Is the tap water in Hong Kong drinkable?

Dear Chinese guy.

Is the tap water in Hong Kong safe to drink? , I've heard all sorts of stories from my parents who were born in Hong Kong but emigrated to London in the 1960s.

Simon



Dear Simon

The answer to your question is yes and no, bet that helped didn't it?.

The government says yes it is perfectly safe , but you know they would say that wouldn't they?. However water from the water treatment facilities and the water imported from China which, due to China's reputation for pollution confuses the matter even more.

I have consumed plenty of water from the tap/faucet in Hong Kong, but only in the small villages, in that the issue is not the source of the water but the plumbing. In the New Territories things are generally newer than in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island itself. The buildings and the plumbing is the problem. In that if you go to Mong Kok or TST buildings there were mostly built in the 1960s or 1970s. Chungking Mansions is a case in point. Built in the 1970s the plumbing is ancient and nobody wants to pay to upgrade it. You can go up onto the roof of block A or B and look down the inner wet walls and look at the decay, nobody will go in there to fix the pipes and thus they leak are full of cracks and the water is most definitely NOT safe.


Many Hong Kongers are a bit die hard about this and will only drink water that has been boiled, but then even this only kills the germs but does not get rid of the heavy metal from pipes and chemicals that may leech into the water.

An easy guide as to if the tap water is safe or not is just generally look at the condition of the building, if it looks older than 10-15 years the pipe work will be badly corroded and thus the tap water will not be safe to drink. If you are that concerned just go to a 7-11 and buy a bottle or something most you'll pay is $7 for a half litre bottle of water. Heh the problem is that in the heat you drink so much water that this $7 builds up considerably.

So you pays yer money you takes yer choice.

Is this a rip off of Ask the Korean?

Is this a rip off of Ask the Korean?


Why yes it is actually, I felt frigging hell during the tail end of 2008 there was much harsh anti Chinese sentiment with rumour gossip and innuendo being the main things splashed around about Chinese culture and so. In attempting to discover a big secret about another location I went and found Ask the Korean?. In the spirit of Chinese piracy and copyright infringement in a spare moment I set-up this blog which also encompasses questions I have been asked in previous forum about life in Chinese society. This is probably as to why my profile join date does not really match the some of the posting dates. This is as I have been making a bit of revisionist history.

Then again others have copied as well, not to mention the fact that The korean himself is a copy of the Mexican, who was ripped off by ask a Frenchman who inturn was ripped off by Ask a Russian, at some stage was ripped off by ask a Jew and then an expat Who in turn was ripped off by me.

However in the spirit of solidarity (i.e. I may want to rip him off again in the future if he gives me that chance). I'm going to be cooperative with him even though he never asked me and I never asked him either.

In that fan death or here . Or The Korean's take on it is most definately not restricted to South Korea.

From irritating aunties, uncles and grand parents who are still alive, fan death is actually a popular how shall I say urban legend in Hong Kong and then Guangzhou area too. But with a few minor differences, in that even if the room is not sealed say you leave a door or a window open you can still die from fan death.

Seeing as Hong Kong is virtually on the equator and it is hotter more humid and roasting due to the fact that the Government of Hong Kong is in love with concrete which acts as one mother of a storage heater. Such that the climate is somewhat harsher heat wise and virtually unseasonable. Such as in the depths of summertime it is 36c during the daytime and it cools to 34c at nighttime. If you are unlucky enough to live in a village surrounded by mountains it is closer to 42c in the day time and 38c at night. No escape from the heat.