Sai Wan Swimming Shed, Hong Kong: How to Find It and How to Behave

The Sai Wan Swimming Shed in Hong Kong is a short wooden pier on stilts at the western edge of Hong Kong Island, and it is the last one of its kind left in the city. You have almost certainly seen a photo of it: the plank walkway, the ladder into the sea, the sunset behind it. What those photos leave out is that this is not an attraction. It is a working swimming club, and the people who use it are there at five in the morning to swim, not to be in your shot.

It is still worth going. You just need to know where the staircase is, when to turn up, and how to behave once you are down there.

What the Sai Wan Swimming Shed actually is

Swimming sheds were built along Hong Kong's shoreline when public bathing facilities were scarce, giving swimmers somewhere to change and get into the water safely. Most are long gone. Sai Wan, on Victoria Road below Mount Davis, is the only one still in service.

The current shed reopened in 1988, after an application by Wan Hung Fai and an associate was approved by the government. It runs as a members' facility. The green metal shed at the bottom of the steps belongs to the Kennedy Town Kai-Fong Welfare Association, and behind it are the offices, changing rooms and lockers the swimmers use. Membership runs at around HK$120 a month, with the shed open to its swimmers from 5:00am to 1:00pm.

That last detail is the one visitors get wrong. Those are the swimming club's hours, not a ticket window. Nobody charges you to walk down the steps and stand on the pier. But it does mean that if you arrive at 6:30am, you are walking into somebody's morning swim.

How to get to the Sai Wan Swimming Shed

Everything starts at Kennedy Town MTR station, at the western end of the Island line. Take Exit A.

• On foot: about 15 minutes along Victoria Road towards Mount Davis. It is a roadside walk with traffic beside you, so less pleasant than the distance suggests.
• Green minibus: routes 58, 58A and 59 run from near the station along Victoria Road.
• Bus: routes 1, 43M and 971 all stop at Caritas Jockey Club Hostel on Victoria Road, which is the stop you want.

The turning is easy to miss and people walk straight past it. Look for the concrete staircase heading down towards the water just before the Caritas Jockey Club Hostel bus stop. There is no sign advertising an attraction. Go down the steps and the green shed appears first, with the pier immediately beyond it.

If you would rather make an afternoon of the trip out west, the ding ding tram runs all the way west to Kennedy Town from Central and Wan Chai. It is slow, which is the point.

When to go

Sunset, and not the morning. The pier faces the north-western end of Hong Kong Island, so you get the sun going down over the water, the outlying islands, and a steady procession of cargo ships and small boats crossing the frame. On a clear evening the Tsing Ma Bridge is visible in the distance.

Weekends are the problem. Photographers and wedding couples have been coming here for years, and on a Saturday or Sunday evening you can find yourself queueing for a turn on a narrow wooden walkway. A weekday evening is a different experience entirely.

Check the weather before you commit. The pier is exposed, and after a typhoon the swell comes straight in. Visitors have described the dock moving underfoot in heavy conditions. If a signal is up or has recently come down, go another day. There are easier sunsets in this city: the Lugard Road walk gives you the harbour from above for free, and our guide to the best time to visit Victoria Peak covers how the light works up there.

How to visit without being a nuisance

This is the part most write-ups skip. The shed is somebody's daily routine, and it survives because a local welfare association keeps it running.

• Come in the late afternoon or evening, once the morning swimmers have gone.
• The pier is narrow. Take your photo, then move so the next person can have theirs.
• The changing rooms and lockers are members' facilities. There are no public toilets here, so sort that out in Kennedy Town before you set off.
• If people are swimming, do not photograph them, and keep off the ladder.
• Take your rubbish back up the steps with you.

It is the same courtesy that visiting the Monster Building asks of you: a real place that people live in and use, which happens to photograph well.

Should you swim?

Almost certainly not. There are no lifeguards at Sai Wan. The swell can be strong, working boats pass close to shore, and the regulars manage safety informally by keeping an eye on each other. That works because they know the water and know each other. It does not extend to a visitor who turns up once. If you want to swim, use one of Hong Kong's public beaches with lifeguards on duty.

Is it worth the trip?

If you have already done the Peak and the harbour and you want an hour of Hong Kong that is quiet, old and slightly improbable, yes. It is a short ride west on the Island line and looks nothing like the rest of the city. If you are on a tight three-day itinerary and mainly want the photo, be honest that the photo is the whole trip, and that on a Sunday you will be sharing it.

Quick answers

Where is the Sai Wan Swimming Shed? On Victoria Road below Mount Davis, at the western end of Hong Kong Island, about 15 minutes' walk from Kennedy Town MTR (Exit A).

Is it the same as Sai Wan Ho? No, and this trips people up constantly. Sai Wan Ho is a district on the eastern side of Hong Kong Island with its own MTR station. The swimming shed is at the opposite end of the line.

Is it the same as Sai Wan Beach? No. Sai Wan Beach is in Sai Kung in the New Territories and is a completely separate trip.

Do I have to pay to visit? No. There is no admission and no gate. The roughly HK$120 monthly fee is club membership for people who use the changing rooms and swim there.

What time is it open? The club operates from 5:00am to 1:00pm for its swimmers. The steps and the pier are outdoors and unstaffed, which is why late afternoon works well for visitors.

Can I shoot a wedding or a portrait session there? Couples do, and it is well known for it. But the pier is small and shared, so go on a weekday and keep the walkway clear.