A Walk in Happy Valley

Early city planners in Hong Kong identified a district known as “Happy Valley” to be developed into Hong Kong’s main business district. The land was a swampy marshland, but with its prime location, developers were enthusiastic about conquering nature to make a profit. What the planners and developers failed to consider was the deadly nature of malaria, which was prevalent at the time. Those who chose to occupy homes in Happy Valley soon got ill from fever and many died. The plan to turn Happy Valley into the city center was quickly abandoned; the land was then laid out for cemeteries and a race track.

We pass through Happy Valley on our way to what actually did become “Central” Hong Kong. The hillsides are covered with graveyards, set up in stair-step fashion like the rice terraces we saw near Yangshuo, China. We recently decided to take a closer look at this unusual part of Hong Kong.

We started our walk at a Sikh Temple, which has architecture unlike any of the surrounding buildings. It is hard to capture in a photo as it is built into the ground, with an open courtyard below street level.

We walked down the hill to St. Michael’s Catholic Cemetery. It is the most visible from the highway overpass. There were many beautiful sculptures there, but due to the proximity to the highway, most were covered with a layer of grime.

Next was a Muslim Cemetery. The stones were much simpler and many are written in Arabic script.

The well-hidden Hong Kong Cemetery was perhaps the most interesting from a historic perspective. It was garden-like with a canopy of old trees.

Here there were many monuments to various army regiments and naval detachments that suffered losses due to military action, pirates, or tropical diseases.

Reading the inscriptions on these gravestones provided a captivating history lesson. It also reminded me that those who came before us in Hong Kong faced severe hardships and danger while far away from home; what we “suffer” are comparatively minor inconveniences.

Down the road next to a Hindu temple is a Parsee Cemetery. Parsees were Indian merchants who followed the British to China. We were actually a bit confused when we entered this cemetery as it appeared that a bustling landscaping business had set up shop along the walking paths!

We followed the sidewalk past the horse racing tracks to the Jewish cemetery, but found it closed for the Sabbath. Adjacent to it was very traditional Chinese building that once functioned as a Buddhist temple, but now is a local school.

We turned the corner to the end point of our walk at St. Margaret’s Church, which is adjoins a building inscribed “Le Calvaire” and formerly functioned as an orphanage run by French nuns.

While our walk may seem a strange way to spend a few hours, we thought it fascinating and well worth our time. Looking at names and stories represented on the gravestones, and passing by many different places of worship, reminded us that Hong Kong has a long history of being a place with people of all faiths from around the world. It seems that some things in Hong Kong haven’t changed!