Hong Kong, Part 1 - Colonialism and Chinese Gardens

So at the moment, I'm freezing in chilly Northern California. I will have more on this later. However, on my way here, I spent some time in the city that calls itself "Asia's Global City," Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China. I took loads of pictures, especially of the city's spectacular skyline (I will have a post just about the skyline in the not-so-distant future.)

What makes Hong Kong such an interesting place is that it was a colony of the UK from 1843 until 1997. So while you are in China when you are there, there are mixed in pieces of British influence everywhere. Most people speak Cantonese with each other, yet almost everyone, save for recent immigrants from "the mainland" (which is what they call the rest of China,) can speak English very well. There are other vestiges as well.

There's a certain nervousness in Hong Kong these days that has been present for quite some time. This stems from the fact that the region is now controlled by the Communist Chinese government. While Hong Kong enjoys a great degree of autonomy, save for the Beijing government controlling the region's defense, foreign policy, and having veto power over leaders elected by the people of Hong Kong. In 2047, this "one county, two systems," is set to expire. When one reads the newspapers in Hong Kong, especially the South China Morning Post (which, by the way, is fascinating, and was the first thing I did each morning,) you can see just how palpable this nervousness is - the opinion page especially is dominated by columns and letters opining on relations with Beijing. I am considering getting an online subscription to scmp.com.

Anyhow, there are hundreds of pictures I took, so let's get to them!

These are Hong Kong dollars. Hong Kong is perhaps the most unregulated abode of capitalism in the world. If you enlarge this picture, you will see that various banks, such as HSBC (Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation, a very large international bank founded in Hong Kong,) Standard Chartered, and Bank of China, have their logos on it. Also, if you like shopping, there is no place better than Hong Kong. In fact, there are some shopping malls that are open twenty four hours.

One vestige of the colonial days - most of the place names still have very British names.

Thankfully, I did not need to visit this place.

This was in the bathroom at a Szechuan Restaurant I ate in.

There are lots of Chinese Gardens all around Hong Kong. The next series of pictures are all images from various gardens around the city. This one was at the top of The Peak, or the large mountain which dominates the city.

No terrapin in the pond!

Public garden on Hong Kong Island.

This is a garden in Kowloon.

The gardens are a good place to take a rest on hot and humid Hong Kong afternoon. This is on Hong Kong Island.

In Kowloon.

A business in the Soho district of Hong Kong.

Garden on Hong Kong Island.

Also on Hong Kong Island.

The garden in Kowloon again.

Hong Kong is much like San Francisco, in terms of terrain - many of the roads, especially on Hong Kong Island, are quite steep. These are condos on the Island.

Steep streets in the Soho district.

Looking up toward the peak, on a wet day in Soho.

In Hong Kong, as well as in Bangkok, McDonald's is trying to compete with Starbucks for the coffee market. Quite interesting - a different style for Mc Donald's.

Just in case you forgot.