Hong Kong is a metropolis that is the third-most important international financial centre (read: money laundering) in the world, one of the richest and most developed places on Earth, and has nicknames such as the “Pearl of the East/Orient” and “Asia’s world city”.
It used to be a British colony and is now a Chinese one.
Hong Kong is most famous for its concrete jungle, which is much more impressive than the one in New York City – around 1000 more skyscrapers than NYC has, and more than all of Europe combined. Needless to say, Hong Kong has the highest number of skyscrapers in the world.
The Victoria Harbour, named after Her Majesty The Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, the Empress of India, and the sovereign of Hong Kong when it was founded by the British as a port city, has the world’s best harbour view, especially at night. It’s not simply the shear number of tall buildings, but also the geography of it. There’s even a laser show every single night there.
In the central business district as well as Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon Peninsula we can see plenty of colonial structures.
The old supreme court building with Lady Justice up there. The pillars used to be full of bullet holes from one side, a legacy from the Second World War.
The iconic Tsim Sha Tsui clock tower.
An old prison.
Star Ferry, the cheapest way to go across the harbour. Back in the 60s, there were riots triggered by increases in tickets.
In fact, Hong Kong is so much more than just the New Territories, Kowloon, and Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong has a total of more than 200 islands and, counting its waters, is bigger than the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg!
The first and best university in Hong Kong, the University of Hong Kong. At one point, it was ranked No 1 not only in Asia, but all of Asia-Pacific, and Top 20 world-wide.
Alumni included the Father of Modern China Dr Sun Yat-sen, the first person to discover the SARS virus Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, the father of Cantonpop music/the “God of Song” Sam Hui, the current chief executive Dr Carrie Lam, Hall of Famer lyricist James Wong, Macanese tycoon the “Godfather” Dr Stanley Ho, Cambridge Analytica researcher Dr Aleksandr Kogan, as well as numerous other celebrities, politicians, and academics.
The Main Building of HKU was occupied by the Japanese during WWII.
Nevertheless, Hong Kong is not just a concrete jungle – far from it. 50-75% of Hong Kong is green, with many being its country parks with hiking trails.
There are also endemic and foreign animals in Hong Kong. Pictured here is a sacred cow.
Though of course as a shoppers’ paradise, its malls are also one of a kind.
The Po Lin Monastery. While I didn’t have the time to go into the natural side of things, some of Hong Kong’s special features are the UNESCO Geopark, the then-world’s largest artificial lake, the many islands with indigenous cultures, and of course the Lion Rock, the national symbol of Hong Kong.
Not the best representation but these are some of the neon lights in Causeway Bay. The tram running on Hong Kong Island is also the last of its kind in the world. And do you know the Peak Tram is the only one on Earth that could give you the illusion of the world getting tiled? Not to mention the light rail that really materialized the idea of “failed in London? Try Hong Kong”…
Hong Kong is also home to hundreds of places of worships. Above is a Taoist/Daoist temple.
The Big Buddha.
When the world got together to set the standards on stop signs, Britain decided to have these “give way” signs instead of stop signs.
Even though there are real villages in Hong Kong, this is a fake one. It’s mostly for tourists.
Once again, I didn’t get the chance to go to any of them for real, but as a coastal city, Hong Kong has more than a couple of decent beaches. (The weather wasn’t good here.)
Its nightlife is of course also one of the best in the world…