The totally underwhelming Hong Kong Observation Wheel
We need a super size iconic Observation Wheel in Kowloon!
Me Jamie, your host, I am English and I have lived in Hong Kong for 53 years - I know the place.
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The totally underwhelming Hong Kong Observation Wheel
We need a super size iconic Observation Wheel in Kowloon!
click on the image to enlarge
The underwhelming 60m high Hong Kong Observation Wheel
“Enjoy breathtaking panoramic views of the city skyline and the picturesque harbour from 60 metres high in the sky. The leisurely ride promises unforgettable moments from a fresh perspective.
The Ferris wheel is located at the Central Harbourfront, Central, Hong Kong. It has 42 gondolas, including one VIP Gondola with leather seats and a clear glass bottom floor. All gondolas are equipped with air conditioners and communication”
There seems to be a complete lack of blurb extolling the amazing virtues of one of the most underwhelming Observation Wheels in the world, even the Hong Kong Tourism Board is lost for words and barely rates it.
The Hong Kong Government Tourism authorities have been coming in for some flak recently from the Chinese Government about improving Hong Kong’s Tourist attractions, some of the comments are justified, some are not, personally I think the Hong Kong Government is far to hung up on Eco Tourism and have called for proposals from interested parties to build 3 new Eco Tourism sites in Hong Kong.
Eco Tourism has been the buzz phrase in the past year or so but I hardly think that millions of people will visit Hong Kong to watch wild cows eating grass on a beach or to do a spot of hiking whilst enjoying the scenery particularly in the summer when it is 33oC with 90% humidity and the odd spot of rain.
We have some fabulous tourism attractions which bring in millions of tourists such as Disneyland, The Big Buddha, Victoria Peak, Victoria Harbour, Ocean Park etc this is all well and good but in today’s social media age you need to create a buzz and that means “out of this world” attractions and the Government has always entertained ideas about world class attractions which has now been supplanted by “Eco Tourism”
One of the greatest tourism mistakes that have occurred in Hong Kong, if not the greatest was the decision to open up a 60m high Observation Wheel on Hong Kong Island looking across Victoria Harbour to Kowloon, 60m is quite frankly pathetic when compared to many around the world which are 160m - 250m high.
….. but that is not the worst of it, the decision to put it on Hong Kong Island looking across to Kowloon was just monumentally stupid and the breathtaking panoramic view supposedly on offer from the Observation Wheel on Hong Kong Island is just a figment of your imagination and yes, I have been on the Hong Kong Observation Wheel a number of times, it is simply not worth the high ticket prices.
Below is the report in 2002 about the proposed Kowloon Observation Wheel at the Ocean Terminal next to the Star Ferry in Kowloon, it was never built and in its place we got the Ocean Terminal Deck, at least you still get an awesome ground level view from that of Hong Kong Island and Victoria Harbour.
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As you can read, the Kowloon Observation Wheel was approved and then for some reason or another it was quietly shelved, 75m is not exactly a giant ferris wheel, but at the location proposed, it was big enough given that the view from ground level is stunning, for the wow factor effect it should have been at least 150m - 200m in height! it would absolutely bring in the tourists.
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This is the actual view from the Observation Wheel on Hong Kong Island at the Star Ferry Pier looking across Victoria Harbour to Kowloon
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This is the actual view from basically ground level at the Ocean Terminal in TST looking across Victoria Harbour from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island and you can see the tiny Observation Wheel at the waterfront, even the 75m Observation Wheel at the Ocean Terminal would have fantastic views!
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… and how can the Observation Wheel compete against the views from 426m at the Lugard Road Lookout at Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island, a panoramic view of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories, when it comes to views, height is everything in most cases
I think the images make the point very nicely, in a nutshell, with Observation Wheels you have to go large and I mean large in order for it to become a major attraction.
So basically our 60m wheel is competing against the world class panoramic city view from Victoria Peak… and yet look at the ground level view of Hong Kong Island from Kowloon across Victoria Harbour, it is stunning, imagine if you could see that view from 160m + an absolutely a world class view.
It saddens me to report that the Government did review and approve a proposal to place a large Observation Wheel on top of the Ocean Terminal next to the Star Ferry in Kowloon and for one reason or another it was shelved and that was the last we heard until the midget size wheel popped up on reclaimed next to the Star Ferry on Hong Kong Island.
You might also be interested in a lengthy blog post I did on a related subject which is the lack of bridges between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, I would love to see a pedestrian skywalk so to speak from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island, that would be one of the most amazing attractions in the world.
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