Star Ferry

The service traces its roots to 1888, when Parsee merchant Dorabjee Naorojee Mithaiwala started a ferry business that was incorporated as the Star Ferry Company in 1898; the Hong Kong Tourism Board dates the start of the service to 1898, with four wooden steam vessels. Each boat carries a 'Star' name, a tradition said to come from the founder's fondness for Tennyson's poem 'Crossing the Bar'.

The piers have moved as the harbour has been reclaimed. The Tsim Sha Tsui terminal on the tip of Kowloon dates from 1957, while on the island side the Edinburgh Place pier and its clock tower closed in 2006 and services moved to the new Central Ferry Piers; the Tsim Sha Tsui route now uses Central Pier 7. The ferry also played a part in Hong Kong's social history: protests over a fare increase in 1966 were followed by riots.

Today a fleet of diesel-electric ferries works two routes, and the company also runs harbour tours on the Shining Star, a vessel styled on ferries of the 1920s.

Although the MTR now carries most cross-harbour commuters, the Star Ferry is still part of daily life for office workers, students and older residents who prefer the breeze and the view to the train. Its boats, piers and staff uniforms have changed little in style over the decades, and the ferry is widely seen as a symbol of old Hong Kong.