Bus #7 from Outer Islands Ferry Pier, Central; #70 from Exchange Square, Central; or #72 from Moreton Terrace, Causeway Bay. Aberdeen was one of the few places on Hong Kong Island already settled when the British arrived in the 1840s - the bay here was used as a shelter by the indigenous Hoklos and Tankas, who fished in the surrounding archipelago.

Today the town comprises a tightly packed knot of tall concrete apartment blocks and street-level businesses overlooking the busy harbour, where a few hundred of Aberdeen’s sixty thousand residents still live on sampans and junks. There are two small temples amongst the high-rises: the Tai Wong Shrine (above the junction of Aberdeen Old Main St and Aberdeen Main Rd), dedicated to a local god who protects fishermen and oversees the weather; and the solid stone Tin Hau Temple, built in 1851, at the junction of Aberdeen Main Road and Aberdeen Reservoir Road.

Aberdeen’s main points of interest, though, are the morning fish market (busiest before 10am) and the chance to take a sampan ride around the harbour - head to the waterfront for either. The sampan rides (on demand, $50 after bargaining) cruise the straits between Aberdeen and Ap Lei Chau island opposite, offering photogenic views of houseboats jammed together, complete with dogs, drying laundry and outdoor kitchens, as well as boat yards and three floating restaurants, which are especially spectacular when lit up at night.