Cheung Chau - “Long Island” - was the stronghold of the Qing Dynasty pirate Cheung Po Tsai.

Along with his forty thousand followers, he terrorized shipping and villages along the adjacent Chinese coast, reputedly hiding his booty in a cave at Cheung Chau’s southern end. After surrendering to government forces in 1810, he was appointed head of the local Chinese navy.

Today, Cheung Chau is the most densely populated of the outlying islands, and its streets and harbour are busy day and night. Walking tracks lead to the requisite beaches and seascapes, but the main attractions are watching the thriving traditional life in the main village, with its fishing boats and stalls, and - as ever - sampling local seafood.

Ferries dock at Cheung Chau Village, where the island’s population and activity is concentrated. The waterfront road hosts a large daily market (busy all day), where fishermen, fruit-and-veg sellers and cultivated-pearl traders rub shoulders. Just beyond the pier, down Tung Wan Road, you’ll see an ancient banyan tree, whose base is often cluttered with makeshift altars.

One block in from the water on San Hing Street, the Pak Tai Temple (free) is dedicated to the “Northern Emperor”, protector against floods.

Inside is an 800-year-old iron sword believed to bring luck to fishermen, and a gilded sedan chair, for carrying the god’s statue during festivals.

The temple is the venue for the vibrant annual four-day Cheung Chau Bun Festival, held to placate the vengeful spirits of those killed by Cheung Chau’s pirates. North of the village, various paths lead up to a hilltop reservoir and views over the whole island.

From the village, crossing east over the narrow middle of the island lands you at the long Tung Wan beach and, around the southern headland, Kwun Yam Wan beach, the best on the island. Alternatively, for a two-hour walk from the village, follow the shore southwest from the ferry pier to a pavilion overlooking the harbour and a landscaped picnic area. Behind this is a side-path down between the rocks onto a small rocky beach and up to a headland covered in large, rounded granite boulders, which has some superb views over the sea on a calm day. The path continues down to Pak Tso Wan beach - small and sandy, though a little grubby - and then into the shady lanes on the village outskirts, which you can follow northeast to Kwun Yam Wan beach.