People have lived in Tai Po for more than a thousand years, making a living by clamming, pearl harvesting and fishing. Surrounded by lush and fertile valleys, Tai Po eventually became an important market town, and when the British leased the New Territories from Mainland China in 1898, this was where they established their first headquarters.

These days, Tai Po is one of Hong Kong’s most agreeable districts. Home to just over 300,000 people, it’s a greener, more relaxed version of the city, with bicycle tracks, leafy riverside promenades and markets filled with family-run businesses. When the old market town was expanded with new shopping malls and housing estates in the 1970s, urban planners took care to make sure there was abundant greenery and places to linger.

That makes the bustling town centre a fascinating place to wander, with a mix of tranquil parks and thriving street markets. It’s also a good jumping off point for some more rural excursions. To the west, you’ll find the lush Lam Tsuen Valley and the slopes of Tai Mo Shan, Hong Kong’s tallest mountain. To the east, Tolo Harbour is a haven for water sports, flanked by monasteries, butterfly sanctuaries, barbecue sites and plenty of other diversions.

Getting to Tai Po is easy enough, thanks to the MTR’s East Rail Line and a variety of buses that travel along the Tolo Highway, which passes through Tai Po as it makes its way north to Shenzhen. But it’s just far enough removed from the rest of Hong Kong to feel like its own place — and a very nice one indeed.