Discovery Bay

Discovery Bay (DB) is a mixed, primarily residential, development comprising a residential development and private and public recreational facilities in Hong Kong. It is situated on the north-eastern coast of Lantau Island in the New Territories. The development spans an area of 650 hectares (1,600 acres), and includes two bays, the Tai Pak Bay (大白灣) and Yi Pak Bay (二白灣).

DB has a current population of around 18,000 residents with a sizeable community of expatriates from over thirty countries. DB is located 2 km west of Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and approximately 12 km west from the nearest point on Hong Kong Island, with the co-ordinates of22°17′44″N 114°00′59″E / 22.29556°N 114.01639°E / 22.29556; 114.01639.

DB currently (April 2009) consists of 13 residential development phases with properties ranging from garden houses to high-rise towers of up to 24 storeys. The development also features a 400-metre-long privately owned beach (accessible to the public but no lifeguards present), four private membership clubs including a golf club and a marina club and a public park (Siena Central Park). The absence of public recreational facilities is a bone of discontent with the residents especially in view of the fact that the developer has an outstanding obligation to provide 300,000 square metres of such facilities as part of the original plan.

Though DB is considered in Hong Kong to be a low-density development due to the amount of open spaces (as measured by the plot to development ratio of 0.12), DB is however the second most populous district (after the New Town of Tung Chung) on the sparsely populated Lantau Island. Unlike many other developments in Hong Kong, pets are allowed in DB, whereas other developments generally ban them.