Checkerboard Hill

Perched on “Checkerboard Hill,” a large red and white painted checkerboard once served to help guide airliners making their approach into Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport Runway 13.

Kai Tak was well-known worldwide for being a particularly dangerous airport to land at - due to the area's geography and surrounding apartment buildings, pilots could not make use of aircraft instruments, and instead had to rely on a visual and manual right-hand turn in order to make a proper descent.

Planes would swoop low over Kowloon before landing; with 5-6 story buildings below, some passengers reported that they could clearly see televisions inside apartments just prior to touching down.

The opening of the new Hong Kong International Airport on Chek Lap Kok Island in 1998 ended an exciting era in aviation and the use of the checkerboard, and it fell into decay. Fortunately Hong Kong authorities recognized its historical significance and restored it to its former glory. It remains an interesting bit of Hong Kong and world aviation history. A short trail and some sets of stairs allow close-up access.