The Central and Western Heritage Trail is a network of historic routes established by the Antiquities and Monuments Office to highlight the development of one of Hong Kong’s oldest and most historically significant districts. Supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the trail connects a wide range of buildings and sites that reflect the city’s urban and cultural evolution.

The trail is divided into three routes: the Central Route, Sheung Wan Route, and Western District and The Peak Route, each launched between 1997 and 2000. Together, they provide a structured way to explore different layers of Hong Kong’s historical landscape.

The Central Route focuses on the city’s administrative and commercial core, where Western-style architecture emerged after 1841. The Sheung Wan Route highlights a traditional Chinese residential and trading district closely linked to early revolutionary history and religious heritage. The Western District and Peak Route traces the development of residential areas shaped by migration, colonial settlement and the introduction of the Peak Tram in the late nineteenth century.

Together, the routes preserve surviving historic sites that reflect Hong Kong’s transformation from early settlement to modern city.