With lush vegetation scattered over a large area, parks are the lungs of cities, providing a relaxing place for stressed urbanites to take a break and enjoy nature.
With their colourful playgrounds, Hong Kong's parks are a good place for children to play with their parents and meet other kids.
With more fitness facilities being installed in local parks, they are attracting people of all ages.
Seniors can stretch their limbs and stay active, while young people can use the more challenging equipment for strength training.
Fun fitness
To encourage more people to visit local parks, the Leisure & Cultural Services Department has organised two fun day programmes - Fitness@Park and Orienteering@Park - which are being held in 12 locations in January and February.
The programmes are part of the Storm the Park campaign to promote Hong Kong's open spaces.
For the Fitness@Park fun day, the department’s Deputy District Leisure Manager Vicky Wong said people can use venue facilities for fitness training and receive free lessons from instructors from the Physical Fitness Association of Hong Kong, China.
"We hope people can learn how to exercise and enjoy using the facilities every time they visit the parks."
Some activities are family-oriented, while other activities are aimed at specific age groups like youths or the elderly.
Well oriented
The Orienteering@Park fun day is co-organised by the Orienteering Association of Hong Kong.
With the help of the association’s instructors, participants can learn more about plants through orienteering games and competitions.
Together with his son, Ellis Lam participated in the Orienteering@Park fun day at North District Park last month, which he said is a good place for orienteering.
"I think orienteering is a good family sport. That’s the reason I bring my kids here. We can enjoy the sport and the park. I think the park is really good. You’ve got a lake, bushes and also some small hills. It’s a nice environment for orienteering."
With free admission, the two fun days are being held on weekends until the end of February.
There will be more Storm the Park campaigns from April to November, including water games, park camping, remote-control car games and painting events.
For details, visit the department's Storm the Park website.
