HONG KONG: CITIZENS IN

A BAMBOO CAGE

by Lee Foster

The people of Hong Kong, following the transfer of political control from Britain to China, resembled the song birds in cages so popular in China. The transition went well, and now the Hong Kong song birds are comeplling voices in the new China century.

Song birds can be seen in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong at festive bird markets, one of the major concessions to levity you will find in China. Birds are among the most appreciated pets. In Hong Kong, if you go to the Bird Market in Kowloon, at Hong Lok Street adjacent to the Mong Kok subway station, you will see thousands of birds on display in ornate cages, usually made of bamboo but sometimes even of silver. The bird-masters will pass time there, comparing their birds, delighting in the songs, and feeding the birds crickets, a lively item of commerce. The bird-masters cajole their avian treasures during the feeding.

After 1997, Hong Kong's people were the birds and the Beijing-based political leaders of China were the bird-masters. Between the two there was hope and tension. Some believed that the Hong Kong birds would be the canary in the coal mine, but that metaphor was not correct. Beijing and Hong Kong began to sing the same notes, complementing each other, insuring ever greater prosperity, a basic Chinese wish.

The cage itself was lovely, closer to silver than bamboo, because Hong Kong was and is a prosperous business center of Asia, booming as no other region of China did before, but surpassed now by Shanghai, especially. Hong Kong rates itself as one of the larger financial centers in the world, after New York, Tokyo, and London.

The people, the birds, knew that the future of their cage was uncertain. They were absolutely dependent on their bird-master for food and water. China controlled the fresh water supply for Hong Kong. Turn off the water and Hong Kong would die immediately. China also provided much of the food, especially produce, for Hong Kong.

When the door of the cage was open, the birds had the opportunity to fly away, and some did. Many positioned themselves for emigration, flying to sites such as Vancouver. But the cage was difficult to abandon, and those who stayed won the bigggest bets. Hong Kong was their comfortable, tropical home, where 98 percent of the population is Chinese. Should this be exchanged for the wind-chill winters of Canada or the caucasian social world of Australia? The door was open, but some who have flown away have also flown back. Hong Kong prospered, even amidst the uncertainty.

The bird-masters of Beijing viewed their Hong Kong birds as exotics, high fliers of finance and commerce, living in a world of personal freedom that the rest of China did not experience. The flourishing capitalist milieu of Hong Kong contrasted sharply with the socialism of China, though this was changing. The feathers of Hong Kong are almost embarrassing in their gaudiness for the bird-masters of Beijing. The birds of Hong Kong were almost a different species from the bird-masters of Beijing. But all that is changing. One has only to ride the high-speed maglev train from Shanghai to the airport to know that Hong Kong has no techno edge on the mainland in the 21st century.

Song and cajoling between the birds and bird-masters are not guaranteed to be cordial at all times, but decorum and mututal prosperity can be expected to triumph over ruffling the feathers. Beijing is an inland, insular, imperial city, laid out for political purpose. Hong Kong is a coastal, outgoing, commercial city, created for the purpose of trade. The temperaments of the places are different. One main issue was the new airport, critically necessary for the continued long-term growth of Hong Kong. Hong Kong decided to push ahead with this without involving Beijing. Beijing was disturbed because the investment would draw down the cash reserves of Hong Kong. All this is behind the participants now.

Both birds and bird-master knew that the fate of birds can be precarious in China, where birds may be consumed. Sparrows can appear on the menu. The bird nest may end up in the soup. China can consume every part of every thing it desires.

However, when the Beijing Olympics 2008 realized that Mao had not been that focused historically on equestrian emphases, and that Hong Kong, with all its sinful colonialism, had a world class Jockey Club legacy, it was determined, wisely, that Hong Kong would be the site of the 2008 Olympics equestrian events. Bird masters and birds may never knows whose feathers will be showier at a future time.

This inherent tension in Hong Kong makes the city a fascinating place to visit.

HONG KONG ISLAND

The place to start, after flying from the U.S., is the Star Ferry Terminal on Hong Kong Island. At 9 a.m. on any given workday, you get a glimpse at the essence of Hong Kong.

First, there is the deep harbor, directly in front of you. This was the rationale for the British forcing China to give them the territory in the first place. Huge ocean freighters pass small sailboat junks. Ferry boats scatter from here to Kowloon and other points north to pick up commuters.

The mass of people converging on the Central District of Hong Kong Island each morning is impressive. They are purposefully setting out for a day of acquisitiveness, for Hong Kong lives by an ethic of hard work and its just rewards. The noise of jackhammers and the cellular phone in the hand of commuters are aspects of the getting and spending essence of Hong Kong. The area's prosperity depends not on natural resources, but on consummate human resourcefulness.

Be sure to cross on the Star Ferry from the Central District to Kowloon and back just to steep yourself in the flavor of the harbor and skyscraper waterfront, dominated by the visually-innovative Bank of China building, designed by I. M. Pei. The 74-story structure, with its angular form and diagonal bands, is one of the taller buildings in Asia.

Then walk back from the Star Ferry Terminal to the Peak Tram and take the famous ride up this funicular to Victoria Peak. The tram ride is notable because the ascent is steep, 45 degrees, but it seems even steeper. As you rise on the hill, passing more lavish homes with each gain in elevation, you proceed up the economic and social pecking order of this society.

From the top of Victoria Peak you can survey the Hong Kong region in a magnificent panorama. The view is a testimony to the happy marriage of three ingredients: the disciplined Chinese work force, the political stability of the British administration, and the decision to make the area a free-trade zone, with no tariffs in or out, and where nationals of any country could do business.

Descend again to Central, as the main business district on Hong Kong Island is called, and observe the bright new world there, in contrast with the nostalgic older world to the west, in an area appropriately called Western. Individual sites in Central and Western can be located with a handy self-guide walking tour published by the Hong Kong Tourist Association and available in their Hong Kong office.

Central's symbols are the sound of the jackhammer, the whiff of diesel smoke, the neck straining at highrises, the doubledecker trams as billboards, and the bustle and hustle of a people doing business.

Western is the old Hong Kong, what remains before the skyscrapers overrun it. Be sure to see Cloth Alley, one of the first of the textile streets and still a small market for cloth. Egg Street is devoted exclusively to eggs. You'll see crocks with "thousand year old" eggs, those seven-month-old delicacies that the Chinese like to eat with pickled ginger. On Man Wah Lane you can buy "chops," the stone stamps on which your name can be engraved in Chinese. On Man Wah they can also print the reverse side of a business card with the Chinese equivalent. On Bonhomme Strand East you'll find snake shops with fattened live snakes, ready for a gourmet's table. At #6 you'll see one of many shops in the district devoted exclusively to birds' nests, those coveted swallow nests imported from Thailand and Indonesia and favored for soups. At 233 Hollywood Road they serve birds' nest in sugar, as a kind of dessert, or birds' nest in soup. There are numerous ginseng and other herb shops, all suggesting the medicinal emphasis the Chinese ascribe to various plants. Hollywood also has the coffin specialist, at 190, and numerous antique shops. The Man Mo temple gives you a sense of the incensed aura in Chinese worship. Cat Street is an open-air flea market. This list is typical of discoveries to be enjoyed during a walk in Western.

Spend another day exploring the southern part of Hong Kong Island. Renting a taxi with driver is the easiest strategy, but public transportation is also possible.

The first interesting stop is Aberdeen Harbor, where the fishing fleet of live-aboard junks anchors between trips to the South China sea and other waters in search of an abundant catch. You can take a sampan ride around the harbor and eat at the floating seafood restaurants, which have an exotic atmosphere. Some travelers will be put off by the pollution of the harbor if they make the excursion during daylight.

Further along, at Repulse Bay, you can swim or just relax at a relatively clean, yellow-sand beach. Especially in summer, when Hong Kong is both hot and muggy, Repulse Bay provides seaside relief. Months other than summer are the recommended times to visit Hong Kong, especially autumn, from October to December.

As a final stop in an island tour, look at Stanley Market, a large open-air market emphasizing clothing.

A tour around the island begins to alert a visitor that there is much more to see in Hong Kong than the urban metropolis. Actually, the total Hong Kong region consists of 413 square miles, including 235 outlying islands, several of which are easy to visit.

KOWLOON

Immediately north of Hong Kong island is Kowloon, the mainland extension of the urban area. Beyond that is the region known as The New Territories.

Kowloon is a short Star Ferry ride across from Hong Kong Island. If you've done your Star Ferry outing, you can also take the subway from Hong Kong to desired points in Kowloon. The area is intriguing to explore. Beyond the shopping and residential section stretch the main manufacturing centers, where the #1 and #2 revenue producers (textiles and electronics) are created. You and the six million other travelers who come here each year are the #3 industry.

The Kowloon shore immediately across from Central should be your first stop. From this shore you get stunning views of the skyscrapers on Hong Kong Island. The Hong Kong Cultural Center along this waterfront has a citizen walkway, giving you good access and views of the passing parade of ships. Ferries, junks, large container ships, small fishing vessels, barges, tugs, cruise ships, hydrofoils, and tankers are among the vessels. The signature boat of Hong Kong is a red-sailed junk, but in truth most junks now are powered and you will not likely see a red sail junk except in a tourism brochure.

Just beyond this waterfront is some of the best shopping in Hong Kong, an entity that means shopping. Hong Kong offers one of the largest concentrations of consumer goods assembled in one location on earth. If you have an idea about one category of thing you want, from computers to jewelry, you can obtain from the Hong Kong Tourist Association a list of several stores that carry it. Or you can be a freeform shopper, liable to be carried away, and you will be. The Chinese Arts and Crafts store near the Star Ferry terminal can offer you a beginning look at the indigenous items of the region. Nearby Nathan Road has a "Golden Mile" of stores.

One of the insightful encounters possible in Kowloon occurs if you visit the Wong Tai Sin Temple, the largest temple in the urban region. Hop in a taxi or onto the subway and proceed to this Taoist temple, where the spiritual life of the Chinese is apparent. You will see hundreds of people buying incense joss sticks, lighting them before the altar to the gods, or perhaps sticking them in an offering of oranges. After many prayers have been said, regarding a wish, a fear, or a troubling matter, the true believer then rattles a container of fortune sticks until out pops one stick. Each stick has a number. The next step is taking the number to a stand to get a slip of paper with the fortune corresponding to the number. Then the fortune needs to be interpreted, perhaps with the aid of a cadre of professional fortune tellers, who wait in nearby consulting shops for clients. The role of the gods in determining fortune is a major element in the spiritual life of many Chinese. The temple itself is handsome, painted red and gold.

After the temple, consider a walking tour of the Yau Ma Tei area, using a self-guide booklet available from the Hong Kong Tourist Association. The walk is for travelers unafraid of plunging into one of the most densely populated area on earth. Some aspects of the underbelly of this setting will not appeal to the fastidious, but there are also sights quintessentially Chinese, such as the Jade Market. Here you will see hundreds of stalls selling jade-family, pale-green minerals. The trade in pendants, rings, and bracelets is immense. Other shops you won't find on Main Street USA are those of the local herbalists, who prescribe herb remedies for various human ills. After consulting with the client on what is the ailment, the herbalist goes into his drawers and bottles for the various elements and perhaps grinds them together to form a substance to be steeped in hot water. This brew is then drunk, presumably to good effect. Chances are the herbalist will also calculate the sale on an abacus, with computer-chip speed.

WHAT HONG KONG DOES WELL: SHOPPING, HOTELS, FOOD

It could be argued that few destinations on earth do better than Hong Kong in three categories: shopping, hotels, and food.

Shopping, as mentioned earlier, is the raison d'etre of Hong Kong. Nowhere will you find a larger selection of consumer goods, often at highly competitive prices because there are many providers in each category and no tariffs on bringing in goods for sale. Hong Kong is the classic free market. Anyone can attempt to go into business here. Moreover, all of Hong Kong caters to the activity of buying and selling, which predominates over other artistic or political concerns. On Nathan Street and other streets in Kowloon you'll see the advertising signs stretching literally overhead, across the street, creating neon stained-glass windows in this cathedral of commerce. An ordinance affecting signage would be viewed here as un-Hong Kong. Advertising is everywhere. The doubledecker trams have been turned into moving billboards. The subway is a venue of advertisements. One has to step back for a moment to realize that there are other modes of decor than ads. For example, Mexico City uses its subway to display art and photography about the country and its culture. The culture of Hong Kong is a new Toshiba Computer or a Seiko watch. Designer labels are everything.

Hotels are another superlative in Hong Kong. Objective observers of hotels consistently rank three of Hong Kong's hotels among the best in the world, and often they are named the tops of the top ten. The Mandarin Oriental, Regent, and Peninsula are among these revered properties, and there are several other properties whose stars shine only a little less brightly.

The Mandarin Oriental, in the Central district of Hong Kong Island, epitomizes the standards in this competition. The person checking you in walks you to your room, showing you how everything works. Then he gives you his card in case you have any questions during your stay. The luggage, left at curbside, is already in the room when you get up the elevator with your check-in person. The bouquet of flowers, daily fruit, and box of chocolates are standard, as is the personalized stationery printed for you as a hotel guest, and already in the room when you arrive. Whenever you go in or out of the hotel, or call on the phone, they know your name. If a fax comes in, they deliver it within a couple of minutes. If a housekeeping matter arises, the service person is there immediately. Services run on a round-the-clock basis. The room itself is quiet and subdued, done in tropical woods, Chinese fabric patterns, and indigenous art pieces, such as ceramic vases. From your terrace at the Mandarin you can relax in your provided robe and slippers as you watch the traffic on Hong Kong harbor.

On the opposite shore, in Kowloon, are the other great hotels, the Regent and the Peninsula.

The Regent boasts the most stunning location in the Hong Kong area, situated over the water, with views of the ship traffic in the harbor and the skyline of Hong Kong Island beyond. Thoroughly modern, done in red granite and black marble, the Regent offers a huge lobby bar with a picture window view of the harbor. Be sure to have a drink and enjoy the view from the Regent lobby. The arcade of shops at the Regent amounts to a marbled Rodeo Drive for the Orient. Everything about the Regent is regal, starting with the fleet of Rolls Royces and Mercedes that the hotel maintains to shuttle around its guests.

The Peninsula, also on the Kowloon side, is the grande dame hotel of the region. The Peninsula set the standard of service for hotels worldwide for decades. Allow time for afternoon tea in the cavernous lobby. The hotel is noted for its lifelong employees, its 4.5 staff per guest, and its old-silver-and-chandelier aura. The Marco Polo suite in the hotel has been the fitting residence of royalty and presidents en route. As you sit in the lobby, watching the white-gloved doorman greet arriving guests, admiring the stuccoed frescoes on the ceiling, thinking of the decades of posh hospitality since the hotel opened in 1928, you drift back in reverie to the days when Hong Kong was a colony.

The spell is broken, however, as you leave the Peninsula and look across the street at what appears to be an oversized and dirty soccer ball of a building, housing a Space Center exhibit, about as out of place as a Space Center could be. To the right, however, is the Cultural Center for the performing arts, the kind of entity that Hong Kong needs to broaden its appeal to the traveler (or resident) interested in matters other than commerce. The Cultural Center waterfront promenade is one of the special places in Hong Kong where you can retreat for the moment from the assault of advertisements. Some locals poke fun at the design of the Cultural Center, comparing it to a ski jump, adjacent, of course, to the soccer ball.

The Chinese also rival any other culture in their ability to create food with both delicacy of taste and beauty of presentation. The local Cantonese style of Chinese food dominates here, though other Chinese styles are also present. Cantonese food is known for its subtlety of flavorings and freshness of ingredients. By contrast, Sechuan and Beijing-style food, for example, will have more dominant flavorings. Some of the great Cantonese restaurants here are located within the major hotels, so you might combine hotel browsing with some luxurious dining.

Consider a dim sum lunch at the Regent's restaurant Lai Ching Heen. Dim sum, literally meaning "touch the heart," developed as a food style in the 10th century and consists of several light delicacies as lunch. Try the Steamed Shrimp Dumplings and Deep Fried Scallop With Pears, followed by fried rice, and topped off with Chilled Mango Pudding. The Mandarin's Man Wah restaurant is another superb choice. Typical of the culinary creativity here is a dish in which a sole is first filleted. Then the bone itself is deep fried until it becomes as crunchy as a potato chip. The bone then becomes the serving platter for the sole fillets, which are cut into bite-size strips and cooked with vegetables and a black bean sauce. Huge carrots, bred for show rather than to be eaten, are carved into a dragon head and tail, and placed at either end of the fish, so you end up with an artful and delicious sea dragon.

THE ISLANDS

The main image of Hong Kong involves population density and skyscrapers, but that perspective is not complete. There are 235 outlying islands with relatively few people. The islands offer a slower-paced environment, pleasant nature outings, plus rustic hotels and restaurants.

Ferries and high-speed hydrofoil boats make regularly scheduled trips through these waterways. One added benefit of an island excursion is that it gives you an appreciation of the vast harbor and its hundreds of container ships awaiting offloading.

One interesting island to visit is Cheung Chau, with its large fishing fleet, lively morning market, swimming beach, and temple.

As you enter Cheung Chau harbor, you see hundreds of the junks that are the typical fishing boat of the region. When you disembark from the ferry, the dockside market illustrates an important aspect of fishing here: keeping fish and shellfish alive for sale. Fishing fleets of other nations will tend to kill and freeze the fish, but the Chinese like to keep the fish alive or else dry the fish to preserve it. Each of the fishing boats has barrels within it to keep alive the catch until the boat returns. Dead fish have no sale value. Once in the market, fish and shellfish, from scallops to shrimp, are kept alive in shallow pans. Fish not sold immediately are cleaned and then dried in the hot sun. Bamboo trays with drying fish can be seen everywhere. Drying is the basic strategy here for preserving foods from egg yolks to cabbages.

While strolling around the island, be sure to see the Taoist temple Pak Tai and the good swimming beach Tung Won. When you walk about, you get a sense of village life, seeing the tin smith and the local barber at work. Hotel Warwick is the air-conditioned lodging on the island. Its terrace restaurant overlooks Tung Won beach.

THE NEW TERRITORIES

What is particularly fascinating to watch in Hong Kong is the meeting of East and West, the veneer of a western language (English) and modern technology coupled with ancient Chinese perceptions. One such perception is the pervasive reliance on a belief in good and bad luck, a set of precepts known as fung shui. The term fung shui literally means wind and water, and concerns the relationship of buildings and man to nature.

During my visit, one illustration of this occurred in the New Territories, where there was a riot in one village because a developer was erecting a building to house ashes of cremated people. The villagers objected that he wasn't doing it the right way and that he would bring bad luck to the village. Normally undemonstrative Chinese, including elderly women, went up against the police truncheons in the clash. The rules of fung shui, what is needed to bring good luck and avoid bad luck, are not taken lightly.

The New Territories show a further side of Hong Kong. Most of the area is heavily populated, though the northeast is pleasantly rustic. Prepare to encounter traffic jams and road construction delays as you seek out interesting touristic stops and glimpse at the local high-rise life. The best way to see the area would be in a rented taxi or on a guided tour organized by the Hong Kong Tourist Authority. The New in New Territories refers to the historic fact that China ceded the area to the British at a date later than the grant of Hong Kong Island.

As you pass up the west side of the New Territories, planning a circular route for the trip, the brawny container port is your first vision. The amount of goods coming in and going out is staggering. Hong Kong's skilled work force produces abundantly, especially in electronics and textiles.

Interesting New Territories stops include:

*The Chuk Lam Sim Yuen Buddhist Temple. If you happen to arrive amidst a major temple ceremony, with robed monks and intoxicating chant, the scene is particularly lively. However, on any day you will see worshipers lighting their incense sticks and praying to the large golden Buddhas in several temple buildings.

*Tai Mo Shan County Park Lookout. This is one of those mountain views that you might associate with meditative scroll paintings. The scene is pleasing, though the plain below is now rather built up, reducing the rustic effect.

*Hakka Walled Village Kam Tin. It's difficult nowadays to get a sense of the clans that made up the original population base here, such as the Hakkas and the Tangs, whose women wear traditional hats. This small, remaining walled compound contains a few elderly Hakka women, who pose for pictures for a small fee. One senses that this walled village was a more satisfying phenomena to see in the past, before the area became so built up.

*Wholesale Fish Market Lau Fau Shan. This fascinating glimpse at wholesale fish and shellfish selling shows how the Chinese keep all fish alive until the moment they are consumed. The catch is carted around in huge tubs as traders buy and sell the catch. Mounds of oyster shells are evident in a relatively polluted bay. You can order lunch at the restaurant Oi Manor, meaning Loving the People, and the proprietor will go into the market to bring back your fish, show it to you, then cook it at once. Fried oysters are a specialty. Wisely, considering the potential hygienic problems, the Chinese cook all food they eat.

*Important Man's House Tai Fu Tai is an architectural gem from the 1860s, showing how a scholar-gentleman lived. Fine architectural details of the building have been stabilized.

*Looking into China at Lok Ma Chau. From this promontory you gaze into the prosperous-looking Shen Zhen area of China, a Special Economic Zone, with skyscrapers and good roads. This is the main trade contact point between China and Hong Kong.

*Duck ponds and wild landscapes of the northeast at Plover Cove Reservoir. As you are about to conclude that all of the New Territories is built up, the northeast section comes as a pleasant green retreat, starting at Sha Tau Kok. You will see some intensive agriculture and large ponds used to raise the white ducks so prized as Peking Duck in restaurants. Driving south along Plover Cove Reservoir, there are numerous scenic turnouts with picnic tables where Hong Kong residents like to come on weekends to experience an outing in nature. Tolo Harbor has a long bike path.

MEMORIES IN HONG KONG

Hong Kong remains in memory as a truck loaded with white ducks going to market, as a perpetual construction site where all the scaffolding is done in bamboo (the better to sway with the typhoon winds), and as the capital of high-stress business living. You won't find wide boulevards for the leisurely citizen or a grand design in urban planning, but you will find vitality. Even the Chinese language is an aggressive semi-shout, as if saying "let's get on with it," whatever we're doing. The friendlier the conversants, the higher the decibel level.

Hong Kong means cellular phones for the business person, who can now work even while commuting or sitting in restaurants. Helicopters hover over the water with tycoons who can't waste the time its takes a limo to get from the airport to their deal-making meeting in Central. Hong Kong is businessmen in suits sneaking a tai chi exercise motion. Hong Kong offers a human encounter that is brusque rather than outgoing friendly, the relationship you expect from an honest merchant. Hong Kong wears wealth proudly, whether it's all-gold fillings in the mouth of a Hakka fisherwoman, the designer-jacket teenager with his ipod, or the marbled office building. There is a slight element of British formality in this well-dressed world, coat and tie for the gentleman.

Hong Kong is also always a little nervous about its survival, as is appropriate for a merchant city. In 2008 all the major hotel taxes were dropped. It was a big deal. Hong Kong did not want to position itself as too expensive. The good-value Chinese merchant side of the sensibility was exerting itself once again. Hong Kong had 28 million visitors in 2007, and doesn't want to lose a single one in the future.

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HONG KONG: IF YOU GO

The tourism information source is the Hong Kong Tourist Association, www.discoverhongkong.com.

This article was written by Lee Foster of Foster Travel Publishing. Contact him at his website www.fostertravel.com or via email at lee@fostertravel.com. Copyright Lee Foster.

Lee Foster's most recent travel guidebooks are Northern California History Weekends (Globe Pequot), which won a Lowell Thomas Award, and Adventure Guide to Northern California (Hunter Publishing).

Lee Foster's new literary book is Travels in an American Imagination: The Spiritual Geography of Our Time.

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