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Lantau Island

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Lantau Island (based on its old name 爛頭島 lan tau do, lit. broken head island; now called 大嶼山 da4 yU3 shan1, lit. big island hill) is the largest island in Hong Kong, located at the mouth of the Pearl River. It is part of the Islands District, Hong Kong.

It consists of mainly mountainous terrain. With an area of approx. 142 km², it is twice the size of Hong Kong Island. Lantau Peak (934 m) is the highest point of the island, and the second highest in Hong Kong. Lantau Island is often referred to as "the lungs of Hong Kong", because of its abundance of indigenous forest and lack of high rise residential developments which characterise Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.

The Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) is located on the island near the town of Tung Chung and is connected to the urban areas by the Lantau Link, which is composed of the Kap Shui Mun Bridge, the Ma Wan Viaduct, and the Tsing Ma Bridge. The airport also has a metro connection to the rest of Hong Kong via the MTR's airport line (the "Airport Express").

Major tourist attractions include the Po Lin Monastery and the Tiantan Buddha. Hong Kong Disneyland is being constructed on the northeastern part of the island, on a massive land reclamation project in Penny's Bay.

A Christian Trappist Monastery sits on the east coast of Lantau Island, approximately halfway between the towns of Mui Wo (which sits on Silvermine Bay) and Discovery Bay.

Artifacts unearthed on the island showed human activities dated back to the Neolithic age and the bronze age.

See also: History of Hong Kong, Beaches of Hong Kong