⇨ Tai Tam Waterworks Heritage Trail
Of the 41 historic waterworks structures declared by the Hong Kong Antiques Authority as monuments, 21 are located within the Tai Tam group of reservoirs. This group includes Tai Tam Upper, Byewash, Intermediate, and Tai Tam Tuk Reservoirs, along with various dams, pumping stations, valve houses, aqueducts, and bridges.
From Exchange Square in Central, get bus 6, 63, or 66 towards Stanley, and alight at the Wong Nai Chung Reservoir Park stop. Walk a little ways along the road, past the Hong Kong Cricket Club, until you reach the Sinopec petrol station, where there will be a little flight of stairs taking you up to Tai Tam Reservoir Road.
This is the toughest part of the walk as you’ll be making your way consistently uphill until you reach Parkview. If you choose to drive, know that there is metered parking towards the end of Tai Tam Reservoir Road, but spaces are very limited. Failing that, you’ll need to park in Parkview itself, which is expensive to say the least. The start of the trail is straight up the road past Parkview’s main entrance.
The Upper Reservoir Masonry Bridge and Aqueduct are both built between 1883 and 1888, with moulded corbels and columns. Eventually, you’ll reach the Upper Reservoir Dam, an imposing structure with granite walls 100 feet high, 400 feet long, and 60 feet wide. From the dam, water travels through a 2.2-metre-long tunnel through the surrounding mountains and down to Central.
After making your way past the Byewash and Intermediate Reservoirs, you’ll soon come across the Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir Masonry Bridge, one of four masonry bridges along the reservoir’s western shore. The most famous landmark along the trail is likely the Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir Dam, with its ornamental parapets. Built above the spillways is a road supported by 12 arches and granite columns, part of the busy road running from Stanley to Chai Wan.
Finally, the last landmark is the Tai Tam Tuk Raw Water Pumping Station, constructed to pump water from this catchment to the tunnel inlet in the middle of the hill. The warehouse has a red-brick exterior and Chinese tiled pitched roofs. The trail ends on the scenic shore of Tai Tam Bay. This country park has quite a few barbecue spots along the way, so do consider packing some food.