as the old castle "Sleeping Princess Castle".

"Wonderful Dream Castle" symbolizes courage, hope and the infinite possibility.

The design of the castle is inspired by the stories of 13 classic Disney princesses and queens, celebrating their determination to pursue big dreams.

Hong Kong Disneyland.

Photo by Li Zhihua

  Ocean Park is also sparing no effort to upgrade its facilities. In 2021, Ocean Park Water Park will open to welcome guests. As Hong Kong's first all-weather water park that operates throughout the year, there are five theme parks and 27 indoor and outdoor play facilities in the park. Including Hong Kong's first indoor surfing experience venue "Surf Pioneer" and 9 dynamic water slides with different designs.

  It is also convenient to go to Hong Kong Disneyland and Ocean Park from West Kowloon Station. You can walk to the nearby Kowloon Station and take the Tung Chung Line. To Disneyland, you can board the train in the direction of Tung Chung. Get off at Sunny Bay Station and transfer to Disneyland at the station The special line is direct; the direction to Ocean Park is exactly the opposite direction. Passengers can board the Hong Kong-bound train, walk to Central Station and transfer to the Hong Kong Island Line. It is only one stop to Admiralty, and then transfer to the South Island Line. The same stop You can reach Ocean Park, only three subway stops before and after.

Hong Kong Ocean Park Water Park.

Photo by Li Zhihua

  In the past three years, Hong Kong has been quietly changing while fighting against the epidemic. It is no longer just a "shopping paradise", and it is no longer limited to taking the Star Ferry to visit Victoria Harbor, a "must-see attraction in life", but a derivative A wide variety of in-depth cultural tourism products and experiences have been launched, sweeping away the misunderstanding of what people used to think of as a "cultural desert", and it is exuding the style of a cultural capital.

  Writer: Han Xingdong

  Photographer: Li Zhihua Zhang Wei

  Video Reporter: Fan Siyi, Luo Siyu, Liang Yuan