ENG-2007 — Page 348

292 Travel and Tourism

come on stream was the 'SkyFair Plaza' which opened in February. In addition, the Ocean Park has been entrusted with the care of two giant pandas, Ying Ying and Le Le, which were given to Hong Kong by the Central People's Government as a gift to mark the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of Hong Kong as a Special Administrative Region of China. Ying Ying and Le Le are adapting very well to their new home.

Another attraction is the Hong Kong Wetland Park, a world-class conservation, education and tourism facility. It was planned meticulously to ensure that it blended well with the surrounding area and that the wildlife there was not disturbed. The park's design has been awarded the 'Medal of the Year', the highest honour bestowed by the Hong Kong Institute of Architects. Then in 2007, it won the Urban Land Institute Global Award for Excellence.

The Ngong Ping 360 cable car system takes visitors on a thrilling, scenic 20- minute ride high above sea and land between Tung Chung and the top of Lantau Island, where a Buddhist-themed village is located. It also provides visitors with an opportunity to visit the Tian Tan Buddha, commonly known as the 'Big Buddha', the Po Lin Monastery, the Wisdom Path, the quaint fishing village of Tai O and enticing beaches on the southern part of the island.

Also located on Lantau Island is Hong Kong Disneyland, an internationally renowned theme park. The park introduced two additional attractions during the summer of 2007: the Animation Academy and Mickey's Water Works. The park also enhanced its calendar of special events to include Chinese New Year festivities, and themed programmes such as 'Pirates of the Caribbean', 'Haunted Halloween' featuring a haunted hotel and a specially designed Halloween Space Mountain ride - the only Disney park to have it, and a sparkling and snowy Christmas scene. All of them were well received.

The Government will continue making capital of Hong Kong's appeal as a tourist destination by developing new infrastructure and improving existing facilities.

• The Government invited tenders for the development of a new cruise terminal at the former Kai Tak runway on November 9, 2007. The successful tenderer will form the site as well as design, build, operate, manage and maintain the new cruise terminal at its own expense. The new cruise terminal will include two berths that can cater for different types of vessels including the mega cruise vessels that have displacements of up to 110 000 tonnes. The first berth is expected to commence operation in 2012.

• Work on transforming the former Marine Police Headquarters compound in Tsim Sha Tsui into a heritage tourism facility is continuing and will be completed in 2008.

• The Government is implementing a green tourism programme in the northeastern part of the New Territories to help raise awareness of the natural environment there. Improvements to facilities for visitors at Plover Cove, Tolo Channel and Tung Ping Chau will be completed in mid-2008. Following