Photogenic spots & photo etiquette

A handful of spots have become genuinely famous through photography and social media rather than official tourism promotion — worth visiting, but worth visiting thoughtfully, since most sit inside real residential communities.

Choi Hung Estate

A public housing estate in East Kowloon, painted in rainbow-gradient colours when built in the 1960s and now one of the most photographed spots in the city, largely thanks to the rooftop basketball court above its car park. Entry is free and it's a five-minute walk from Choi Hung MTR station. It's worth knowing the estate is genuinely occupied — children play on that basketball court, and elderly residents live in the surrounding blocks — so keeping noise down and not blocking the court for extended posed shoots matters. It's also slated for redevelopment later in the decade, so its current form won't last indefinitely.

The Monster Building, Quarry Bay

The densely packed Yick Cheong Building complex has become another well-known photo subject — again, worth remembering these are private homes, not a set.

The general rule

Where a spot is a working residential estate, a temple, or someone's shopfront, treat the visit the way you'd want a stranger to treat your own street — brief, quiet, and without blocking access for the people who actually live or work there.