Hong Kong government reveals the cleanest beaches in the city

With summer well under way, many of us are spending the weekends at one of Hong Kong’s beaches. While we’re lucky that to have an abundance of sandy shores to choose from, not all beaches are created equal.

Read more: Best beaches in Hong Kong

To help us make our choice easier, the Environmental Protection Department recently released the latest grading of water quality for 38 gazetted beaches and one non-gazetted beach. 19 beaches were rated as Good (Grade 1), eight as Fair (Grade 2) and 12 as Poor (Grade 3).

Amongst the top-rated beaches are Hap Mun Bay Beach, Middle Bay Beach, Repulse Bay Beach, Shek O Beach and Trio Beach.

Meanwhile, well known Grade 2 beaches include Big Wave Bay Beach, Castle Peak Beach, Discovery Bay and Lower Cheung Sha Beach.

The list of Grade 3 beaches includes shores that are lesser heard of, such as Anglers’ Beach, Silver Mine Bay Beach and Ting Kau Beach.

The present grading system classifies beaches into four grades, namely Good (Grade 1), Fair (Grade 2), Poor (Grade 3) and Very Poor (Grade 4), in accordance to the water quality. Grades are calculated based on the level of the E. coli bacteria in the five most recent sampling occasions. The beach grades are updated on the Environmental Protection Department’s website every Friday.

Read more: Best beach restaurants and bars in Hong Kong

Below is the full list of Grade 1, 2 and 3 beaches this week.

Grade 1 beaches:

• Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach
• Chung Hom Kok Beach
• Clear Water Bay First Beach
• Clear Water Bay Second Beach
• Deep Water Bay Beach
• Hap Mun Bay Beach
• Hung Shing Yeh Beach
• Kiu Tsui Beach
• Kwun Yam Beach
• Lo So Shing Beach
• Middle Bay Beach
• Repulse Bay Beach
• Shek O Beach
• South Bay Beach
• St Stephen’s Beach
• Stanley Main Beach
• Trio Beach
• Turtle Cove Beach
• Upper Cheung Sha Beach

Grade 2 beaches:

• Big Wave Bay Beach
• Castle Peak Beach
• Discovery Bay
• Lower Cheung Sha Beach
• Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach
• Pui O Beach
• Silverstrand Beach
• Tong Fuk Beach

Grade 3 beaches:

• Anglers’ Beach
• Approach Beach
• Butterfly Beach
• Cafeteria New Beach
• Cafeteria Old Beach
• Casam Beach
• Golden Beach
• Hoi Mei Wan Beach
• Kadoorie Beach
• Lido Beach
• Silver Mine Bay Beach
• Ting Kau Beach

Looking for more fun things to do in Hong Kong? Check out our list of summer day trips and best waterfall hikes to explore.

Feature image courtesy of @zhurchika