Tai O Hong Kong 大澳 with the pink dolpins!

This little place is sometimes called the "Venice of Hong Kong", though it is just a little village with many houses built on stilts over water. People get to their houses by walkways or by boats. Unlike Venice, few people would travel far to visit it. Since there are few jobs, most young people move out. But a lot of Hong Kong urban residents make a short trip to visit it for an excursion and a break from the norm. People go there as part of a hike on Lantau Island and can eat there cheaply, or they take motorboats. Dolphins are seen in the area, and tourists ride out in motorboats hoping to see them. It is unusual to see Hong Kong people living in houses on stilts. This draws tourists, as does the hiking in the area, the dolphins, a public museum and a private museum and two Hong Kong"graded buildings" called Old Tai O Police Station and Yeung Hau Temple that was built in 1699.

The small town has about 5,000 people who are somewhat isolated on the far western shore of Lantau Island. Lantau Island is a big island west of the city of Hong Kong. Some people live on rickety-looking wooden stilt houses. The village was damaged by Typhoon Hagupit in 2008 and by a major fire in 2000. The isolation and lack of jobs keep the town from growing. Besides tourism, the major industry is fishing. It was a major industry, but the fishing has grown poorer. Local residents fish mainly for their own subsistence or for enjoyment. During the 1930s, the area had a salt production industry. Despite the lack of growth and the disasters, Tai O is still is a tourist destination that has a market and some temples and old buildings.

In the markets, you can find some of the local catch and buy salted fish or shrimp paste. There are many stalls selling dried sea products close to the bus terminal and ferry terminal area. These stalls also sell souvenirs for tourists.
From Tai O, several tour operators run short boat trips to the Pearl River Estuary, not far off the Lantau coast to see the famous pink dolphins. These amazing and rare creatures are also known as Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins or Chinese white dolphins (Sousa chinensis).

Their numbers have been decreasing in recent years due to fishing, shipping and coastal development in their native environment and it is thought they number less than 2,500 today. The pink dolphins are an increasingly popular eco-tourism attraction in Hong Kong