Dongao Historic Trail
## Miscellaneous notes on the Dong'ao Ancient Trail
The Dong'ao Ancient Trail winds through the northeast of Lantau Island, with stone steps and muddy paths interlaced, sometimes hidden in the wild grass, and sometimes stretching along the coastline. This road used to connect Tung Chung and Tai O. Today, there are many hikers, but it still retains a bit of desolate wildness.
The scenery along the way is quite mixed - on the left is the airport runway, with iron birds taking off and landing constantly; on the right is the mangroves and mudflats, with fiddler crabs running rampant. The path is not very undulating, but walking under the scorching sun makes you sweat like a pulp, which is quite a test of your leg strength. Most of the villages along the way have been dilapidated, and the walls of the abandoned houses are covered with wild vines. Only the small temple in "Xiantou" village still has incense, offering several statues eroded by the sea breeze.
When we arrived at "Shaluo Bay", we suddenly saw a century-old banyan tree, with aerial roots hanging down to the ground to form a forest. When we rested under the tree, we heard the deafening sound of cicadas, which even drowned out the roar of airplanes in the distance. After another two hours of walking, you will see the stilt houses of Tai O floating on the water, like a faded piece of building blocks.
The best part of this road is that it juxtaposes the modernity of Hong Kong with its primitive brutality. Walking along it feels like traveling through two parallel worlds.