Clock Tower - Last Call for the Kowloon Terminus

Photo: Mk2010, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Hong Kong: Star Ferry to the Peak, a free self-guided tour.

You are standing beside the last surviving piece of a grand railway station. This red-brick and granite tower was finished in 1915 as part of the Kowloon terminus of the Kowloon-Canton Railway, the line that linked this waterfront with Guangzhou. For decades, passengers stepped off long-distance trains here and walked a few paces to the ferry.

When the station moved to Hung Hom in 1975, the old terminus was demolished, but the tower was kept as a compromise after a public campaign, and in 1990 it became a declared monument. Look up at the four clock faces. The clock began running in 1921, and during the Japanese occupation in World War II the whole tower was painted camouflage grey. Its bell fell silent for about 70 years before chiming again in 2021.

Behind you is the Star Ferry pier, where you will board later. First, walk east along the water to the Avenue of Stars.

Getting here: Start on the waterfront at the tip of Tsim Sha Tsui, next to the Star Ferry pier. From Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station, follow the signs for the Star Ferry; it is a short walk.

Did you know?: The tower's clock was reused from the Pedder Street Clock Tower, an older landmark in Central that had been demolished.

Photo op: Stand on the plaza on the landward side of the tower and frame it with the Hong Kong Island skyline rising across the harbor behind it.

More on Wikipedia: Clock Tower, Hong Kong · Kowloon-Canton Railway · Japanese occupation of Hong Kong

Clock Tower - Last Call for the Kowloon Terminus

Stops on this tour