Flora
and Facades
Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong is a living
contradiction, a tug of war, a celebration of contrasts.
Here a verdant paradise embraces a soaring metropolis, bearing witness
to Imperial China's Qin Dynasty 2,000 years ago, to the Opium Wars 200
years ago, and to the geopolitics of 20 years ago.
No wonder Hong Kong is so hard to get to know.
The unremarkable HKG airport belies the complexity of Hong
Kong. But mountains out the window suggest that this financial
powerhouse isn't just about city life, and that the real Hong Kong
might be deceptively elusive.
Central
Central,
Hong Kong Island
An eclectic mix defines Hong Kong Island, the
most well-known and often-visited region of Hong Kong. Here Lyndhurst
Terrace in the central business district looks much like many other
major cities.
Hong
Kong
Central, Hong Kong Island
This downtown intersection could be anywhere in the world.
Steel
Canyon
Mid Levels, Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong's streets wind
their way through canyons dwarfed by skyscrapers, the result of
building a city on a mountain island.
Tiny Taxis
Mid Levels, Hong Kong Island
Red taxis appear tiny at the feet of these residential towers.
Alley Stairs
Central, Hong Kong Island
Where other cities have alleyways, Hong Kong has outdoor stairwells.
Stairs and Escalators
Mid Levels, Hong Kong Island
To walk in Hong Kong is to navigate stairs and escalators.
Escalators
Central, Hong Kong Island
The Central-Mid-Levels Escalators run up and down Hong Kong Island. The roof, seen here, incongruously reminds me of rail service.
Stairs at Night
Mid Levels, Hong Kong Island
The escalators go down in the morning, up in the evening.
Pedestrian
Mall
Central, Hong Kong Island
Stairs are everywhere in Hong
Kong. Here they offer access to the Cochrane St. pedestrian mall.
The Flying
Pan
Central, Hong Kong Island
Mocking the local accent, this
24-hour breakfast joint calls itself "The Flying Pan." (Even
relatively flat streets have dozens of stairs.)
Sunset
Victoria
Peak, Hong Kong Island
Atop Hong Kong Island sits a placid park
with walking trails and panoramic vistas.
Mall on a Mountain
Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Island
Victoria Peak also features a modern mall, which highlights Hong Kong's vertical nature as well as its commercial focus.
Hong Kong Island by Night
Victoria Peak, Hong Kong Island
Shiny during the day, Hong Kong is lit up at night.
A Man and a Phone and a Tree
Central, Hong Kong Island
Even Hong Kong Island is replete with nature if you know where to look.
The Market
Central, Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong's outdoor markets are legendary.
Nut
Vendress
Kowloon, Hong Kong
A woman sells nuts near a flower
market in Kowloon, the "Land of Nine Dragons" across the bay from Hong
Kong Island. Here the landscape looks less like an international mix
and more like the Far East.
Flowers for the New
Year
Kowloon, Hong Kong
As a monotheist living in a monotheistic
country, I was fascinated by the polytheistic sites in Hong Kong.
Here a worker brings flowers into the Taoist Wong Tai Sin Temple ahead
of the Chinese New Year.
Wong Tai Sin Temple
Kowloon, Hong Kong
The approach to to Wong Tai Sin Temple is carnival like.
Smoke is piped in to the Wong Tai Sin Temple for ambiance. Behind it are residential buildings.
Smoke
and Gods
Kowloon, Hong Kong
The white smoke at Wong Tai Sin Temple contrasts with vibrant reds to welcome religious pilgrims and tourists alike.
Worshippers
Kowloon,
Hong Kong
Two young women worship at the Wong Tai Sin Temple.
I heard a story while in Hong Kong about a worshipper here who was
asked which god he was praying to. "I don't know," the worshipper
replied, as though it didn't really matter. It seemed ridiculous to
me at the time. Then a friend reframed it with the comment, "sounds
like he's relaxed and content."
Wong Tai Sin
Kowloon, Hong Kong
The ferocity of the gods took me by surprise. This is Wong Tai Sin, the divine form of the Taoist hermit Wong Cho Ping.
Wong Tai Sin (detail)
Kowloon, Hong Kong
A closer look at Wong Tai Sin.
Garden Pond
Kowloon, Hong Kong
In contrast to the divine ferocity, a garden at the Wong Tai Sin Temple offers tranquility.
Refuge
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Not far from the Taoist Wong Tai Sin Temple, the Buddhist Chi Lin Nunnery creates an island of calm in an urban sea.
Toyota taxis cruise past a typical building on Nathan Road in downtown Kowloon.
Highrises
Kowloon, Hong Kong
These highrises struck me as especially beautiful.
Harmony
Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Lantau Island, Hong Kong's largest, is nicknamed "Hong Kong's lungs." Even the skyscrapers seem to blend into nature.
Elements
Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Hong Kong has a clean and efficient metro system called the "Mass Transit Railway," or MTR.
The Tung Chung station is one gateway to Lantau Island.
Ngong
Ping 360
Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Lantau is home to the "Big
Buddha," commonly reached via the Ngong Ping 360 cable car — one
of the world's longest runs. The glass-bottomed cars whisk riders away from civilization.
JMH
Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Riding the glass-bottomed Ngong Ping 360.
The Bid Buddha
Rises
Lantau Island, Hong Kong
The Big Buddha rises out of the
distant haze as if beckoning his followers home.
The Big Buddha
Lantau Island, Hong Kong
The Big Buddha towers over the forest.
Steps to the Big Buddha
Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Steps lead up to the Big Buddha.
Po Lin Monastery
Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Near the Big Buddha is the colorful Buddhist Po Lin Monastery.
Disneytemple
Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Ngong Ping Village is the way station to the Big Buddha and the Po Lin Monastery. They advertised a spiritual retreat. What I got was Buddha-themed knockoff.
This bait and switch would be a theme of my visit, at least until I
found the real Hong Kong. (Read more: "Searching for
Hong Kong's Soul.")
Fisherman
Tai O, Hong Kong
Also on Lantau Island is Tai O, the classic community that time forgot.
Past and Future
Tai O, Hong Kong
A child in Tai O offers incense to a local god at the Kwan Tai Temple.
Again, I was fascinated by the shrines and their gods.
Another Shrine
Tai O, Hong Kong
Another shrine is home to more gods.
Gods of All Sizes
Tai O, Hong Kong
The gods come in all sizes.
The Gods Like Citrus
Tai O, Hong Kong
Apparently the gods like citrus.
The Central Canal
Tai O, Hong Kong
"The Venice of Hong Kong," some people call Tai O, and this is why. But only from afar, I fear, for Tai O is mostly poor and old.
Tai O is marked by poverty and age.
Tai O Primary School
Tai O, Hong Kong
Will the next generation stay in Tai O? I doubt it.
What a funny place for a tree.
Arhats
New Territories, Hong Kong
An arhat greets visitors on the steps up to the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery, with more arhats below. Founded by Yuet Kai in 1951 and built on the site of a temple to Kwun Yam, the monastery actually houses 13,000 Buddhas. But there are no monks.
Arhat
New Territories, Hong Kong
Each arhat is unique.
Bicycles
New Territories, Hong Kong
Behind this simple shot of bicycles in a central apartment courtyard lies a complex constellation of forces.
The building is in the New Territories — the region between Kowloon and the Chinese mainland — so called because this part of Hong Kong didn't join the British Empire until 1898, half a century later than Hong Kong Island. The New Territories comprise more than 80% of Hong Kong's land and house half of the population.
Most people in the New Territories live in "estates," buildings like these which are a form a public housing. The government offers the housing because, by some measures, housing in Hong Kong is the most expensive in the world, and most people couldn't afford it on the open market. These units are tiny, about 400 ft2 on average and sometimes less than 100 ft2. (The average U.S. dwelling is over 2,000 ft2.) The diminutive dwellings here shift most interactions to the public square.
In many ways this snapshot represents the lifeblood of Hong Kong.
Courtyard
New Territories, Hong Kong
A man walks past bicycles in a typical estate courtyard.
Playground
New Territories, Hong Kong
Outside a public housing unit, the colorful, verdant public space contrasts with the drab interior.
Fresh Fish
New Territories, Hong Kong
The fish at Tai Po Hui Market is really fresh.
Fire?
Mid-Levels, Hong Kong Island
"When there is a fire..."!? Though there wasn't much of a language barrier, every so often an oddity popped up.
Lunch
New Territories, Hong Kong
Food is the backbone of daily life.
Reflection
Selfie
New Territories
A reflection selfie in Tai Po Hui
Market. The lower left part of the sign prohibits "pet animals." But
the paucity of pet squirrels makes me think the prohibition extends
more widely to cooking wild animals in the marketplace.
Hong Kong Scene
Central, Hong Kong Island
This is Hong Kong.
