NEW YORK OF ASIA

The Best Old Trams Ever!

Is it China? Is it an independent country? Is it a British colony? The truth is that even after reading and trying to get a better sense of what Hong Kong’s status is doubts do not fade but grow and leave us with even more questions. A former British colony until 1997 (yes ... until very recently), today Hong Kong is a "Special Administrative District" of the People's Republic of China. The system, developed by Deng Xiaoping, was to maintain a capitalist economic system (implemented during the colonial period) under the sovereignty of a country with a communist ideology, such as China. In addition to the economic system, Hong Kong maintains independent administrative and judicial systems, its own customs and external borders. This is why Chinese citizens have to apply for a special visa (until recently, a nightmare to obtain) in order to enter Hong Kong’s territory.

Wanering Around Hong Kong's China Town.

Luckily, we did not need visas, however we did enter Hong Kong the way most of the Chinese do – by taking a local train from Beijing to the border city of Shenzhen. Long walks through the hallways of the train station (which looked more like an airport) finally brought us to the immigration counters where we legally exited China and entered Hong Kong. On the other side and directly connected to the immigration offices we found ourselves at an entrance to the subway system, which connects you to almost any part of the country (we’ll call it a country, even though it is not). With its gigantic stations, underground and above ground sections of the railway, its super modern soundproof trains with TVs, perfect order and cleanliness, and a unique transfer system where in order to change lines all you need to do it just step out of one train and take another one across the platform going the opposite direction, Hong Kong’s metro is one of the most modern on the planet. In just over half an hour we were in one of the central districts – Kowloon, named after the peninsula where it is located.

Wandering Around Hong Kong Streets at Night. 

Beijing's China disappears completely as soon as you come out of the metro, replaced by a western city with the British legacy, which Hong Kong took advantage of to the maximum. It is true that almost all of traditional Cantonese architecture has been lost, however, this does not take away from the city’s charm inspired by the friendliness of the people, the general order and cleanliness of its streets, the well organized traffic, and the endless skyscrapers. With our mouths open and the eyes looking up into the sky, all we could think of was “Wow! We are New York!”. And yes, Hong Kong is the closest city to the American metropolis we have been to so far. The similarity is not only in the architecture, modern skyscrapers, and the busy crowds, but also in its geographical location. Hong Kong is comprised of the central island (Hong Kong Island) just like Manhattan; a continental area (The New Territories and the Kowloon peninsula) similarly to the New York neighborhoods of Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, although the latter two are part of the great Long Island; and finally the islands (Lantau and Lama) just like New York’s Staten Island and the others.

Relaxing on one of the Hong Kong Islands.

These first impressions of “another New York” began to change in some respects once we discovered the city a little better. Hong Kong, despite being a big city with its abundance of concrete, steel and glass has protected areas that comprise 75% of the total area of ​​its territory. This means that more than seven million people of the country’s population reside on the remaining meager 25% of its land.  The district of Kowloon is the perfect example of this. In 1991 it reached a historical record of being the largest urban center with the highest population density on the planet (40,426 inhabitants per square kilometer), with 1,900,000 inhabitants living on the territory of only 47 square kilometers. Taking into consideration these numbers, nonetheless, there are many uninhabited areas and whole islands with deserted beaches, luscious forests and pristine quietness to enjoy whenever you feel like getting away from the craziness of the metropolis.

A Quiet Sunset on a Beach 20 min away from the City.

Hong Kong’s Victoria Peak is the place where you can get the best aerial view of what is the inhabited part of the island with its countless skyscrapers seeming completely unreal the way they illuminate the sky with its lights and colors. To get up there we used the famous 120 years old tram installed by the British in order to access their posh residences at the top of the hill. Getting down wasn’t as quick, as we decided to walk through this privileged part of town to get a better feel of what life could be if we were children of some rich Hong Kong Englishman. Amid the lush vegetation it was impossible to see any lights of the city and the silence was almost utopian interrupted only occasionally by birds’ chirping or the piercing sounds of cicadas. The narrow roads, taking us on this evening stroll through colonial English residences nestled between green hills, revealed only a few parked cars, none less in class than a Porsche, a Jaguar or a Rolls Royce. Gradually, the distant city lights began exposing the foliage of trees and in less than an hour we were back to dodging cars and buildings, with our feet on hot cement, and without a single tree in sight. The change was incredible and it was hard to believe that the same city could be so different so quickly.

Hong Kong Getting Ready for the "Symphony of Lights".

The skyline of Hong Kong alone has become one of the main attractions of the city. Organized by the department of tourism, a sound and light show called the Symphony of Lights, happens every night at 8pm and involves many buildings on both sides of the water - the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Dozens of dancing lights, lasers and reflectors rhythmically jump from one building to the other, some changing colors and some reproducing phrases on gigantic LED screens. Crowds gather on the Avenue of Stars to watch the skyscrapers become alive for some 15 minutes in a cheerful dance and then fall asleep for another 24 hours.

The City of the Go.

One of the strangest things about Hong Kong, though, was that it made me feel as if I were inside a videogame. Hong Kong highways and air walkways for pedestrians are completely surreal. As if taken directly from the “Need For Speed”, highways that go at ground level suddenly rise to heights of a 3rd or 4th floor, then go snaking between buildings and then cut their way directly through some skyscrapers. At the bottom they are lit with lights and lined with different materials making them look completely futuristic. There, if cars have their highways, pedestrians do as well. Footbridges, elevated to over 10 meters high, transport you between buildings and streets, take you through shopping centers and then deposit you in a completely different part of town. Sometimes the inclination of these bridges is such that they have escalators, which is the case of the one that takes you to the Soho area. With its 800 meters in length and 135mts of gradual elevation it is the longest outdoor escalator in the world. Walking for hours on end in these suspended gateways made me feel as if had been deposited in the middle of futuristic New York of “The 5th Element”.

Midair Walkways.

Thanks to Ting, a Singaporean girl  living in Hong Kong who hosted us for a few days in her 62 floor apartment on the island, we were also able to try Dim Sum (literally translated "order until heart’s content "), one of the favorite foods of southern China. Inside the restaurant there are many large round tables, which are shared by several diners, so you do not look for a table, but rather for a chair. Once seated, you are given a small paper with pictures and names where your orders are recorded as you ask for them. It is done this way because Dim Sum is not just a single dish. Female waitresses dressed in white circle around the tables with carts from which you choose what you wish to try. The variety of steamed buns, such as char siew bao (small bits of rice dough stuffed with different ingredients such as meat, chicken, pork, shrimp and vegetarian options) is enormous and all of it is absolutely delicious. The meal is always accompanied by green tea or Bolay (strong fermented tea) which is present on every table and is included in the price, so you do not have to pay for it separately. Many seniors come to these restaurants with their newspapers and spend hours and hours drinking tea, eating and chatting among themselves, although often barely acquainted only by sharing a Dim Sum table.

Hong Kong from the Victoria Peak.

Hong Kong was captivating and we felt like staying for a lot longer, because despite of its limited territory, the places we wanted to visit and the activities to do were endless. Nevertheless, the high prices and the time limitations made us move onto looking for new routes and destinations in Asia. The start of our exploration of the Indochinese peninsula was coming closer and closer, and the date of our departure for Vietnam was on the calendar. Thus, with the corresponding visas in our passports we left Hong Kong to begin what we call “The Final Stretch of the Expedition - Southeast Asia”.

Translated from the original article “La Nueva York del Oriente” by Emiliano Garcia.