Lugard Road
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Lugard Road (traditional Chinese: 盧吉道; simplified Chinese: 卢吉道; pinyin: Lújí Dào; Cantonese Yale: lou4 gat1 dou6) is one of Hong Kong's most splendid walks. It has been a prime walking spot for generations. The road is semi-circular and links with Harlech Road to surround the Victoria Peak. It is a very popular walking path because of its view, tranquility and because it is completely impossible to get lost; just keep on walking and eventually you'll get back to the Peak Tram station. Recent shotcreting efforts have blighted some once pleasant sections, but for the most part the views are still stunning in every direction.
Too narrow in most places to really be a road, for much of its length Lugard Road is more like a path winding past stands of wild banana, fragrant flowering creepers and all sorts of tropical vegetation. Densely shaded for most of its length, Lugard Road enjoys stunning vistas of the harbor, distant islands and densely packed city beneath. This is a place to come to when you need to put the jostling crowds and packed streets below into their proper context. As seen from here, most of the surrounding countryside is made up of extensive green hills with few buildings, an aspect of Hong Kong Island all too easily forgotten a couple of hundred meters further below.
While there are a number of houses at various points along its length, Lugard Road — perhaps surprisingly given its majestic harbour and island views — is not one of the Peak's more sought-after residential addresses. The road is too narrow for cars to pass in most places, the cliffsides for much of its length are too steep to build anything on, and the houses scattered along its length are often considered remote and difficult to access.
[edit] Name
Many roads in Hong Kong recall former governors, colonial secretaries and commanding generals and this one, named after Sir Frederick Lugard, governor from 1907-12 is no exception. Hong Kong formed a brief Far Eastern interregnum in Lugard's career as a long and distinguished African administrator, and he is best remembered today for the creation of Nigeria. Along with his wife, the well-known journalist Flora Shaw, Lugard was also instrumental in establishing the University of Hong Kong.
[edit] See also
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