Goodness Grays!

Our love affair with Hong Kong started in 1989 when Lawrence was working there on a Yorkshire TV series called 'Yellowthread Street', and I joined him there for a holiday when he had completed his work. It was May 1989 and things were starting to happen in China which meant our planned trip there was officially cancelled. Because Yorkshire TV had a fax machine, they were getting immediate and frightening stories from the mainland about what is now referred to as the Tiananmen incident. The photos below show people gathered around the Cenotaph to pay respects to the many students and ordinary workers who were killed during this period; we still have our black armbands in our box of memories. And on our wall we have a photo I took of a banner by the Star Ferry terminal in Hong Kong where people were quietly protesting about China's actions against its own people.

So, when the opportunity arose, in late 1991 we headed back to work in Hong Kong and stayed until 2015. It was always an exciting place to be and a great base from which we travelled widely around Asia. So when we got the chance this year to re-visit Hong Kong, we jumped at the offer, curious to see how things had changed. One can still see the remains of the damage done by the protests in 2019-2020, but most visitors will still see a thriving city. But look a little closer at the street flags in the photo above. After 1997 when Hong Kong returned to China, the Chinese national flag was raised everywhere and its flag pole was always taller than that of the Hong Kong flag. Now though, it seems that the Chinese national flag also has to be bigger than the Hong Kong flag. And my old university friends have to take part in regular flag-raising ceremonies on campus, and everyone has to get through security barriers whose access restrictions are directly related to the student involvement in the protests. Everyone knew of friends who had left Hong Kong or were planning to do so. International teachers are few and far between, because you can be caught by the new National Security Laws for any reason the Government might decide. People are still able to talk freely, but prefer to do so only in private. But for the majority of Hong Kongers, they do what they have always done: work hard, educate their children, keep their heads down and make the best of things.

So here I thought I would put a few of my favourite photos from our recent visit. We stayed in the area known as Western District on the northwest coast of Hong Kong island. It used to be at the harbours edge, next to which is the tram line which takes you all the way, via the glossy Central district, to Happy Valley in the east. Public transport is as accessible as ever in Hong Kong with an enormous and convenient choice of MTR, tram, bus, ferries, and taxis.

Travelling across Victoria Harbour on the Start ferry is still a must-do trip. All the green and white ships have names including the word 'star'. This trip has progressively become shorter over the years as the harbour is reclaimed for buildings, but that in turn has made for a rougher trip. Despite my seasickness, I will still use this form of transport to cross the harbour if I have the chance. I did once regret this decision when the ferry sat in the middle of the harbour waiting for something. And, on another occasion when the ferry hit another as it was approaching the terminal! I could see we were about to collide and couldn't image what the ship's captain was doing. But in recent years, it is only the inter-island ferries which have been known to sink.

The view of the harbour never fails to be interesting, but is always dependent on the weather conditions. At the start of our trip, the weather was unusually hot with a cloudless sky (see photo left). But towards the end of our trip, a typhoon was approaching and you can see the colour change in the sky to a murky grey. Of course one of the best times to take a photograph of the harbour view is at night time when the buildings light up.

But as you travel around the Central district, you cannot miss the glossy towers which dominate the landscape. The blue building below is The Henderson, designed by the renowned Zaha Hadid Architects for the developers Henderson Land. It is unlike anything in the area and should have an amazing view. But, their rival company headed by Li Ka-shing has apparently decided to block their view by building a competing, but less architecturally expensive building, next door! The now diminutive Lippo building nearby is losing some if its prominence. I was told that the block-like structures on the outside of the building represent monkeys climbing to the top; who knows?

Below left is the ICC (International Convention Centre) building in Kowloon Western District. It is a 108-storey, 484m skyscraper, and in the evening is used as a billboard with light displays which change throughout the year. The IFC (International Finance Centre) building on the right below is in the Central district and consists of two towers, the tallest of which is 415m. It is surprisingly delicate for such a skyscraper and nowadays you are forced to walk by it when the Star Ferry terminal was moved from its more convenient location at City Hall; I guess at the behest of the building's owners.

But my favourite buildings in Hong Kong are the older ones along Nathan Road, especially those on the crossroads near Jordan MTR station.

And hidden in the recesses of new Hong Kong you can still find the old temples and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) shops, with their distinctive aromas. The Man Mo temple is probably the most convenient for visitors, but its popularity does mean that it is hard to take photo without someone in it!

Hong Kong is still a place of traditions. Late September was the time of the Mid-Autumn Festival when families would picnic on mooncakes, surrounded by lit candles and lanterns, and enjoy one of the largest and brightest moons of the year. Nowadays, burning candles is banned because of problems cleaning up melted wax from the pavements, and traditional lanterns are lit by led lights rather than candles. We visited a market stall in Tai Kai Market (near Long Ping MTR station) which still specialises in handmade lanterns.

Years ago we had attended the Tai Hang Fire Dragon parade which takes place during the Mid-Autumn Festival period. At that time, there were far fewer visitors and we had a much better experience. This time the event seemed to have been taken over by the Hong Kong Tourist Board. There were too many people for the small streets, the dragon didn't move as much as we'd seen before, and most annoying were the comperes shouting out inane comments to rouse an audience who'd been waiting for two hours in the stifling heat! Somehow I think we'd already seen Hong Kong at its best, and that justified our decision to leave in 2015. So here are a few images from the Tai Hang Fire Dragon event. The dragon gets its fire from the thousands of incense sticks inserted along its length. It becomes a very heavy object so is supported through the streets by many men who have to be careful not to get burnt.

It is still easy to find the old Hong Kong and the same activities which we were surprised by when we first arrived to live here in late 1991. Recycling in Hong Kong is still done by the old folk who collect paper, cardboard, and cans, and collect a small fee along the way. Hard physical work is still done by the elderly who have no pensions and no children interested in helping them. But you won't see Hong Kongers begging on the streets; the only beggars are those shipped in my Mainland syndicates.

The wet markets were something that Lawrence always tried to avoid because of the smell, but I love these places. The choice of fish and seafood is incredible, but I did avoid the meat stalls as they can be a bit gross.

Of course we had to get our bit of culture and history while in Hong Kong, so we visited the Colonial Cemetery in Happy Valley. Much of the cemetery was closed off due to fallen trees from a recent storm. But the overwhelming discovery of the tombstones was the number of men who had died by having 'fallen from aloft'. It was clearly dangerous to be at sea, even when not in battle.

We visited the Nan Lian garden near Diamond Hill MTR, so I could photograph the striking red bridge there. The Chi Lin Nunnery nearby was closed by the time we got there but it was still lovely to walk around this area. When I first visited some years ago, I practically had the place to myself. Not any more!

All in all, it was great being back in Hong Kong and I would encourage everyone to visit it if you have the opportunity. The vitality of peoples in Asia is something to be admired.