Fantastic Views of New Territories West at Kai Kung Leng

Located within the Lam Tsuen Country Park, Kai Kung Leng prides the highest peak in northwest New Territories after Tai Mo Shan. With its highest peak at 585 meters, the mountain range provides an exceptional opportunity to view the landscape of northern and northwestern New Territories. Embrace wide-open views throughout this hike. Kai Kung Leng, meaning “the rooster mountain range” in Chinese, had another name as Kwai Kok Shan in the ancient records on Hong Kong. “Kwai” refers to the laurel trees that grew abundantly in this mountain range. “Kok,” meaning angles, refers to the two angular mountain tops. In the ancient books, Kwai Kok Shan was the name for the whole mountain range. The taller eastern summit was Tai Lo Tin, and the western lower peak was Kai Kung Shan; together they were known as Kwai Kok Shan. The Tang’s of Kam Tin believe that this mountain range is the origin of the clan’s good feng shui, the ancestral dragon that blesses the clan. The good fortunes flow through the rolling ranges to benefit the Tang villages in the low plains. We ascended right away when we reached the entrance of the trail. Even at mid-range we saw all of Kam Tin and Yuen Long in the southwest. It felt like we could reach out and touch those human settlements on our fingertips. This scenery keeps me grounded in a realistic perspective on Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a well-developed city, heavily populated even in the rural areas, with never-ending human footprints on its terrain. But in the mountains we see the mountain ranges rolling to eternity, a view so grand that the human footprints are dwarfed, perhaps into a humility that reflects human beings’ true position in the created order. I would say this hike at Kai Kung Leng tops one of the toughest hikes I have done so far. Quite a number of experienced hikers have ranked it 4 stars out of 5. The mountain range enables exceptional views because there is no vegetation throughout the hike. The small trees that we saw here and there would not have provided the shades for cooling in case someone comes down with a heat stroke. Therefore, I advise against taking this trail during summertime. #kaikungleng #kaikungshan #hongkonghiking #yuenlong #newterritories #mountain #mountainview #china