Starling Inlet: Hong Kong’s Hidden WWII Coastal Defences Tucked away in the far northeast of Hong Kong, Starling Inlet feels like a different world — quiet villages, rugged hills, and a coastline filled with stories from the past. Once an important trading route into China and notorious for bandit activity, the area later became a key military location during World War II. Because Starling Inlet has one of the few beaches large enough for a major military landing, Japanese forces built an extensive network of pillboxes, trenches, and artillery positions across the surrounding hills to defend the coastline.

Today, many of these wartime structures still remain hidden along the hills above Sha Tau Kok, Luk Keng, and Shan Tsui. Hiking through the area, you’ll find concrete pillboxes half buried in vegetation, narrow trenches contouring the hillside, and lookout points facing both the sea and the Shenzhen border. Some structures were later reused by the British, making this area one of the most historically layered hiking routes in Hong Kong.

The hike itself is moderately challenging with several steep sections, but the panoramic views over Starling Inlet and the northern New Territories make the effort worthwhile. It’s a hike that combines history, nature, and one of the most remote landscapes in Hong Kong.

How to get there MTR East Rail Line → Sheung Shui Station → Minibus 55K → Luk Keng.