Updated: Added highlights slideshow and video of lightshow
I had to get out of China by last Thursday to reset my visa, and the only reasonable option was Hong Kong because most tickets had already been locked up with Chinese New Year traffic. Hong Kong turned out to be as fantastic as so many had reported. The mountainous island backdrop is stunning with tons of pristine greenspace. At the same time, the skyline is breathtaking and the overall vibe is decidedly urban. It really felt like a lot of the things I like about NY combined with the natural beauty of California, not to mention the incredible travel opportunities in Asia thrown into the mix. I could definitely see myself living in Hong Kong. The only downside is that I have the sense that part of why the Chinese government is content to let HK keep its own separate system is to purposefully exclude it from china, keeping mainland money and businesses out of the citystate. Beijing is also working hard to get foreign companies to move china hq’s and even regional hq’s to Shanghai. This is actually an explicit policy in financial services and one would assume that goes for other industries as well. I guess they want China’s leading city to be a homegrown success rather than a territory built by the Brits. I think Chinese government motivation is not only related of face issues, but also because the Hong Kongers have proven less willing to accept the party’s dictats.
Anyway, the point is that I think HK is on its way to becoming the Switzerland of China. Which is cool in some ways, cause you will continue to see cool stuff on the streets like this brand spankin new Lotus that I saw in Causeway Bay. However, it does make Hong Kong a less attractive for soomeone looking to wittness and in a small way, participate in, the rise of China.
I took a bunch of pics and videos, which are now all uploaded to the blog. The Lotus at the top there was the first time I had seen one in the wild.
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