The best walking guide in Sheung Wan & Central

Hong Kong has a lot of historical sites, a few of them are located in Sheung Wan and Central. In this post, I put together a walking guide, showing how these places can be visited on foot. Although Sheung Wan and Central are two separate train stations on the MTR map, the locations of these places are quite near to each other. Depending on the time spent at each place, this walking guide can be a half-day itinerary or a whole itinerary. Nevertheless, there will be a lot of walking and some parts of the route include stairs and steep roads.

Sheung Wan/Central Walking Guide

The walking guide covers seven places: Man Mo Temple, Cat Street, Tai Ping Shan Street, PMQ, Dr. Sun Yat Sen Museum, Tai Kwun, and Central Market. Of course, you can skip any or adjust your schedule.

This is an overview of the route of this walking guide.

I recommend starting the walking guide at Man Mo Temple, as it tends to get crowded in the afternoon due to many group tours visiting. However, you could also begin at Central Market and then take the Mid-Levels Escalator to Tai Kwun, and continue from there.

This post will focus on the ideal route. Start your day by taking bus 26 to Man Mo Temple, as there is a bus stop conveniently located right in front of the temple. Alternatively, if you prefer the MTR, you can reach Man Mo Temple by taking a train to Sheung Wan Station.

After visiting the Man Mo Temple, you can cross the street and walk to Cat Street. Although it’s commonly referred to as Cat Street, the official name is “Upper Lascar Row.” While you won’t find any cats here, you will discover a wide variety of antiques. If antiques aren’t your interest, you can also explore the nearby alleys, where you’ll find beautiful mural art hidden throughout Sheung Wan. You can read more about it here.

Tai Ping Shan Street is just 3 minutes away from Upper Lascar Row. When you reach the end of Upper Lascar Row, turn left to return to Hollywood Road. Once you’re back on Hollywood Road, turn right and continue walking. You’ll find the Upper Station Street across the road. This street will lead you to Tai Ping Shan Street.

There are indeed a lot of hidden gems in this area, so take the time to explore. You might find some interesting graffiti art along the way. The graffiti arts changes now and then. Hence, bringing a new experience every time you visit. Once you are done exploring the area, keep walking on Bridges Street. Then, you will arrive at Staunton Street, which is where our next destination, PMQ, is located.

Next, our next destination is Dr. Sun Yat Sen Museum. From the map, you can see that the museum is just a short walking distance from PMQ. However, Aberdeen Street is quite steep, it is about 5-8 minutes walk uphill. So, if you want to skip the museum, you can walk along Hollywood Road and go to Tai Kwun instead.

We are almost at the end of this walking guide. Next is Tai Kwun, which is located at Hollywood Road. So, from Dr. Sun Yat Sen Museum, we have to walk along Caine Road and turn left onto Shelley Street until we return to Hollywood Road. You can refer to the images below to guide you back to Hollywood Road.

While on our way to Hollywood Road, we will pass by a bakery named “Bakehouse” in Staunton Street. Because it is a famous bakery, there is always a line in front of the bakery. So grab some of its Portuguese egg tarts if the line is not too long.

Finally, after exploring Tai Kwun, find the footbridge gate that is the entrance of mid-level escalators. Because mid-level escalators only operate downhill in the morning (6 am to 10 am), so you’ll have to take the stairs. But don’t worry the steps are not steep. At the end of the mid-level escalator, you will find yourself on the second floor of the Central Market.

Finally, you’ve reached the end of the walking guide. Hope you had fun exploring Sheung Wan and Central on foot and I hope you find this information useful. If you need tips on planning your trip to Hong Kong, you can read about it here.

Hong Kong Essentials

If this is your first time visiting Hong Kong, consider these travel essentials.

*Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click on the link and purchase an item, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

Octopus Card

The Octopus Card is a must-have when traveling to Hong Kong. It makes getting around the city much more convenient. If you don’t already have one, you can purchase it online in advance and pick it up at Hong Kong International Airport.

Airalo eSim

Staying connected with loved ones while traveling is important. I used to buy physical local SIM cards, but it became a hassle to switch them out, and I often lost them when I returned home from my trips. However, using Airalo eSIM has changed everything for me. It’s easy to manage data plans and top up whenever I need to, all within the app. One downside is that not all phones support eSIMs, so be sure to check if your phone is compatible before purchasing one. I highly recommend Airalo; I used it during my trip to the United States, and it was fast and convenient.