Tsim Sha Tsui 尖沙咀

About Tsim Sha Tsui

Begin around Salisbury Road, where the Clock Tower and Cultural Centre mark the waterfront, then follow the promenade towards the Avenue of Stars. Turning inland to Nathan Road changes the scene to hotels, shops and dense pedestrian activity. A first visit works well as one waterfront section plus a selected museum, leaving the wider shopping district for another circuit.

The name Tsim Sha Tsui first appears in the Ming-dynasty gazetteer Yue Da Ji (粤大记), in its 'Guangdong Coastal Map'. By 1819, the Xin'an County Gazetteer (新安县志) recorded a Tsim Sha Tsui Village between today's Cameron Road and Granville Road. In the early nineteenth century, foreign trading ships anchored offshore; a fatal brawl there on 7 July 1839 became one of the sparks of the First Opium War.

Before the 1960s Tsim Sha Tsui had few tourist facilities apart from the Peninsula Hotel, and shops mainly served military personnel. During the Japanese occupation the Governor surrendered at the Peninsula Hotel on 25 December 1941, after which the hotel served as the Japanese military government's headquarters. From the 1960s, Star House, Ocean Terminal and modern hotels were built and the area became a tourist district. Reclamation to the east in the 1970s created the land for Tsim Sha Tsui East, and the old Kowloon railway terminus was demolished in 1978, replaced by the Hong Kong Space Museum and Cultural Centre, with the Clock Tower kept standing.

Kimberley Street (金巴利街), known locally as 'Korea Street', has numerous Korean restaurants and food shops, while Knutsford Terrace (诺士佛台) and nearby streets, sometimes called Kowloon's Lan Kwai Fong, offer Turkish, Russian, Italian and Japanese restaurants alongside a cluster of bars on Mian Deng Jing (棉登径).

What to look for

• The waterfront frames the towers and hills of Hong Kong Island across Victoria Harbour.
• The Clock Tower and nearby cultural buildings create a distinct landmark group beside Salisbury Road.

Location & getting there

Getting to Tsim Sha Tsui

Use Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station for Nathan Road or the connected East Tsim Sha Tsui station for the waterfront side. Salisbury Road and the Clock Tower provide a clear starting point; the Star Ferry also arrives at the western end of this waterfront.