Cheung Chau Island.Hong Kong.

10 kilometers (approx. 6.2 miles) southwest of Hong Kong Island lays the Cheung Chau Island. Although it is only a small area, it has a comparatively large population of more than 20,000 people. The residents live mainly in the middle part of the island where the land is low. Because this little island is shaped like a dumbbell - large at its two ends and narrower in the middle - it is also named 'Dumbbell Island'. Cheung Chau Island has been a fishing village since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). All day long the ports are busy with the comings and goings of the fishing boats. In the evening, the port is awash with the soft light of the setting sun. Wherever you look, day or night, you are seeing a beautiful picture. The island is peaceful and moves calmly through each day, providing tourists a pleasant place to escape from the hustle and bustle of city-life.