Repulse Bay

Repulse Bay is the most accessible beach from central Hong Kong, a long crescent of imported sand backed by high-rise apartment blocks on the southern side of the island, with full facilities, lifeguards in season and shark nets offshore. At its eastern end stands the Kwun Yam shrine, a compound crowded with brightly coloured statues of deities and mythical animals, a longevity bridge that is said to add years to those who cross it, and a terrace over the water; it belongs to a rescue association rather than to a temple, and it is unmistakable. Behind the beach, the residential block with a large square hole through its centre is the building visitors photograph.

What you actually see

• The Kwun Yam shrine - crowded coloured statues at the eastern end.
• The longevity bridge - the crossing said to add years.
• A long crescent of imported sand - the most accessible beach from Central.
• The building with a hole through it - the block behind the bay.

When to go

April to October for swimming; the beach is quiet and walkable in winter. Half a day. Summer weekends are extremely crowded and the buses queue.

Honest expectations

The sand is imported and replenished, and the setting is a wall of apartment towers. Summer crowds are heavy and the water gets murky. The shrine is gaudy and busy. Everything nearby is expensive.

Nearby

Stanley is south; Central lies north over the hill.