Discover Kowloon’s Art Deco treasures on & around Kadoorie Hill as well as the local markets with my new Voicemap GPS audio walk

Posted: January 17th, 2026 | No Comments »

VoiceMap is a GPS-enabled audio tour app that provides self-guided walking, cycling, driving, and boat tours in hundreds of locations worldwide, created by local storytellers like journalists and historians. It uses your phone’s GPS to automatically play relevant audio stories and directions at the right time and place, allowing you to explore at your own pace, pause as needed, and even use tours offline or virtually at home. 

My new Voicemap tour is Kowloon Tong: Art Deco and Hidden Heritage in Hong Kong. To download the tour and more information click here…

On this walking tour, you’ll discover some of the most impressive yet overlooked Art Deco and Modernist structures near Hong Kong’s vibrant local markets. From villas commissioned by wealthy merchants to modernist apartment buildings, schools, and churches, you’ll see how avant-garde architectural trends reached this corner of the British Empire during a crucial period of its development in the 1900s.

The tour starts at Mary Knoll Convent School on Waterloo Road, with its fascinating blend of Art Deco and Gothic Revival styles. You’ll weave past the startlingly modern St. Teresa’s and see what is perhaps Hong Kong’s finest Art Deco treasure on Prince Edward Road West.

You’ll ascend Kadoorie Hill and the Braga Circuit to find an often overlooked enclave of Art Deco villas. Each property features distinctive architectural elements like wraparound balconies, curved edges, and nautical motifs.

The tour ends at Mong Kok East MTR Station, where working-class hustle-and-bustle contrasts with the exclusive residences of Kadoorie Hill.

On this 90-minute tour, you’ll also have a chance to:

• Appreciate the detailed Art Deco wave patterns and cantilevered balconies of Prince Edward Road West’s meticulously restored apartments
• Walk through Yuen Po Bird Market, where songbird enthusiasts still gather to socialise and compare their prized avian companions
• Find out how the evolution of the Garden Cities Movement and the international style of Art Deco in Kowloon Tong influenced Kowloon’s architecture
• Explore the once-significant Boundary Street, which formerly marked the border between British-controlled Kowloon and Qing Dynasty territory
• Discover the Braga Circuit, a mews-like street named after prominent Macanese businessman José Braga
• Admire Kadoorie Hill’s luxurious villas featuring Streamlined Moderne styling with high ceilings, Crittall windows, and curved edges
• Visit St. Teresa’s Roman Catholic Church, an intriguing blend of Romanesque architecture and Art Deco influences
• Browse the vibrant Mong Kok Flower Market, a glimpse of traditional Hong Kong culture that persists amid rapid urbanisation.

This tour is a rare opportunity to explore an overlooked architectural enclave that survived Hong Kong’s development frenzy. By the end, you’ll have a sense of how European design sensibilities were adapted to the tropical climate of this dynamic colonial port city.

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