Hong Kong 2008

Thanks to my gig at CyberArts, I got to travel to Macau for a tradeshow in Feb 2008. I went early and spent a few days sightseeing in Hong Kong. It's a real pleasure to fly in at night--I don't have photos but you can see one here--the skyscrapers all have special lighting. Hong Kong is actually a group of islands and the Kowloon peninsula. The Kowloon peninsula shares a border with southern China. If you look at the top you'll see the Chinese city of Shenzhen, where lots of manufacturing happens. [If you order USB drives for tradeshows like I do, this is where they almost all come from. I know that because of the timing of this tradeshow and the Chinese New Year I had to have the drives shipped directly from the factory to Macau.]

The terrain is very hilly and the area is very populated. Think of all the buildings in Manhattan squished into San Francisco.


So hilly in fact that all of the bridges are new. Why? Because before they moved the airport to Lantau Island the approach was so steep and so constrained to the old airport on Hong Kong Island that there couldn't be any bridges. I've heard it was quite the experience to fly in. Most of the traffic is still by tunnel, and if you look at a good aerial picture of Hong Kong bay you'll notice the lack of bridges.

This is the big tourist area called Victoria Peak. [I took a tour, all the tours go here.] It's famous for the view...

...which is supposed to be spectacular on sunny days. Not so much in February which can be overcast, rainy, windy. In fact, if you look back one picture you'll notice that many of the chrysanthemums [from the Chinese New Year] are knocked over. Windy as hell the day we were up there.


My cold and wind-blown fellow tourons.


These two views from the harbor give some idea of the relentless encroachment of concrete and steel. A lot of people packed in not very much space. I read recently that all flu viruses originate in Asia--I think China in particular. Having been there you can imagine why. Not only do they originate in China, they lose their potency as they spread out from the source, eventually dying.


Old and new Hong Kong, juxtaposed for the moment, although there is a move a foot to sunset the junks.