| Objective: Sailing the last junk in Hong Kong Location: Victoria Harbour Name: Dukling Type: Junk (three masts) Length: 70 feet Weight: 50 tons Passengers: 30 |
Sail the waters of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong in a relic from the past. Imagine how the harbor must have looked when it was full of sailing junks. In this maritime world, fishermen and their families once lived on boats. See HK’s modern skyline from the last junk in Hong Kong.
| What Is a Junk? | Dukling | Victoria Harbour Cruise | Plan Your Visit | Video Tour |
What Is a Junk?
We’re not talking about junk in the trunk. A junk is a Chinese sailing ship with fully battened sails. Each sail has horizontal panels between bamboo slats (battens). This aids aerodynamics for greater control of the sail in different wind conditions. Sailing junks and their red sails were once widespread throughout Hong Kong’s fragrant harbor, islands, and the Pearl River Delta.
Dukling
Dukling is Hong Kong’s last authentic junk. Built in Macau in 1955, it served the fishing and shrimping industries in Victoria Harbour. After a stint as a recreational boat, it sank during a typhoon in 2014, and currently takes visitors on tours. When I worked in Hong Kong in 2008, sailing on the Dukling was free and only for overseas visitors. The 45-minute tour is now up to HKD$290 and open to local HK residents.
Victoria Harbour Cruise
Boarding is from the Kowloon side in Tsim Sha Tsui East. You watch the junk as it arrives at the dock with baskets protecting the side of the boat. The cruise makes a loop in Victoria Harbour from Central to Causeway Bay and back.
After departing, the crew raises three red sails high. Dukling sails under HK Island’s landmarks. Sail past Two ifc (giant razor) and Bank of China, then coast by the wings of the HK Convention Centre. The junk has a noticeable rocking motion from bow to stern. This is what it must’ve been like to sail in the harbor back when skyscrapers did not cover the hills.
Plan Your Visit
| Vendor: dukling.com.hk Where: Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui When: 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday Duration: 45 minutes Price: HKD$290 |
Video Tour: Sailing the Last Junk in Hong Kong
