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The New Territories have been part of Hong kong long enough for the newness to have worn off, as they joined the colony in the previous century, leased to Britain for 99 years. That lease, as you probably know, is up since 1997. This part of Hong Kong, which includes the outlying islands, is still mainly rural. Landscapes of rolling hills dissolve into lush green farmlands, paddy fields and fishing villages where the inhabitants live on sampans. It is the part of Hong Kong that borders China. And it’s sometimes referred to as the land between because of this proximity. Many of the people live a simple rural life, much as they have for centuries. In the New Territories you can explore with more than 10,000 images of Buddha. You can enter walled villages whose moats and towers have long protected denizens from pirates, brigands, typhoons, and tigers. Or take a stroll through bamboo forests and magic groves of trees, and visit protected marshlands, home to many species of migratory birds. Amah Rock (the figure of a bride who forever awaits the return of her husband) looks down over Shatin, one of the largest towns in the New Territories. It is home to Hong Kong’s other high-tech race course, as well as an enormous, new shopping mall. The beaches in the New Territories, though often difficult to reach, are worth the hour’s scramble over steep, brush-covered terrain, to find the paradise of sand and blue water that waits on the other side.

Development of the New Territories in recent years has turned some of its ancient market towns into major regional centres, served by express highways and high-speed electric surface and underground trains, which make the area easily accesible. And the land between coach tour, organized by the Hong Kong Tourist Association, provides a broad overview of what there is to discover here.