10 off-the-beaten-track activities to try in Hong Kong

With travel restrictions firmly in place, exploring Hong Kong has become a way of life if not a full-on necessity. Luckily there is plenty to do within the 852 if you’re willing to look! These activities and excursions will feed your mind and keep you busy, at least until the travel bubbles take off. 

Break a sweat at e-sports

As the weather warms up, Hong Kong’s first – and biggest – e-sport stadium offers a nice alternative to real-life, outdoor sports. Spanning 3,400 sqft, AME E-Sports Stadium has plenty to offer under one roof. Try your hand at e-skiing on the US national team, e-rowing through Victoria Harbour, compete in an e-cycling race down Lung Wo Road or have a go in an e-boxing match, complete with a sensor-loaded punching bag. Not only are the games fast-paced and high energy, they’ll definitely challenge your agility, speed and balance so come prepared to get your heart rate up.

Learn more about AME Stadium

Try your hand at glass blowing

Now is a better time than ever to acquire a brand new skill. Why not something as cool as glassblowing? Since 2017, Glazden, an independent glass studio based in Wanchai, has been producing limited edition glassware, sculptures and memorial glass mementos. The studio also provides educational programs, public workshops and group activities to teach various types of glass blowing such as hot sculpting, where you will learn to shape glass to create a glass rose hand, or lampworking, which teaches how to blow air into glass to make a gorgeous cosmic-themed pendant. 

Learn more about Glazden

Glamp under the stars at Ocean Park

Maybe you enjoy the idea of camping but you don’t really want to buy camping equipment you may only use once, much less lug it all the way to the edge of Lantau. Ocean Park offers the best of both worlds with Starry Summit Glamping. Settle into your air-conditioned private tent, complete with a cooler and shower facilities, then partake in a packed programme of day-to-night activities from thrilling rides to getting up close and personal with Ocean Park’s wildlife. MTR-friendly glamping that comes with WiFi? Sounds good by us!

Learn more about Starry Summit Glamping at Ocean Park

Book a brewery tour

If you’re a craft beer lover, you’ll know Hong Kong has a wealth of outstanding breweries providing excellent, innovative local ales. Best of all, the top breweries all provide tours with beer tastings included. From Yardley Brothers to Moonzen Brewery to Young Master Brewery to Carbon Brews, you can’t go wrong with a cold, homegrown brew, made with flavours inspired by our beloved city. 

Learn more about Yardley Brothers, Moonzen Brewery, Young Master Brewery and Carbon Brews

Visit Freida’s garden

Freida’s Club brings together two of the best things about Hong Kong: good food and nature. In collaboration with Perma Club, their highly popular workshops seek to connect individuals through the hospitality and beauty of Mexican culture, through educational experiences such as a cherry jam session, where participants will harvest and make their own cherry jam and jelly, or their Mexican Culinary Experience, where individuals can learn how to prepare and make their favourite Mexican dishes. All activities also include a tour of their farm and the chance to harvest fresh garnishes such as cilantro and nasturtium flowers.

Learn more about Freida Club

Build your own wooden furniture

HK Timberbank is on a mission to repurpose Hong Kong’s fallen timber into beautiful, usable items, such as benches, cutting boards, shelves, coffee tables and more. Their DIY workshop and eco-protection tour shows participants how the tree recycling process works in Hong Kong, how to identify wood varieties and how HK Timberbank was able to recover 300 tonnes of local wood which they are upcycling into functional pieces used around the city. Participants will then be able to hand-select their own wood to make a small coffee table or wooden tray, learning how to oil and polish their very own woodcraft. 

Learn more about HK Timberbank

Disconnect and reconnect in Mui Wo

Reset from the hustle and bustle of city life with an exhilarating Stand-Up Paddle yoga session or a meditative Sound Bath and Aromatherapy workshop facilitated by Breatheasy. This collective of Mui Wo locals and yogis seek to share the serenity and joy of nature, fitness and health through classes that open up the inner self. Embrace both physical and mental wellbeing with one of their classes, deep in the heart of Mui Wo.

Learn more about Breatheasy

Go Blade Runner in Tsim Sha Tsui

Okay, you’ve hiked, biked, shopped and eaten all over Hong Kong. But have you ever defended the planet against alien invaders? Outwitted a zombie horde? Flown a Starfleet Phaser? Featuring cutting-edge motion capture technology and the latest virtual reality hardware, Sandbox VR is arguably the city’s highest quality and most immersive VR experience. Gather six friends or family members to experience the full effect of these insanely interactive games.

Learn more about Sandbox VR

Perfect your penmanship with Kalo Make Art

Whether you’re new to calligraphy or want to brush up on your skills, Kalo Make Art calligraphy studio is a haven for anyone who loves fancy penmanship. Explore the art of calligraphy through three types of workshops: dip pen, brush pen and watercolour, and choose from different specialties such as gold ink, floral and flourish drawing, colour ink or emboss with brush. 

Learn more about Kalo Make Art

Make some buns

You’ve perfect the craft of eating yum cha, how about making it? Home of Hong Kong’s most Insta-worthy dim sum, Yum Cha has made a name for itself with its playful, fun takes on dim sum and now you can learn how to make your tea time favourites. The experts will show you how to make your own hot custard buns, and pork and shrimp siu mai with fresh ingredients, followed by a tasty afternoon dim sum. It’ll make every yum cha from here on out way more enjoyable.

Learn more about Yum Cha

See also: Off the grid: Hong Kong hikes that are worth the trek