1881 Heritage
1881 Heritage
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The area
Neighborhood: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tsim Sha Tsui is one of the major tourist and shopping areas of Hong Kong. With a high concentration of hotels, retail shops and commercial offices – it’s a busy and bustling neighborhood that never sleeps. On the surface, Tsim Sha Tsui seems to only feature an abundant number of high-end retail stores selling designer brands and jewelry, owing to its popularity with high-budget shopping tours. However, it also contains a diverse range of attractions for the entire family. Whether taking a walk in Kowloon Park, exploring museums, going shopping or grabbing a bite to eat – Tsim Sha Tsui has something for everyone.
How to get there
- Tsim Sha Tsui • 5 min walk
- East Tsim Sha Tsui • 6 min walk
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
475 reviews
Excellent
145
Very good
233
Average
85
Poor
7
Terrible
5
Cartertravels15
Alton, UK196 contributions
Dec 2019
We stopped off here with our son for a coffee.Very clean and quiet about 11 in the morning in early December.Beautiful architecture.We went to a local cafe and enjoyed perfect but expensive macarons in different flavours.Delicious.Nice to sit outside relax and watch the few people we saw going past.Expensive designer shops too
Written January 28, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Edmark M
6 contributions
Dec 2022
This place is so nice. Very lovely. Perfect place to chill and relax. Just watching people passing by. Lots of view to get you mesmerize. Taking pic on a big golden Christmas tree; you need to fall in line. This is one of the best places I have visited in Hong Kong.
Written February 8, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mairwen1
United Kingdom9,314 contributions
Jan 2021
For over 100 years, this colonial building was the Headquarters for Hong Kong’s Marine Police. Following a glamorous make-over, it now houses a hotel, high tea in the Heritage Parlour and a small number of luxury shops, high-end restaurants and bars.
Built in 1884, the main building included a stable block and signal house, all of which have been retained. The original doors on the stables have even been preserved.
As you wander through, there are signs highlighting historical points of interest. The carrier pigeon houses caught my eye. They hark back to the pre-mobile phone days when communication relied on wrapping a hand-written message in a tiny capsule, strapping it to a pigeon’s leg, setting it free and then sitting back and waiting for its return.
Similarly, the Ball Tower used a simple but bygone method of time-keeping. A ball was mounted on a pole and at 1pm sharp every day, the ball dropped. The ships in the harbour kept a sharp eye on it and as soon as it dropped, they could re-set their chronometers to the correct time. Nowadays you can’t see the Ball Tower from the harbour at all. At the time, the tower and main building stood on the waterfront but aggressive land reclamation has pushed the shoreline a long way back.
'1881 Heritage' is an easy spot to visit because it is only a couple of minutes walk from the Star Ferry.
Built in 1884, the main building included a stable block and signal house, all of which have been retained. The original doors on the stables have even been preserved.
As you wander through, there are signs highlighting historical points of interest. The carrier pigeon houses caught my eye. They hark back to the pre-mobile phone days when communication relied on wrapping a hand-written message in a tiny capsule, strapping it to a pigeon’s leg, setting it free and then sitting back and waiting for its return.
Similarly, the Ball Tower used a simple but bygone method of time-keeping. A ball was mounted on a pole and at 1pm sharp every day, the ball dropped. The ships in the harbour kept a sharp eye on it and as soon as it dropped, they could re-set their chronometers to the correct time. Nowadays you can’t see the Ball Tower from the harbour at all. At the time, the tower and main building stood on the waterfront but aggressive land reclamation has pushed the shoreline a long way back.
'1881 Heritage' is an easy spot to visit because it is only a couple of minutes walk from the Star Ferry.
Written June 12, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Matz🇭🇰🇱🇰🇻🇳🇲🇴🇦🇺🇸🇽🇺🇸🇪🇸🇲🇲
Hong Kong, China1,238 contributions
Jul 2018 • Friends
It’s a grand place for shoppers
But the landscape is beautiful
Many things to watch related to HK history
Canons, guns and view point
The buildings are colonial and still has the grand look
Park is beautiful but can be very crowded on weekends
Few restaurants and shopping
Expensive as it doesn’t cater to Normal people
But the landscape is beautiful
Many things to watch related to HK history
Canons, guns and view point
The buildings are colonial and still has the grand look
Park is beautiful but can be very crowded on weekends
Few restaurants and shopping
Expensive as it doesn’t cater to Normal people
Written October 20, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CanuckHK
Hong Kong, China27 contributions
Dec 2011 • Friends
Went to Hong Kong with friends and were curious about several heritage sites. It was a disappointment; the whole site has been turned into a high end shopping mall. It looks more like a modern mall made to look like a heritage site. There is a lot of structural add on’s to the site that distracts you from any feeling that there was any historical significance to this site. If you want to see Hong Kong heritage and historical sites, better follow the Wanchai Heritage trail instead, it was a lot more interesting.
Written January 4, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BradJill
Hong Kong, China159,127 contributions
Dec 2012 • Couples
1881 Heritage is an outdoor, cultural and shopping landmark in Tsim Sha Tsui that offers visitors a unique experience of looking into Hong Kong's history while being able to enjoy some luxury brand shopping.
We usually save our visits to 1881 Heritage for the Christmas periods and have enjoyed seeing their nice outdoor decorations over the past three seasons. 1881 heritage participates in the annual Hong Kong WinterFest Programme, sponsored by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, and they put up some of the very best decorations in the city each year.
This year the 1881 Heritage Christmas decorations feature the 10 meter high Christmas tree, similar to the past two years. However, there is a giant teddy bear which sits next to the tree that is nice, really makes you wish we had colder 'proper' winter weather during the Christmas season. Several additional bears are located within the 1881 Heritage grounds, which occupy three staged levels. These are easy to find and are worthy of a few pictures. However, it is worth saving some camera battery and memory card space for pictures from the front entrance of 1881 Heritage, near Salisbury Road. Here you find the beautiful, colonial era scene, with the Heritage Hotel serving as a backdrop for the shopping arcade area and the nice Christmas decorations in the foreground.
While we don't normally shop at 1881 Heritage, we do enjoy what they have done with this historic landmark, which served as the Marine Police Headquarters for over 100 years, between 1881 and 1996 and offer recommendation for a quick walk around, especially at night time as they make quite good use of lighting to illuminate the entire building compound and especially during the WinterFest Programme, which generally takes place each year from the third week of November until early January.
We usually save our visits to 1881 Heritage for the Christmas periods and have enjoyed seeing their nice outdoor decorations over the past three seasons. 1881 heritage participates in the annual Hong Kong WinterFest Programme, sponsored by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, and they put up some of the very best decorations in the city each year.
This year the 1881 Heritage Christmas decorations feature the 10 meter high Christmas tree, similar to the past two years. However, there is a giant teddy bear which sits next to the tree that is nice, really makes you wish we had colder 'proper' winter weather during the Christmas season. Several additional bears are located within the 1881 Heritage grounds, which occupy three staged levels. These are easy to find and are worthy of a few pictures. However, it is worth saving some camera battery and memory card space for pictures from the front entrance of 1881 Heritage, near Salisbury Road. Here you find the beautiful, colonial era scene, with the Heritage Hotel serving as a backdrop for the shopping arcade area and the nice Christmas decorations in the foreground.
While we don't normally shop at 1881 Heritage, we do enjoy what they have done with this historic landmark, which served as the Marine Police Headquarters for over 100 years, between 1881 and 1996 and offer recommendation for a quick walk around, especially at night time as they make quite good use of lighting to illuminate the entire building compound and especially during the WinterFest Programme, which generally takes place each year from the third week of November until early January.
Written January 17, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thangam M
Chennai1,466 contributions
Mar 2012 • Family
1881 Heritage was the headquarters of the Hong Kong Marine Police for over a century, and continued to be so until about 15 years ago. Located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, it was built in 1884 and has now been officially christened as 1881 Heritage. It is a very stately, handsome building with a striking Victorian facade in line with its rich colonial past.
Today, its shopping arcade is home to an impressive range of luxury brands. A heritage hotel is also part of the complex. A quick tour of the retail space at 1881 Heritage establishes that the people of Hong Kong love the big brands & are bulge bracket spenders - owning prestige brands is apparently a key measure of success. The stores are a combination of eastern and western brands ranging from Shanghai Tang to the extremely European IWC Schaffhausen.
Apart from the magnificent buildings and green lawns, the grounds of 1881 Heritage feature various props such as carriages and other installations which provide a host of photo opportunities that seem very popular with young couples - we saw at least three newly wed couples being photographed at different locations on the 1881 Heritage grounds while we were there.
However for the more committed, interested traveller, 1881 Heritage also offers an important slice of Hong Kong history.
- Among the oldest government buildings in existence, the buildings here have been officially declared as monuments by the government.
- Apart from the main building with its imposing facade, there is also a domed Time Ball Tower where the tradition of dropping the time ball at 1pm still continues.
- Adjacent to the Time Ball Tower is the Typhoon Mast, where in years past, signals used to be raised manually during typhoons to guide vessels approaching Victoria Harbour.
- A Noon Day Gun mounted in front of the main building is a favourite photo spot it seems.
- We are told that during the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong during World War II, this building was commandeered by the Japanese Navy to serve as their operational base.
- Though it does not seem to attract too much attention, there is an absolutely magnificent vintage fire engine on display at one side of the 1881 Heritage complex - possibly a throwback to the old Kowloon Fire Station which we are told was also located in this area.
Apart from the visual feast that it offers during the day, don't miss seeing 1881 Heritage at night - beautifully lit, it looks straight out of the pages of a fairy tale!
Today, its shopping arcade is home to an impressive range of luxury brands. A heritage hotel is also part of the complex. A quick tour of the retail space at 1881 Heritage establishes that the people of Hong Kong love the big brands & are bulge bracket spenders - owning prestige brands is apparently a key measure of success. The stores are a combination of eastern and western brands ranging from Shanghai Tang to the extremely European IWC Schaffhausen.
Apart from the magnificent buildings and green lawns, the grounds of 1881 Heritage feature various props such as carriages and other installations which provide a host of photo opportunities that seem very popular with young couples - we saw at least three newly wed couples being photographed at different locations on the 1881 Heritage grounds while we were there.
However for the more committed, interested traveller, 1881 Heritage also offers an important slice of Hong Kong history.
- Among the oldest government buildings in existence, the buildings here have been officially declared as monuments by the government.
- Apart from the main building with its imposing facade, there is also a domed Time Ball Tower where the tradition of dropping the time ball at 1pm still continues.
- Adjacent to the Time Ball Tower is the Typhoon Mast, where in years past, signals used to be raised manually during typhoons to guide vessels approaching Victoria Harbour.
- A Noon Day Gun mounted in front of the main building is a favourite photo spot it seems.
- We are told that during the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong during World War II, this building was commandeered by the Japanese Navy to serve as their operational base.
- Though it does not seem to attract too much attention, there is an absolutely magnificent vintage fire engine on display at one side of the 1881 Heritage complex - possibly a throwback to the old Kowloon Fire Station which we are told was also located in this area.
Apart from the visual feast that it offers during the day, don't miss seeing 1881 Heritage at night - beautifully lit, it looks straight out of the pages of a fairy tale!
Written May 27, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LouTassie
Guangzhou, China676 contributions
Dec 2018 • Couples
We visited 1881 on several occasions now, always accommodating to the seasonal changes that come. On this occasion, the theme was Christmas, being Christmas ever and surrounding days. The crowds were beyond words. Not fun for those with strollers.
The lights were typical of 1881 and simply amazing.
The lights were typical of 1881 and simply amazing.
Written December 29, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sebastian-HongKong
443 contributions
Apr 2017 • Solo
1881 Heritage is the location of the former headquarters of the Hong Kong Marine Police and its building has been tastefully renovated. Several other buildings have also been preserved and made tourist friendly as well as a shopping mall, a hotel, and an exhibition hall.
Of note is that during the restoration of the area the entre building was underpinned and then rotated 90 degrees into its current position.
One particularly interesting historical building on the site is the Time Ball Tower which provided a way for sea faring ships to synchronize their chronometers to local time. The ball mounted on top of the tower was raised manually every morning and was dropped at 1pm every day. Also in the same location one can see the old typhoon signals that were manually raised to warn both the local population and ships in the harbor.
Other historical features of note are the Former Fire Station and Stable Blocks and there is an old fire engine on site too.
Getting to the site is very easy as it is right next to the Star Ferry Pier, bus terminus, and Harbor City. It is only a five minute walk from Tsim Sha Tsui station and there are underground walkways from the station that take you directly to the site.
Of note is that during the restoration of the area the entre building was underpinned and then rotated 90 degrees into its current position.
One particularly interesting historical building on the site is the Time Ball Tower which provided a way for sea faring ships to synchronize their chronometers to local time. The ball mounted on top of the tower was raised manually every morning and was dropped at 1pm every day. Also in the same location one can see the old typhoon signals that were manually raised to warn both the local population and ships in the harbor.
Other historical features of note are the Former Fire Station and Stable Blocks and there is an old fire engine on site too.
Getting to the site is very easy as it is right next to the Star Ferry Pier, bus terminus, and Harbor City. It is only a five minute walk from Tsim Sha Tsui station and there are underground walkways from the station that take you directly to the site.
Written April 6, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ming W
Singapore, Singapore441 contributions
Apr 2013 • Couples
I guess this place used to house lots of really meaningful buildings and actually boasted a proud heritage -that is all but lost now. There's nothing much to see here, just a bunch of shopping places. There's no atmosphere here either, be it cultural or commercial. It just felt like a manicured shadow of its probably glorious past. Still, some of the buildings make for nice photo backdrops, so stop by if you're in the area.
Written December 3, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
earlgreyimperial
Tokyo, Japan35 contributions
Is this place mostly wheelchair accessible? 車椅子で大体回れますか？
Koe
Hong Kong, China29 contributions
Hello, yes, there are lifts and most areas are accessible by lifts.
CC
London, UK25 contributions
Attracted by the building and know a little bit history of it, so we went to have a look. There are shops of luxury brands and restaurant on the top. We wanted to go up to see, a rather rude receptionist at the entrance of the restaurants asked if we have reservation. There are a few restaurants and cafes there, I wanted to see which one I want to have my meal. She spoke Cantonese to us, as we are Chinese look, but when we spoke English to her, her attitude changed. But nothing special about those restaurants, can go anywhere for the same food!
ThomasArabia
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates772 contributions
so whats the question ?
:-))
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Claim your listing1881 Heritage - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
Frequently Asked Questions about 1881 Heritage
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1881 Heritage Information
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