Overgrown Trees, Foliage and Shrubs Along the Track Need Attention
The J3 Group - Premium Quality Private Tours | Experiences and Insider Chats since 2010
Me Jamie, your host, I am English and I have lived in Hong Kong since January 2nd 1972 - I know the place.
A meaningful blog post with a difference - tips on Travel, Tourism, Tours, Daily Life and my personal thoughts on Hong Kong.
Please do visit Amazing Hong Kong
Hong Kong | Pearl of the Orient
A Resident since 1972 - Private Tours of Hong Kong with Jamie
The Best Things to do in Hong Kong
click on the image to enlarge
© Copyright Acknowledged | All rights reserved | image created by Jamie
Hong Kong Peak Tram Views Have Gone - Blocked by Trees
Foreword by Jamie
Ehe Peak Tram Hong Kong, where have all the views gone?
Robert a great friend of mine and a fellow private tour guide, sent me a copy of a letter, see below with regards to the views from the Peak Tram in Hong Kong, or more to the point, the disappearing views!
I have been on the Peak Tram 3 times in the past week and I can confirm this is a real issue although I would say that large trees are the biggest issue not so much the shrubs which do not grow very high.
Subject: Degradation of scenic views along the Peak Tram route
Dear Commissioner Chan,
I am writing to express my strong concern regarding the current state of the views along the Peak Tramway.
The Peak Tram is one of Hong Kong’s most iconic and heavily promoted historical and tourist attractions. However, recent trips up and down to Victoria Peak reveal that the vegetation and shrubbery along large portions of the track have grown excessively dense and unmanaged. As a result, the signature panoramic views that passengers expect are now largely obscured by thick foliage.
For many international and local visitors, the journey on the Peak Tram is a primary highlight of their visit. When the windows look out onto dense, unkempt brush rather than the harbor and cityscape, the experience feels severely compromised and no longer matches the high standards expected of a world-class destination.
While I recognize the importance of urban greening and environmental preservation, much of the overgrowth appears to be standard shrubbery of little ecological or historical significance that could be selectively pruned or maintained. A modest, targeted clearance program along the immediate rail corridors would dramatically restore the visual appeal of the ride while preserving the surrounding green environment.
I kindly urge the Tourism Commission - in coordination with the Peak Tramway operators and relevant government departments - to inspect the route and carry out necessary vegetation trimming to restore this vital tourist experience.
Thank you for your time, attention, and dedication to maintaining Hong Kong’s appeal as a premier travel destination. I look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
After more than 50 years living in Hong Kong and well over 15 years doing private tours, I still take the Peak Tram when the timing and the group suit it. The ride itself remains one of the more distinctive short journeys in the city: steep, historic, and still capable of surprising first time visitors with the way the buildings appear to lean. What has changed, and what now bothers me enough to write about it, is the view out of the windows. Large stretches of the route that once gave clear glimpses of the harbour and the city are now filled with dense tree growth. The problem is especially obvious from the Upper Terminus, along the length of track past Barker Road station, and on the stretch down toward May Road. This is not a minor complaint about a bit of greenery. It is a steady degradation of one of Hong Kong’s best known tourist experiences, and it has become pronounced enough that guests notice and ask about it.
The Views That Made the Ride Worth Taking
The Peak Tram has operated since 30th May 1888. The track runs roughly 1,278 metres, climbing from about 33 metres above sea level at the Central Terminus on Garden Road to 396 metres at the Peak Terminus. The gradient ranges from 4 degrees to a maximum of 25.7 degrees on the section below May Road. Intermediate stations sit at Kennedy Road, MacDonnell Road, May Road and Barker Road. The sixth generation cars that returned to service on 27th August 2022 after a major upgrade carry 210 passengers and cost the operator close to HK$800 million (about US$102 million). An adult return ticket is currently HK$88 (about US$11).
Those figures matter because the investment was large and the expectations that come with it are high. For decades the ride sold itself partly on the progressive opening of the city and harbour as you climbed. Sit on the right going up and you were meant to see the towers and the water. Sit on the left coming down and the same view unfolded in reverse. Guests still hear that advice. What they increasingly see instead is a wall of foliage.
Where the Overgrowth Is Most Obvious
The worst stretches are easy to name once you have ridden the line enough times. From the Peak Terminus itself the view is already compromised by trees immediately around the station and the first length of track. Past Barker Road station the density increases again. The stretch between Barker Road and May Road is particularly heavy. Trees have grown tall enough and thick enough that the classic framed glimpses of the harbour and the Mid Levels towers are now brief or absent for long periods. Shrubs are part of the picture, but they are not the main issue. Shrubs stay low. The trees have filled the vertical space that used to carry the view.
This is not a sudden event. Growth in Hong Kong’s climate is rapid. Once a tree is established on a slope beside the track it keeps adding height and canopy. Without regular, targeted attention the windows fill in. The result is that a large part of a short, expensive, heavily promoted ride is spent looking at leaves.
A Contrast from Lugard Road Lookout
I have been walking to the Lugard Road Lookout for 50+ years and I can tell you that trees are pruned on a regular basis to protect the fantastic panoramic view. We have millions upon millions of trees in Hong Kong and I cannot see how anyone can object to this. Yes keep away from massive banyan trees but use common sense when it comes to protecting the views from the Tram.
A Safety Reminder from 2024
In April 2024 the Peak Tram was suspended for three consecutive days after trees fell near the tracks at Barker Road following heavy rain. The incident was reported widely at the time and showed that the vegetation along the corridor is already capable of affecting operations. Clearing fallen trunks after the fact is necessary. Preventing the same trees from growing so large and so close that they both block the view and pose a risk is the longer term task. The 2024 suspension was a practical demonstration that the slopes beside the line are not self managing.
The Recent Contrast on the Peak Trails
There is a related and slightly awkward contrast. In October 2026 the Tourism Board faced public criticism after trees and flowers were cut to make way for a lighting installation along walking trails on Victoria Peak. Residents objected, the project was paused, and officials spoke of further consultation and a better balance between tourism and the environment. The episode is still fresh. It shows that vegetation on the Peak can be removed when a new project requires it. Selective, modest pruning along the immediate rail corridor to restore long standing views would appear to be a far smaller intervention than clearing ground for light fittings. The difference is that one action supports an existing, historic attraction while the other was for a new feature.
Why This Matters Beyond One Ride
The Peak Tram is still presented as one of Hong Kong’s signature experiences. It is included in countless itineraries, recommended in guidebooks, and used in official promotion. When the windows look out on dense growth for much of the journey, the product no longer matches the promise. Guests who have waited in queues and paid the current fare notice. Some comment on it. Others simply look disappointed and turn their attention to their phones. The full panorama is still available at the top, at the free lookouts and on the paid Sky Terrace 428. That does not excuse the degradation of the ride itself. A short, steep, historic funicular should deliver more than a tunnel of leaves interrupted by occasional gaps.
A modest clearance programme limited to the immediate rail corridors would restore the progressive views without stripping the slopes bare. Most of the overgrowth is ordinary trees of no particular ecological or historical significance. Targeted pruning, done with proper slope and tree risk advice, would reopen the harbour and cityscape while leaving the surrounding greenery intact. The same departments that already clear fallen trees after storms, and that have recently managed vegetation for the lighting project, are the ones best placed to carry out the work in coordination with the Peak Tram operator.
A Practical Request
This is not a call to clear the hillside. It is a request for routine, selective maintenance of the vegetation that directly faces the tram windows, especially from the Peak Terminus past Barker Road and down toward May Road. The 2024 fallen tree suspension showed that the corridor needs attention for safety. The same attention would also restore the visual experience that has been part of the Peak Tram’s identity for decades. After the substantial investment in the sixth generation cars and termini, keeping the view from those new windows would be a logical next step.
I have written to the Tourism Commission on this subject and will continue to note the condition of the route when I am on it. The change is gradual enough that it can be overlooked until it is well advanced. It is already well advanced on the stretches named above.
So there you go..
click on any image to enlarge
© Copyright Acknowledged | All rights reserved | images taken by Jamie
