Steve and Cathy's Blog

Today we take in as much of this amazing city as we can with a 5 1/2–hour excursion entitled Highlights of Hong Kong.  We have opted for the extra-charge version of the same tour in order to be in a smaller group, hoping that we will receive more information and be able to spend a bit more time at each stop.  As soon as we board, our expectations are instantly met, as Lilly, the guide from our previous excursion, is to be guide today.  The rest of the benefits are icing on the cake. We already know we could not do better to be educated about Hong Kong than this intelligent, humorous, engaging professional.

We will have these activities: a Peak Tram ride to the top of Victoria Peak, a stop in the Repulse Bay beach and residential area, a sampan tour of the Aberdeen area, plus the unnecessary-for-Steve-and-Cathy but compulsory shopping opportunity at Hong Kong’s largest jewelry factory.  We will take them in order, and intersperse descriptions of each with remarks from Lilly (and some additional information).

On our way to our first stop, we wade into Hong Kong traffic.  Here are some of Lilly’s comments:

• Today’s Hong Kong is no longer the manufacturing center that it was in the 50s through the mid-80s. At this point, it only comprises 5% of the territory’s GDP.  In fact, China itself is beginning to see manufacturing exit for places like India (China’s average wage is four times that of India) and Vietnam (China’s wage is three times that of Vietnam).  Hong Kong cannot even compete with China, so the manufacturing that’s left is extremely high end.
• There are no WalMarts in HK – a store that size would occupy way too much space.
• Uber is not legal in Hong Kong, thus the taxis routinely overcharge their customers.
• She will talk considerably about “one country/two systems” to describe how HK is different from Mainland China, governed differently, and has different economic and judicial systems. But the differences are also everyday ones too: in HK, driving in on the left while in China it is on the right. It was decided to keep it that way after the British left, otherwise the traffic would be even more chaotic trying to adjust to the change.
• HK has great food, and she urges us to especially try the Dim Sum (“little snack”) that is even available in the cruise terminal.
• You will not see motorbikes in HK. 80% of people in HK use mass transit, which is excellent and inexpensive.  Only 20% drive because it is so expensive to own a car. Lilly lives in the New Territories, and she takes a train.  One leaves every three minutes during rush hour, and a monthly pass is only US$50. Gasoline costs US$8 per gallon. Plus parking the car in Hong Kong or Kowloon costs US$800 a month!  If the average HK monthly income is US$2,200, that puts cars beyond the reach of the middle class HK citizen.
• The population of HK is 7.4 million, but that does not include immigrants that keep streaming into the city. The Chinese government limits that to 150 people per day, but who knows how many really emigrate into HK.  As far as immigration is concerned, HK has no say about that.  The Chinese government decides.  She guesses that the average age of immigrants is 40.
• Hong Kong Island and Kowloon are getting crowded, making it hard to get an apartment.30% receive subsidies.  50% own their own “flat.”  The other 50% rent a “flat.”
• As we pass by some five-story apartment buildings, Lilly comments: “These are old buildings. They’re 50 years old and have no elevators.  Within twenty years, they will be pulled down and high-rises will replace them.”
• Many of the city’s older citizens live in buildings on less than 10 stories.
• Lilly admits: “I do not know my neighbor where I live. That is the way life is here in HK.”
• There are very high taxes on cigarettes, which are from China. To prove that the tax has been paid, one cigarette is removed from each pack.
• Speaking of taxes: In order to discourage car ownership, a 40% to 115% tax is levied on new automobiles, depending on the price of the car. Electric cars were the exception last year, but the tax is back on them this year, although they are considering waiving the $30,000 tax on those vehicles for this year.
• For the reason above, trains are extremely popular, and not just for local driving.There is a train to Beijing, which is 1,220 miles from HK.  It takes 24 hours.  There is also a train to Tibet.
• 3.5 million of Hong Kong’s 7.4 million live in the New Territories. Two million of those work in Hong Kong.
• We were going to pass through the tunnel linking Kowloon and Hong Kong, but a third tunnel is being constructed and the traffic is too bad. The first tunnel was built way back in 1972 under an arrangement where the contractor would operate it for 25 years.  They had their money back in four.  That tunnel cost $10 million to build.  The third tunnel will cost $120 million.

We are passing through the heart of the financial district, and Lilly directs her remarks to this area:

• The highest building in HK is the International Commerce Centre at 118 stories or 1,588 feet in height, completed in 2010.  It was so hazy I couldn’t take a good picture, so here is one I downloaded:

• The Center is another skyscraper, this one at 78 floors, or 1,135 feet high. It was designed to look like the Empire State building in New York.

• There are 317 buildings in HK that are considered skyscrapers, which are buildings of 500 feet or more. There are more here than anywhere else on earth.
• One of the most impressive buildings is the Bank of China Tower, aka BOC Tower. It was completed in 1989 and was designed by the world famous architect I. M. Pei.  It was the first building outside the United States to exceed 1,000 feet in height and was the tallest building in Asia from 1990 tom 1992.  However, as Lilly points out, this building has some very bad Feng Shui elements, primarily the sharp edges and the huge “X” shapes. Apparently, these “X” shapes were much more pronounced in the original design and were somewhat modified, but they still exist.

By the way, the photo on the right was taken from the web.  Our weather was what you see in the photo on the left.

• We bog down in traffic, and our guide remarks: “The traffic is heavy all day in HK, which is one of the reasons that it is not wise to use taxis here.”

Peak Tram ride: We arrive at the Lower Terminal of the ride to the top of Victoria Peak.  This tram has been operating since 1888.  It is only 8:50am, which is great, since this is a super-popular tourist attraction that will soon have long queues.  As we are waiting all of two minutes, we see the Peak Tram Historical Gallery.  Steve would kill to spend the next two hours there, but, alas, we are on a tour.  We board and begin the climb.  We are soon in the woods, but can see buildings through the trees and the receding skyline of the city.  It only takes about seven minutes to traverse the 9/10ths of a mile to the 1,810-foot summit.

We arrive at The Peak Tower, which is quite the attraction.  The place is huge, full of dozens of restaurants and shops, all of which are still closed because it’s so early.    We walk through the complex up a couple of flights of stairs to the restrooms to start our visit.  We regroup outside, and Lilly gives us forty-five minutes to sightsee.  We follow her to one of the prime spots overlooking the city.  The haze is thick, and our view is very much obscured, but we make the best of it as our guide points out certain highlights.  Other tourists have arrived, and it is also fun to watch them.

The above two pictures are another instance where I crib a photo from the Internet so that you can see the actual skyline versus what we see.

We return to our spot at the appointed time, and Lilly gives us a few more minutes to explore the other side of the peak that overlooks Repulse Bay, our next destination.

Our bus is making the climb from the base station to meet us.  We meet up with it and slowly and carefully wind our way down the mountain.  We arrive at a very nice beach area and alight to spend a half hour looking over the beautiful scenery.  Our tour guide explains that there are a dozen beaches in this area.  At one time, sharks had been a problem, but shark nets have been put in place to ensure the safety of swimmers.  Nice to know.

There are many stories as to how the area got its name, none of which have been confirmed.  Suffice it to say that it is one of Hong Kong’s most exclusive addresses, some town houses fetching up to US$6,500 per square footin the HK real estate market in recent years.

We spend a very pleasant visit there taking pictures of the area and its inhabitants.  Cathy and Steve have a few Hong Kong dollars to burn, and Lilly directs us to a small grocery store near the entrance to the park area.  We buzz in there for liquid dish washing detergent (to clean our eyeglasses – it’s amazing what you miss on a trip), Red Bull and cookies.  We successfully unload all but souvenir money that we ant to save to show our grandchildren.

The most remarkable building we see both coming and going is The Repulse Bay, built on the site of the previously famous Repulse Bay Hotel.  It is a 37-story apartment building.  What makes it unique is a large hole built into the middle of it. This is to allow dragons to fly throughthe building instead of intoit.  Feng Shui principles abound in HK, another of which is that the building should face water, which this one does.

On our way to Aberdeen, a section of HK where the local fishing fleet is located as well as many floating restaurants, our guide continues with her narrative:

• She begins talking about the political situation in HK since “turnover” to the Peoples Republic of China in 1997 (The PRC refers to this is the “return.” Semantic difference?  Not really, at least to Hong Kong citizens).  HK citizens had been promised free elections – fully free elections similar to those in Great Britain, the United States and elsewhere where there are slates of candidates nominated by free political parties. That has not happened.  The Chinese government chooses a slate of candidates first, and the people select among the members of this handpicked slate. This has led to massive student protests as took place in Iran.  In Iran, they were met with military force.  At least here, there is some effort being made to open up the process.
• The Peoples Republic of China regime having reneged on that promise, the national government receives very little support from young people 18-30. This support presently has cratered to about 3%.
• She continues to talk about real estate prices, probably because it is one of the territory’s biggest, knottiest problems. There are apartments going for up to US$10,000 a square foot in Hong Kong, and housing prices are becoming out of reach for many, even in the New Territories. Everyone knows this is unsustainable if HK is to continue to thrive as it does now.
• 92% of citizens of HK are Chinese, and the Chinese have many, shall we say, guiding values. In HK, three elements dominate: Feng Shui, the Chinese Zodiac and numbers.
• Numbers: the numbers 8 and 9 are good. Eight stands for wealth and nine for longevity, two things important to Chinese people.  Hence apartments that are on the 8^th, 18^thor 28^thfloor, for instance, command the highest prices.  Conversely, the numbers 4 and 7 are bad.  Four means death, for instance.  You also want to avoid the number seven.  If you are holding a dinner party, etiquette might call for seven dishes.  However, you will increase that number to eight dishes to avoid the bad luck associated with seven.
• As for colors, green means longevity and red means good luck.
• Lilly’s parents were both from the north of China. They came to Hong Kong fleeing communism in front of Mao’s Long March. That is why she is so tall (see the photo of her standing with Cathy at the beginning of this post.  Cathy is 5’6” tall).  Her diet includes noodles.  In the south, it’s rice.

We arrive in Aberdeen, an area of HK that was once just a fishing village and a manufacturing town. To this day, what is left of the thriving fishing industry is located there, as well as many restaurants, the most famous of which is the Jumbo Floating Restaurant.  The manufacturing has left largely left for cheaper land and labor, mostly to other countries.

We board a sampan and take a tour of the hundreds of boats moored or docked in the area.  Besides being a fishing village and a tourist attraction, Aberdeen is one of thirteen “Typhoon Shelters” scattered around HK where boats can, for free, seek shelter.  These are small bays or coves where a captain can be protected from rough weather, especially typhoons, of which HK receives 5-8 annually.  Originally it was occupied almost exclusively by fisherman, who lived on their boats.  As the fishing industry has dwindled, the area has morphed into its present status.

The tour takes us through the harbor, and we can see how this lively area is transitioning. Indeed, there are plenty of fishing boats, as there are 20,000 people still involved in it (there were 56,000 not that long ago).  But there are also dozens and dozens of million-dollar-plus yachts.  On the shore, high rises abound.  Gone are the quiet fishing village days.

Still, it is a very interesting experience, as these small sampans are a delight ride in.  It is a perfect way to experience this unique part of Hong Kong’s past, present and future.

We come back to shore and have a brief photo and restroom stop.

Then it is back on the bus for our obligatory shopping stop.  In a few short minutes, we arrive on a narrow street jammed with tour buses, several of which are from another Oceania tour.  We are all there to see jewelry made ….. well, not really.  We are there in hopes that we will buy jewelry that they make there.

We make our way up to the second floor, and spend the next half hour shopping … well, not really. Steve and Cathy spend the next half hour watchingpeople shopping.  We realize that this comes with the territory. Many, many group tours we have been on so far do indeed include this element.  Once in a while, we even find something ourselves, so we really cannot complain.

We come back down when it is time to meet our bus.  While we are waiting, Lilly points out something very interesting (well, to Steve, anyway).  There is a building under construction (nothing new in HK, to be sure) and she notes that the scaffolding used by the construction company is made of bamboo, and has been for centuries.  Although it is losing its appeal, mainly due to a shortage of people able to construct bamboo scaffolding as well as a perceived shortage of the material, it is still popular.

One last boarding of the bus, and Lilly still has the energy to continue our education:

• She carries three passports. Because she has lived here her entire life, including much time before the handover to China, she still carries a British passport.  She can use it for travel, especially to British Commonwealth countries. That would be the only place she would use it.  She has a Hong Kong passport.  This allows her to travel to 160 countries without needing a visa, but she cannot travel at all to 13 others.  The Chinese government does have oversight as to who may have one of these.  And she has a passport from the Peoples Republic of China that gives her access to 60 countries.
• There are many Christians and especially Roman Catholics in HK, but the predominant religions are Buddhism and Taoism. However, a slight majority of HK citizens profess no religious preference at all.
• Besides the three main sections of the territory, there are 235 other islands that make up HK.
• Citizenship is carefully controlled. It takes seven years to apply for citizenship, and another five years after that to qualify to apply for public housing.
• The public housing primarily consists of 350-square-foot apartments meant for four people. They cost around US$400/month.  A comparable private apartment would cost US$1,200 per month.  95% of HK residents live in apartments of around 500 square feet or smaller.
• “The mindset in Hong Kong is that we do not like old buildings … or old people. It is difficult for old people here because of the cost of housing.  They live in old buildings, and those buildings get sold and torn down, leaving them no place to live.”
• As for welfare, Lilly matter-of-factly says: “You don’t work? You don’t eat. ”
• The unemployment rate is only 3.4% and taxes are low. Corporate taxes are 16.5%, so there are plenty of jobs for those who are qualified and willing.
• The HK government is rich. In fact, the territory could operate for twenty-eight months without taking in a dime in taxes.
• Healthcare is provided, but there is a big difference between private and public.She had an issue where she needed physical therapy, and the waiting list for that straightforward service was ten months.   She has a chronic back malady, and knows she will need to save money to get proper treatment.
• There is a pension system that operates like a 401-K. The employer contributes 5% and the employee does as well.  Our guide does not think HK is an ideal place in which to retire.
• The government is loath to interfere with the economy as the long-standing laissez-faire, hands off approach is what has built this amazing economy, but there are efforts underway to help poorer people make ends meet. There is now a minimum wage of US$4.50 that a few years ago was instituted at US$4.00.
• Lilly jokes about HK politics: “If Hong Kong was to have an election tomorrow, we would know the result yesterday.” The local government is largely run by business elites.

We pass by some cemeteries, both Catholic and Buddhist.  Here are some interesting tidbits of info on them:

• It cost an average of US$50,000 to be buried in HK. Obviously, that makes it prohibitive for most people.  So cremation is necessary.
• For those who insist on a burial but can’t afford the price, there is another option she calls the 50-50 option. You can have your loved one buried for seven years.  Then the body is dug up and cremated, this making way for someone else to be buried there … for seven years … and so on.
• “You see those high-rises above the cemeteries. They are much less expensive than the other ones because they face the cemeteries.  The best apartments 1) face water; 2) are up high in the buildings; and 3) are on floors ending with 8.”

As we reach the cruise terminal, she mentions that she listens to a local channel called the Panda Channel on which there is a show “My Next Life.”  She says to us: “You are how I want to live my next life.  You are having that life – on a ship.”

She is concerned with Hong Kong’s future.  As far as most HK citizens are concerned, July 1, 1997, the date of “The Handover,” was a sad day.  It leaves their future and their freedom in doubt. Not only does this “two systems, one country” policy end in 2047, but the Chinese government is already meddling where they shouldn’t.  Lilly is especially concerned that HK will lose its present independent judiciary, that judges will eventually be appointed by Beijing.  That would be a huge loss.

Like many citizens, Lilly is watching developments closely.  If it comes a time when she senses that her basic freedom is threatened, she will leave.  Her first destination choice right now is Taiwan.

To hear her talk so bluntly is an interesting finale to our tour.  It forces us to ponder what we have seen, and to wonder if the Communist rulers of the Peoples Republic of China have any understanding of the gem at their doorstep.  Do they understand whyHong Kong is the economic juggernaut that it is today?  We have seen that the Chinese are planners, otherwise they couldn’t have accomplished the economic reordering of their gigantic economy in less than thirty years. So what are their plans for Hong Kong?

Having finally been there to be introduced to Hong Kong, we will forever be concerned about the fate of these 7.4 million.  What a special place full of special people.  May they be left alone to continue as the powerful and prosperous community that they have been building since 1842.