# Meet the Man Who Has Climbed Every Peak and Set Foot on Every Island in Hong Kong > Photographer Simon Wan has climbed every peak and visited every island in Hong Kong. Here's the story of his twenty-year adventure and what comes next. - URL: https://langandtrip.com.ua/en/article/poznakomtes-s-chelovekom-kotori-vzobralsia-na-kazhduiu-vershynu-y-pobval-na-kazhdom-ostrove-honkonha/ - Language: en - Published: 2025-12-31 - Categories: Hiking, Leisure, Mountains, Tours, China, Mountain --- Surrounded by photographs, maps and stacks of other documents, 45-year-old photographer Simon Wan Chi-Chung is mapping out his next big adventure in Hong Kong. This is no weekend getaway. He plans to summit every peak in Hong Kong, all in one trip. And it won't be his first attempt. He has already tried several times over the past two decades. There is no single, definitive list of exactly how many peaks Hong Kong has. So Wan built his own route from a mix of sources, along with his own study of Hong Kong's official topographic maps. By unofficial counts, Hong Kong has anywhere from 121 to 161 peaks rising above 300 metres, spread across dozens of mountain ranges. By Wan's own reckoning, there are 148 hills to climb. He set out on his first attempt to visit them all in 2003. But on day nine, standing atop the 522-metre Needle Hill, he was battling a sprained ankle, an injury from day two, and phoned a friend, a doctor, to come and help him. His condition didn't improve, though. The extra days of hiking and camping only made the ankle hurt more. "I was young and cocky, wanting to prove I could do it all, and I ended up hurting myself," Wan says. ![](https://test.langandtrip.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/de_import_uploads/june-article-image-216-1-2025.jpg) But an encounter with another hiker, an elderly man he had met earlier that morning, gave him a fresh perspective. When the two acquaintances reached the summit, they found rolling hills stretching out before them. "This 'day-nine uncle' gasped when he heard about my mission to climb every peak in Hong Kong," Wan recalls. "He handed me his piece of bread and said, 'Young man, you need this more than I do.' He pulled an orange out of his bag and said it again: 'You need this more than I do.' It was such a simple gesture. But I stopped feeling sorry for myself. I let go of my arrogance and felt humbled before the mountains." With a heavy heart and a swollen ankle, he decided to pause the journey. Wan went home to nurse his leg for three weeks, then finished climbing the remaining peaks on his list of 148 a few weeks later. It was one of the most memorable encounters he'd had, and one of the reasons he devoted himself to Hong Kong's natural world. "Up in the hills, people are more likely to strike up a conversation and connect," Wan says. "You don't get that experience in the city. Nature makes people feel comfortable and safe." ## 'Hong Kong is a city hidden inside the wilderness' ![](https://test.langandtrip.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/de_import_uploads/june-article-image-216-2-2025.jpg) Beyond its 148 hills, Hong Kong is also home to more than 100 island groups made up of over 250 separate islands. Wan claims to be one of the few people to have visited every one of them, saying he always wanted to be an explorer. "I looked into how I might make my childhood dream come true and climb Everest. But the deeper I dug, the more I realised how commercialised Everest had become. It was an alternative luxury tourist attraction. It wasn't the Everest of my childhood dream," Wan says during an interview at his studio, The Photocrafters. After spending years studying in the UK, Wan realised he didn't know Hong Kong's own landscape all that well. Then it hit him: "Why not explore every hill in my own backyard? And why not do it all in one go?" With a bivy sack and a film camera, Wan set off on a series of "expeditions." A decade after his first trek across Hong Kong's mountains in 2003, he repeated the journey in 2013. ![](https://test.langandtrip.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/de_import_uploads/june-article-image-216-3-2025.jpg) But this time he was on a tighter schedule, so he decided to tackle only the peaks at least 300 metres high. Covering 26 to 30 kilometres, or 11 to 12 hours a day, he reached 134 summits in 19 days, pitching camp in different parts of Hong Kong along the way. He titled the work from these trips "Post-Urbanisation." Then in 2015 he set out for 107 uninhabited island groups, travelling by canoe, over 11 days. "These were 'hills' too, ones I hadn't climbed," he says. "These days you know a place before you even board the plane. You've booked the hotel, seen the photos online, maybe you even know which restaurants to reserve a table at before you leave home. On these trips I was in places I'd never heard of, and villages I'd never seen. You won't find much information about some of these spots online. "It turns out I don't need to visit Everest or a foreign country to find that thrill and joy of exploration and adventure." ![](https://test.langandtrip.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/de_import_uploads/june-article-image-216-4-2025.jpg) The names of mountains and islands, unfamiliar to most Hong Kong residents, roll off Wan's tongue as he retells stories from his trips. He says he learned the history of Ap Chau, a rocky island in the northeastern part of Hong Kong, during an impromptu tour from an insistent retired villager who found Wan sleeping on a pier one morning. He visited the memorial plaque to Quentin Roosevelt II, grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, on Basalt Island, where Roosevelt died in a plane crash in 1948. It's a piece of the city's history that isn't written in many textbooks. "It may be an old saying, but Hong Kong's nature is unique for how accessible it is," Wan says. "No matter where you are, there's always a hill behind you. You don't need to plan anything or ask for a day off. You can just go on your lunch break. "People say Hong Kong has a lot of wilderness. I say it's the other way around. Hong Kong is a city hidden inside the wilderness." Wan also has plenty of tips for anyone who wants to start exploring Hong Kong's wild spaces. "Whether you're scrambling up to waterfalls or just going for a stroll, there's a route for you," he says with enthusiasm. "Most of the trails are well paved, with signposts and amenities all along the way, so it really is for everyone." For anyone new to hiking, he recommends the Hatton Road trail (Hi West). A stone's throw from the popular Victoria Peak (or The Peak), it offers a quick taste of Hong Kong's natural beauty while sitting right next to the bustling business district. ![](https://test.langandtrip.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/de_import_uploads/june-article-image-216-5-2025.jpg) Lion Rock, meanwhile, on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong, offers "an unbeatable view of Kowloon," with trails suited to every type of hiker. "Sai Kung is stunning, but the Yan Chau Tong Marine Park (in Plover Cove Country Park) is even more beautiful," Wan says. "It's peaceful and less crowded there. Unless you're a keen kayaker, a kaito (a local speedboat) can take you into the area from Ma Liu Shui." ## Nature as an emotional outlet For Wan, capturing the beauty of Hong Kong's natural side is more than just a photography assignment. It's also a way to express his emotions. During a painful divorce in 2011, he says he climbed a different mountain each day he couldn't see his then two-year-old son. "I'd take a photograph facing the direction where he was," Wan says. "Maybe he'd happen to look my way at that very moment. Then we'd be looking at each other. I have one copy of the journey at the Heritage Museum, and I have one copy here for my son, so he'll know I never gave up on him." On his 2013 trek across Hong Kong, as well as his 2015 island journey, he used a Holga, a Hong Kong-made film camera with limited functionality. ![](https://test.langandtrip.com.ua/wp-content/uploads/de_import_uploads/june-article-image-216-6-2025.jpg) "I knew before my trips that the Holga couldn't deliver perfect results," Wan explains. "But I wanted to use the camera as a metaphor for myself. I would be persistent and wouldn't change as an artist. At the same time, I accept that the surroundings were something I couldn't control, so I had to let go." Wan's next expedition into Hong Kong's hills takes place this summer. "I hate summer in Hong Kong. It's humid and hot, and it's typhoon season. But I want to make the journey as challenging and memorable as possible, so I remember deep down just how unique summer in Hong Kong really is," Wan says. "Some people get drunk when they need to pour out their emotions. I head into the mountains through my highs and lows. I don't think there's any difference. I love my home. I love this land. That's why I'm so devoted to this project. I think I'll keep doing it for the rest of my life, if I can."