8/8/2019 Yuen Elyssa Magazine
3/5
View from above of one of Hong Kongs man
It is a place you feel. Founded byEuropeans, developed by
Asians,
governed by Chinese, designed and
run by entrepreneurs, architects,
economists, and adventurers from
the four corners of the world, in its
streets and waterways you may
sense the turning of the Earth itself.
The classic experience of Hong Kong
is, and always has been, a crossing
of Victoria Harbour on one of the Star
ferries, brave little craft that have
been ploughing this short route, back
and forth, back and forth, night and
day, for a hundred years. Sometimes
this feels a timeless experience. The
ship sails, regular passengers re-
verse their wooden seat backs with a
familiar clatter to catch the cooler
breeze, and there is a ringing of bells
and shouting of seamen that might
sound as if it came directly from the
you, though, and you will discover t
hat really this is a voyage of per -
petual change. As always the har -
bor seems to be jammed with a
thousand vessels, but they range
from the most ravaged and antique
of sampans to container ships so
futuristic that they scarcely look like
ships at all. The skyline of the harbor
is sure to be cluttered with construc-
tion cranes, and its buildings are a
dizzy ensemble of styles, tastes, and
agesvast, showy skyscrapers, drab
old tenement blocks, structures
clad in gold or silver, massed slabs
of concrete and red brick
and steel, the whole orchestrated by
the inescapable thumping of steam-
hammers and violently expressing
the power of materialist progress.
And your fellow-passengers! They
are not just the world in themselves,
as a shipload of New Yorkers might
be: They are living history, on the
move. The Chinese, political masters
of the city, are not all very master-
ful. Some are sweet-mannered old
ladies and rafsh youths. The Eu -
ropeans and Americans on the Star
Ferry, though they adjust their slatted
seats with a knowing, worldly air, are
often uncomfortably sunburned and
self-conscious, as though they have
not been here long. The Japanese
tourists,
already loaded deep with
cameras, are deeper still in ex-
cited chatter and shopping bags.
Few of your fellow passengers,
wherever they come from, seem
like permanent residents; they
are only people passing through,
and when an elderly deckhand
walks languidly along the rail,
preparing to drop the gangplank
on arrival, he does it with an in-
nately patronizing air.
It is the rise and fall of empires
you are seeing here, the shift-
ing of continents and the tides
of power. Beyond the bustling
ferry, beyond the teeming harbor,
beyond the skyscrapers and the
swiveling cranes, the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of
the People's Republic of China
extends in ceaseless energy into
the hills around, along the coast
and over the waters of its archi-
pelago. No other city is quite like
this. Hong Kong is perpetually
on the go, deafeningly energetic,
smelling of oil and duck -mess,
a city of many cult ures poised
between the present and the
future, but seldom bothering with
the past.
There is, though, some element
of pathos to the sensations of
this astounding metropolis. It
feels highly strung and nervous,
not altogether sure of itself. It is
hyperactive, like the world itself
in the early years of t he 21st
century. The classic experience of
Hong Kong is, and always has been,
a crossing of Victoria Harbour on one
of the Star ferries, brave little craft
that have been ploughing this short
route, back and forth, back and forth,
night and day, for a hundred years.
Sometimes this feels a timeless ex-
perience. The ship Special Admin-
istrative Region of the Peoples
Republic of China on arrival, heImage of the Star Ferry
does it with an innately patronizing
air. Beyond the bustling ferry.
It is the rise and fall of empires
you are seeing here, the shift-
ing of continents and the tides
of power. Beyond the bustling
ferry, beyond the teeming harbor,
beyond the skyscrapers and the
swiveling cranes, the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of
the Peoples Republic of China
extends in ceaseless energy into
the hills around, along the c oast
and over the waters of its archipel-
ago. No other city is quite like this.
Hong Kong is perpetually on the
go, deafeningly energetic, smell-
ing of oil and duck-mess, a city of
many cultures poised between the
present and the future, but seldom
bothering with the past.
There is, though, some element
of pathos to the sensations of
this astounding metropolis. It
feels highly strung and nervous,
not altogether sure of itself. It is
hyperactive, like the world itself in
the early years of the 21st century.
The classic experience of Hong Kong
is, and always has been, a crossing
of Victoria Harbour on one of the Star
ferries, brave little craft that have been
ploughing this short route, back and
forth, back and forth, night and day,
for a hundred years. Sometimes this
feels a timeless experience. The ship
It is a place you feel. FoundEuropeans, developed by Agoverned
by Chinese, des
and run by entrepreneurs, atects, economists, and adveers from
the four corners o world, in its streets and wways you may sense
the turni
the Earth itself.
8/8/2019 Yuen Elyssa Magazine
4/5
traditional egg stall
already loaded deep with
cameras, are deeper still in ex-
cited chatter and shopping bags.
Few of your fellow passengers,
wherever they come from, seem
like permanent residents; they are
only people passing through, and
when an elderly deckhand walks
languidly along the rail, preparing
to drop the gangplank on arrival,
he does it with an innately patron-izing air.
It is the rise and fall of empires
you are seeing here, the shift-
ing of continents and the tides
of power. Beyond the bustling
ferry, beyond the teeming harbor,
beyond the skyscrapers and the
swiveling cranes, the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of
the People's Republic of China
extends in ceaseless energy intothe hills around, along the
coast
and over the waters of its archipel-
ago. No other city is quite like t his.
Hong Kong is perpetually on the
go, deafeningly energetic, smell-
ing of oil and duck-mess, a city of
many cultures poised between the
present and the future, but seldom
bothering with the past.
There is, though, some element
of pathos to the sensations ofthis astounding metropolis. It
feels highly strung and nervous,
not altogether sure of itself. It is
hyperactive, like the world itself in
the early years of the 21st century.
ladies and rafsh youths. The Eu
It is a place you feel. Founded byEuropeans, developed by
Asians,
governed by Chinese, designed and
run by entrepreneurs, architects,
economists, and adventurers from
the four corners of the world, in its
streets and waterways you may
sense the turning of the Earth itself.
The classic experience of Hong
Kong is, and always has been, a
crossing of Victoria Harbour on one
of the Star ferries, brave little craft
that have been ploughing this short
route, back and forth, back and forth,
night and day, for a hundred years.
Sometimes this feels a timeless ex
perience. The ship sails, regular pas
sengers reverse their wooden seat
backs with a familiar clatter to catch
the cooler breeze, and there is a
ringing of bells and shouting of sea-
men that might sound as if it came
directly from the China seas of an -
tiquity. Look around you, though,
and you will discover that really this
is a voyage of perpetual change.
As always the harbor seems to be
jammed with a thousand vessels, but
they range from the most ravaged
and antique of sampans to container
ships so futuristic that they scarcely
look like ships at all. The skyline of
the harbor is sure to be
cluttered with construc
semble of styles, tastes
vast, showy skyscrape
tenement blocks, struc
gold or silver, massed
crete and red brick and
whole orchestrated by
able thumping of steam
and violently expressin
of materialist progress.
And your fellow-passe
are not just the world in
as a shipload of New Y
be: They are living hist
move. The Chinese, po
of the city, are not all v
YUMCHA-chinesebrun- lou ba goufried turnip cake
- siu maisteamed pork dumplings
- ha gousteamed shrimp dumplings
- ta siu baobbq pork buns
- gai lan
traditional steamedvegetable
- pai guatshort pork ribs steamed inblack bean sauce
- pei dan sau yok jukrice congee with porkand black century
egg
- chao fanfriedrice
-chao minfried noodles
- dan tategg tart
- dong lai chaice black milk coffee
- to fu fasweet soft tofu dess
above: traditional egg stall
below: nathan road, shopping district
below: view of a butcher in one of many wet markets
