Chungking Mansions is replete with contradictions: it has the cheapest guesthouses and meals in Hong Kong, in a dilapidated seventeen-storey commercial and residential structure in the heart of Hong Kong’s tourist district, while being located on some of the most expensive real estate on earth. Its design, built to be luxurious in the 1960s, makes it perfect as a place to escape into and never be seen by the police again.

From the start, it had no unified ownership, so rapidly deteriorated, plus making it almost impossible to redevelop. Its tangled history, first in the 1970s and 1980s as a backpacker mecca and then as a developing-world enclave, has made it a tourist attraction. Chungking Mansions is now where people from sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and other areas seek their fortunes through temporary employment and low-budget transnational trade.

Guests also enjoy a private pre-booked lunch at one of the famous Indian restaurants in Chungking Mansions.

Cost: $480 for Members and $580 for their non-member guests including lunch

For reservations, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and state how many places you would like and which time slot you would like to choose. You'll then receive booking instructions and a booking form. Anyone wishing to join the Field Trip who is not yet a member is encouraged to join the RGS-HK. Detailed joining instructions follow shortly before the event.