If you're a kid or a kid at heart, you'll love Ocean Park, a combination marine park and amusement center. Situated along a dramatic rocky coastline on the island's southern shore, the park is divided into two areas: a "lowland" and a "headland," connected by cable car and escalator. Because of the wide range of attractions, Ocean Park is interesting for children and adults alike. Facilities are first class, and Ocean Park is Asia's first accredited member of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.
The lowland is subdivided into several areas and attractions. The most popular residents of Ocean Park are An An and Jia Jia, a pair of pandas presented as gifts from China. Aimed at youngsters are the Dinosaur Discovery Trail, with 17 lifelike models of dinosaurs (the tyrannosaurus may be too scary for toddlers), and Kids' World, with its kiddie rides, playgrounds, remote-control cars and boats, shows geared toward children, and shooting-games arcade. Educational tours are given at Dolphin University (only one tour a day in English, however), where the audience can watch the training of dolphins at close range. Film Fantasia is a 100-seat theater with hydraulically actuated seats that move in time to the fast-paced action on the screen, kind of like riding a roller coaster without actually going anywhere but visually much more stimulating (participants must be at least 1.2m/4 ft. tall). Much gentler are walks through the magical Butterfly House (shaped, interestingly enough, like a caterpillar) with hundreds of free-flying butterflies, and, my favorite, the Golden Pagoda set in a lush garden, with more varieties of goldfish than you ever imagined possible, most of them from China. The pompommed fish, for example, have large pompomlike growths on their heads, while the bubble eyes, with huge bubbles under their eyes, are too bizarre for words.
From the lowland, visitors board cable cars for a spectacular 8-minute ride over a hill to the headland, while being treated to great views of the coastline and the South China Sea along the way. The headland area, situated on a peninsula that juts into the sea, is also subdivided into several areas and attractions. The marine life section includes an artificial wave cove that is home to sea lions; an aquarium housing more than 1,000 jellyfish and complete with theatrical lighting, multimedia sound, and visual special effects; and a tank with more than 200 sharks and rays representing more than 30 species, viewed from an underwater tunnel. Ocean Theatre features shows by talented dolphins, sea lions, and a killer whale. But my favorite is the Atoll Reef, one of the world's largest aquariums, with 2,600 fish of 200 different species. The observation passageway circles the aquarium on four levels, enabling you to view the sea life -- everything from giant octopi to schools of tropical fish -- from various depths and from different angles. There are also thrill rides, including a Ferris wheel, a roller coaster that turns upside down three times, another roller coaster that follows a Wild West theme, and a rather wet ride on a "raging river." Other exhibits include a Japanese Garden; a 69m-high (226 ft.) Ocean Park Tower offering revolving, panoramic views of Aberdeen and outlying islands; and an aviary with more than 2,000 birds.
After touring the headland, you can take the long escalator down to the Tai Shue Wan Entrance, from which it's a short taxi ride to Aberdeen with its sampan rides and floating restaurant. At any rate, to do Ocean Park justice, plan on spending a minimum of 4 hours here.
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| Hours | Daily 10am-6pm | |
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| Location | Aberdeen, Hong Kong Island | |
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| Transportation | Bus: Ocean Park Citybus 629 from the Admiralty MTR station every 10 to 20 min.; you can buy round-trip tickets that include park admission. Or take 70 from Exchange Square in Central or 72 from Causeway Bay (get off at the 1st stop after the tunnel and then walk 20 min.) | |
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| Phone | 852/2552 0291 | |
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| Web site | www.oceanpark.com.hk | |
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| Prices | Admission HK$185 (US$24/£13) adults, HK$93 (US$12/£6.65) children | |