The unique paradox called Hong Kong, a global centre of capitalist economy under the somewhat relaxed control of communist China, even from an aerial view, seems hanging between the mainland and sea, and probably between its British past and Chinese present. As the aircraft prepares to touch down at Hong Kong airport, the photographer in me looks forward to capturing this enigma through my lens.
The clouds are never far away, and neither are the seven million people who call this place home. A crowded sky, crowded streets and a crowded skyline, with sky scrapers giving the hills some terrific competition, is the first impression of this humongous concrete jungle with knock-out infrastructure that revels in its subtleties and reveals them slowly. The world’s most vertical city can be mind boggling at first, in fact overpowering in certain ways. It is a city of contradictions, which should rather be looked at as combinations. The faster one grasps that, the better it is.
So with a map in hand, a camera over the shoulder, and obsessed with wanderlust, I set out to discover Hong Kong and a little beyond. There are loads of touristy activities that one can indulge in at this megapolis, but a few experiences leave some indelible imprints on the heart and mind. And while the checklist of a first-timer in Hong Kong was strictly being adhered to, it is the city itself that is the spectacle, the experience?at times pretty, glossy and shimmering, and confused, unnerving and a chunk of indifferent humanity at the other. Disneyland, Victoria Peak, Madame Tusaaud?s, some local shopping at the bargain-heavy Ladies? Market, and late night walks at the Kowloon waterfront facing the sparkling Victoria Harbour skyline are quite heady, considering they are packed together within 48 hours. But my camera lens is happy and so am I. However, it is my on and off interaction with the generally polite and considerate locals, at times on the roads while asking for directions, and at times on board the metro, which, by the way, is brilliant in terms of operations and management, that gives my head a new lens from which to look at Honk Kong and all that lies within it.
The insignia of the British Empire and its long-hauled control is not just embedded in a few buildings and little geographies, but in the heart and mind of the Hong Kong denizen. But that just can?t undermine the strong Chinese character of its people. While locals, many clad in chic western outfits and business suits, and totting 3G tablets, proudly talk of their ethnicity and culture, they fiercely defend their freedom and liberty as a special administrative region (SAR) of the People?s Republic of China. Discussions range from freedom of expression, and other democratic civil liberties, to the vivid show of consumerism and capitalist way of life, and every now and then I realise that probably they too are pondering over these questions of identity, but passively, 14 years after Hong Kong ceased to be a British colony.
One of the most memorable experiences is a visit I make to an old tea house on Wellington Street in the central district of the city. English language, or rather the ignorance of Cantonese, is an acute disability if you?re visiting this place alone. As there?s a mad scramble for old chipped wooden chairs on shared tables, Chinese tea, and of course dim sums, they can afford to ignore one bewildered English speaking south Asian watching from the sidelines. But this is Lin Heung Tea House, and it?s been here for almost a century, and considering the clientele, it still has many years to go. In these fast disappearing conventional tea houses lies the experience of old Hong Kong circa 1950s maybe, before modernity swept much of it away. The other must-mention experience is the cable car ride over lush green cloud covered hills of the Lantau island that has of late become one of the biggest tourist draws of Hong Kong, thanks to the giant Buddha statue there.
The misty environs of the island and the statue itself amidst the picturesque surroundings are a visual treat like no other.
Taking the liberty and availing the facility of a visa on arrival, I venture out for a day to the Las Vegas of the east and the other SAR of China, Macau. An hour?s bumpy ride on a ferry lands me straight into this Portuguese colony of yesteryear, transferred to China 12 years ago. Now three days of heavy duty Hong Kong has taught me better than to just visit the coveted casinos in my few hours at Macau. So I choose to spend most of my time on a Portuguese heritage trail of the city.
If you can blissfully ignore the glaring high rise hotels and casinos circumscribing the old city area, then be sure to be transported to something between Goa and Lisbon. Much of the Portuguese population is now gone, but the distinctively beautiful and classic Portuguese architecture bears the hallmark of Europe. Macau?s dynamics are quite different from Hong Kong due its tiny size, varied demographics and heavy dependence of the economy on tourism and casinos that have prospered ever since China took over. Questions over history, polity and culture that would invite animated discussions in Hong Kong are conveniently answered with a nod, a look, a smile.
It?s interesting how Hong Kong and Macau, former colonies of the world?s largest ever, and oldest colonial empires, respectively, today stand at a time in history where their identities are being carved out yet again, centuries after they started to become what they are today. It?s a transfer of fate, from global powers of the past to a definitive power of the future, China. But combinations and contradictions are playing their role in full measure. Two days later, as my Delhi-bound flight takes off from Hong Kong, vivid snapshots rest in my camera. But what I learnt of the place and its people is being cherished by the mind. Hong Kong is, in more ways than one, a truly global city.