The route starts on the "north pole" of HKSAR and ends on the "south pole". The starting and ending point can be reversed. The north starting point is on the border with China. Here one can marvel at the contrast of grassy hill and high rise development. In the 1960s the whole area is rural. HK built fences and barriers to prevent migrants from crossing from China into HK. China, following the institution of the policy of "reform and opening-up" in 1979, Shenzhen was quickly transformed into a mega city. Here, runners can still see the rusty wire fences on the hills and how little this part of HK has changed.
Running south, the route covers rural villages, vegetable fields, three new towns (Sheung Shui, Fanling, and Tai Po), the waterfront cycling and recreational track of Tolo Harbour. Then arrive at the first new town of HK (Shatin) founded in 1973. We would cross Boundary Street on Kowloon. The street previously marked the boundary between the southern part of Kowloon, ceded by China's Qing dynasty to Great Britain in 1860. Then cross Victoria Harbour from Kowloon to HK Island by Metro or buses via cross harbour tunnels. Then we run through the financial and business district of Central District. After that we run through Wong Nei Chung country park. Designated in 1977, the park occupies a total area of 1,315 hectares, or one fifth of Hong Kong Island's land area. Then we reach the "south Pole", Stanley Peninsula, stopping at the gate of Stanley Barracks, previously occupied by British garrison, and after 1997, by Chinese garrison.
The route is easy to navigate. One can run from north to south, or in reverse direction. The runner will have a real close look into what is Hong Kong like in less than a day (or half a day as the trial runner did). HK is a very safe city to run day or night. There are frequent overnight buses crossing Victoria Harbour.
The following question and answer is prepared by the runner Chris Mak:
Q:
What is the name of this route?
A:
Pole to Pole
Q:
What is the nick-name of this route?
A:
P2P
Pole2Pole
Traverse HKSAR
Traverse HK-Kowloon-NT from North Pole to South Pole of HKSAR
Q:
But we still need a little more information to create and FKT route with clear parameters that others can follow.
A:
route parameters
-
Start = One of the two poles of HKSAR
-
transition = most natural walkables
-
end = The opposite pole
-
on foot
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one of the three Victoria Harbour crossings between island(ie. HK Island in this case) and inland(ie. Kowloon in this case)
Q:
Traverse HK-Kowloon-NT from North Pole to South Pole of HKSAR is a great objective. We should list these two poles by name for clarity. GPS locations for them would be great as well.
A:
North Pole
Pak Fu Shan Operational Base白虎山行動基地
Latitude DMS: 22°33'27.55"N
Longitude DMS: 114°9'45.07"E
A MacIntosh Fort built along the Sham Chun River which is the border between HKSAR & China mainland, forms the most northern of the border defence system.
A:
South Pole
Stanley Barracks赤柱軍營
Latitude DMS: 22°12'7.32"N
Longitude DMS: 114°12'54.12"E
The military camp of People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison, this is a Military Installations Closed Areas.
Q:
-Where does the run officially start?
A:
One of the two poles, the choice is “open”.
Q:
-Where did the run officially start on 16 Feb 2019?
A:
Pak Fu Shan Operational Base白虎山行動基地
Q:
Where does it end?
A:
The opposite pole.
Q:
Where did it end on 17 Feb 2019?
A:
Stanley Barracks赤柱軍營
Q:
-Is the route "open"?
A:
The route is “open”.
Q:
or does the runner have to follow a particular route?
A:
route parameters are to be followed.
Q:
Since the goal is to reach from one pole to another pole, it seems logical that someone could use whatever route they want to do that?
A:
“someone could use whatever route they want to do that” is exactly the design.
Q:
If the runner has to follow a particular route, please describe the route turn by turn.
A:
route parameters are to be followed.
Q:
-The original runner cross the Victoria Harbour where it was not possible to run.
A:
The original runner did cross the Victoria Harbour via Western Harbour Crossing.
Q:
Are we going to require future runners to cross the Victoria Harbour via a specified tunnel, or can they be any one?
A:
The choice is open, any one of the Victoria Harbour crossings:
-
Cross-Harbour Tunnel
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Eastern Harbour Crossing
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Western Harbour Crossing
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Any new crossings in the future
Q:
What are the sections which it is allowed to take transportation other than running?
A:
No section is allowed.
Q:
What were the details of the 16-17 Feb 2019 route exploration?
A:
Course: most natural walkables
Two sections in one go.
First section:
Garmin 920XT
Distance(Km) = 40.10
Start: 16 Feb Sat 11:02pm
Elevation gain(m) = 275
Calorie(Kcal) = 2308
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3389748298
Second section:
Garmin 225
Distance(Km) = 25.44
End: 17 Feb Sun 10:45am
Elevation gain(m) = 737
Calorie(Kcal) = 1605
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3389785434
Q:
What were the summary of the 16-17 Feb 2019 trial?
A:
Total Distance(Km) = 65.54
Duration: 11hrs 43mins
Elevation gain(m) = 1012
Total calorie(Kcal) = 3913
Q:
What is the graphical picture of the 16-17 Feb 2019 trial?
A:
First Google Map link:
https://www.google.com.hk/maps/dir/%E6%89%93%E9%BC%93%E5%B6%BA%E8%93%AE%E9%BA%BB%E5%9D%91%E8%B7%AF%E7%99%BD%E8%99%8E%E5%B1%B1%E8%A1%8C%E5%8B%95%E5%9F%BA%E5%9C%B0/22.3583625,114.1599716/22.3067136,114.1634776/@22.4324848,114.1308857,11.5z/data=!4m10!4m9!1m5!1m1!1s0x34040a8a2fddcc37:0xaf8e318b8ca2370e!2m2!1d114.1625197!2d22.5576536!1m0!1m0!3e2?hl=zh-TW
A:
Second Google Map link:
https://www.google.com.hk/maps/dir/%E8%A5%BF%E4%B9%9D%E9%BE%8D%E8%A5%BF%E5%8D%80%E6%B5%B7%E5%BA%95%E9%9A%A7%E9%81%93/22.2918467,114.1480036/22.2823564,114.1659113/@22.2951167,114.1445396,14z/data=!4m10!4m9!1m5!1m1!1s0x3404009124a45201:0xf367f201dd34947a!2m2!1d114.159755!2d22.3043332!1m0!1m0!3e0?hl=zh-TW
A:
Third Google Map link
https://www.google.com.hk/maps/dir/22.2823564,114.1659113/22.2549377,114.192883/22.2475768,114.1919852/@22.2653277,114.1608388,13.75z/data=!4m2!4m1!3e2?hl=zh-TW
A:
Fourth Google Map link
https://www.google.com.hk/maps/dir/%E8%B5%A4%E6%9F%B1%E7%82%AE%E5%8F%B0;+%E9%BB%83%E9%BA%BB%E8%A7%92%E9%81%93/22.2393665,114.1890911/22.2455528,114.1914321/22.246901,114.1913714/@22.2286042,114.1820195,13.75z/data=!4m11!4m10!1m5!1m1!1s0x3406aa47656502a5:0xcd8bdba8085f23de!2m2!1d114.214565!2d22.205074!1m0!1m0!1m0!3e2?hl=zh-TW
