Noah's Ark

Architecture & Design

Noah’s Ark sits on the eastern tip of Ma Wan island as a full-scale replica of the vessel described in the Genesis flood narrative, built to the text’s stated 300 cubits — roughly 137 metres — in length. The structure is built from reinforced concrete rather than the timber implied by the biblical account, a practical substitution needed to make a permanent, publicly accessible building rather than a literal reconstruction. It functions as both a themed exhibit and a working building, housing a hotel, a youth hostel, and galleries on environmental conservation and maritime history, plus 67 pairs of life-size animal sculptures arranged around the hull. The ark’s siting on Ma Wan places it directly beneath the Tsing Ma Bridge, the suspension bridge carrying road and rail traffic between Tsing Yi and Lantau — the two structures are frequently photographed together, an intentional pairing of biblical replica and contemporary engineering that gives the site much of its visual identity.

History & Economic Context

Planning for Ma Wan Park began in 1997, when the Hong Kong government agreed to subsidise construction with roughly HK$800 million as part of a wider development deal with Sun Hung Kai Properties, the site’s private developer, whose founding family — the Kwok brothers — built the park as part of a much larger residential project on the island. Construction of the wider park started in 2005 and ran behind an original 2006 target; the first phase opened in 2007 without the ark itself, which was completed in stages through 2008 and 2009, reaching a full public opening in May 2009 at an overall project cost reported in the region of HK$1 billion. Ma Wan’s Neolithic past sits only a short walk from the ark: a 1997 excavation on the island, conducted jointly by Hong Kong’s Antiquities and Monuments Office and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, recovered pottery and burial remains roughly 5,000 years old and was later recognised as one of China’s Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries of that year — a heritage claim considerably older, and less publicised, than the theme park built nearby.

Practical Information

By MTR, take the Tung Chung Line to Tsing Yi Station and transfer to bus NR330 for Ma Wan; a ferry also runs from Central Pier 2 directly to the island for those who prefer to arrive by water, a slower but more scenic approach that puts the ark and the Tsing Ma Bridge in the same frame from the water rather than from the road. The site operates daily from 10:00 to 18:00. Ma Wan’s older village, on the western side of the island away from the modern residential towers, still has small eateries serving simple seafood and noodle dishes tied to its fishing-community past — a plainer counterpoint to the theme park’s imported biblical theming. The attached Noah’s Ark Hotel and Resort continues to operate on site, distinct from the theme park’s day-visit ticketing, and remains a separate booking from general park admission, which runs HK$198 for adults and HK$158 for children and seniors.