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Published: March 27th 2010
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Welcome to Hong Kong
The cityscape as we arrive. We arrived in Hong Kong, the city where east meets west, about noon today. We had booked an afternoon tour of Living Traditions of Hong Kong. Annette decided to hang out on the ship, so Doug did the tour.
Most people think of Hong Kong as a small portion of the Kowloon Peninsula, but the territory also includes up to 266 islands in all. The first settlers are believed to have arrived in the 3rd millennium BC. Like many seaports, it eventually became a lair for pirates and various ethnic groups.
Many know Hong Kong as the buying and selling capital of the world, but it was actually founded on the colonial opium trade, which flowed freely at first. Hong Kong’s importance as a free port only became evident after WWII as it provided shipping services for Chinese goods. In the 1950’s, following the UN imposed embargoes on China, Hong Kong’s people moved quickly to establish banks, textile industries, electronics, watches and other enterprises. In 1962, China briefly opened its borders and refugees flooded into Hong Kong. In the years after that, there were communist backed riots in the late 60’s; the Stock Market crashed in 1973 and the
The Ship Has Docked
The Voyager and more of the city in the background. Vietnamese ‘boat people’ arrived in the thousands to escape civil war.
For more than 150 years, the British flag had flown above Hong Kong, and European influence was profound, but the city and its people have always proudly proclaimed and retained their Chinese identity. So, at midnight on June 30, 1997, this former British colony became a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. Since then, Hong Kong has been a Special Zone, operated according to a “one country, two systems policy” to help ease the transition and keep the city’s economy thriving.
After the reunification, many who had made Hong Kong fortunes left for other parts of the world, but many who were confident in its future also stayed. Many new entrepreneurial businesses arose. The result is a remarkable city.
The traditions tour left the pier for our first stop at the Tin Hau Temple, where the local fishing population prays to the Taoist goddess for safety and good catches. The temple is currently doing some renovation but we were able go through it. It’s a centuries-old temple and a fine example of Chinese architecture. Along with the colorful religious images, it is filled
Tin Hau Temple
The first stop on this afternoons tour is a centuries old temple in downtown Hong Kong. with impressive overhanging incense coils. As we arrived, there was some type of celebration with a crowd of nicely dressed people across the street at a commercial storefront. There were also a lot of beautiful flower arrangements on stands. As we came out of the temple, we saw 2 guys just below us on the sidewalk of our side of the street carrying a suckling pig on a large wooden tray. They set it down and another man pulled out his cleaver and started to chop the pig into pieces. We found out that the event was the grand opening of some type of real estate office. They have a tradition that people come and wish you good luck when you open a new business.
Next, we went to the Wet Market, where eager neighborhood shoppers converged to purchase their fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, meats and assortment of items. Doug was able to buy some new mangosteens. Following that, we all boarded a famous double-decker trolley/tram, supposedly the last one of its kind left in the world. We took a 45-minute ride around the central part of the downtown. After getting off, we stopped at an authentic Hong Kong-style
The Welcoming Committee
We are greeted by the incense burner and a group of older Chinese just hangin out. café for a cup of English tea, local coffee or soft drink and some kind of custard pie. Then, our last phase was a walking visit through the Western District, the oldest Chinese settlement and trading district in Hong Kong. These shops offered an incredible array of dried seafood, aromatic herbal medicine, paper lanterns and incense, all of which captures the essence of old town Hong Kong. After we returned to the ship, we got ready for our dinner reservations at Nobu in the Intercontinental Hotel. We had eaten there last year and really enjoyed it. They have a fabulous view of the harbor and at 8:00 there is a great light show on many of the large buildings across the harbor. We had a very good meal and met a new wine.
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