Hong Kong, China (Travel)

Hong Kong, China

Traveling from mainland China to Hong Kong is like going to a different country even if Shenzhen (on mainland China) can be seen across the harbor. It was a great city to climax our 3 weeks of travel, semi-immersed in China. It bridged the path for our return home to the United States; our transition from East back to West.

Hong Kong and Macau are part of the same small island complex just off the coast of the South China Sea. Their administrative regions are very unique; their fascinating identities are distinctly separate from that of mainland China. An historical study reveals a colorful, lucrative, and flourishing trade between East and West since the 1500s. A British Territory for a century, it became populated by the large influx of Chinese immigrants escaping the turmoil of their Communist homeland. Annexed and held by British powers (until 1997) and Portuguese powers (until 1999), Hong Kong and Macau became rich and fascinating oddities in the Chinese world.

The 21st century Hong Kong is a city in flux. Viking Travel provided world-class guest lecturers, renowned experts in their fields, to enrich our our travel experience. In these lectures, and from our local tour guides, I was fascinated to learn that today, while Hong Kong remains a successful financial center, it experiences dissatisfaction with the influence of the Chinese government. Since the last transfer of power in 1999, as the government transitions from Western to Chinese rule, civil unrest among the populace has been strong. Pro-democracy factions have highly scrutinized and been critical of recent legislation. Altogether, it has provoked political pessimism among the population of the city.

The British/Western influence remains strong and is significant in Hong Kong. Vehicles drive on the left side of the street. (Of course, it’s British!) It was easy to understand the difficulty/resistance to the transition from a century of British rule to Chinese. Hong Kong is autonomous and has its own currency; we could not even use our Chinese Yuan. More people speak English than in the mainland; shopping was easier.

The area is geographically tiny, very compact, but quite complex. The vibrant heart of Hong Hong is broken in two sections, divided by Victoria Harbour. On the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, near Kowloon’s southern tip, are the key areas for international shopping, dining and entertainment. The heavily tourist area of Kowloon, where we stayed, was very walk-able. We had two days/nights to experience different aspects of the city before heading home. It left us wishing for a longer stay! (A reason to return??!!)

Hong Kong Street Scenes

Although it rained in Hong Kong during most of our two day visit, we still enjoyed its wonderful sights, fabulous museums and some great shopping. Items that had been on our shopping list for the entire trip were finally purchased!

Along the main thoroughfare, we discovered some fascinating trees, seen below. The street was labeled “Salisbury Road” – in itself sounding quite British!

Hong Kong Street Markets revealed intoxicating smells with lots of unidentifiable food. Pictures and real-life examples made our choices easier! The question: to be adventurous and try? or to be safe and not to try? Answer: A bit of both!

Walking down the streets of Kowloon, side by side with the locals, and stepping into local shops and eateries gave us a wonderful, up-close view of Hong Kong.

Victoria Harbour

Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor is stunning at night, complete with its own light show. This view is from Kowloon looking across to Hong Kong Island.

Even in the rain – or especially in the rain – the Victoria Harbor sailing vessels were mesmerizing!

We enjoyed a view of Victoria Harbour on a rainy afternoon along with a local brew at the Museum of Art cafe.

This iconic statue of the late legend, Bruce Lee, is installed on the Kowloon side of the Victoria Harbour. Strategically located in front of a two-story Starbucks, the statue showcases his signature move of being ready to strike from the 1972 hit; Fist of Fury. Interestingly, this was a major stop and marked “highlight” on our waterfront guided tour!

A walk along Victoria Harbour at night is a “must do/see” on one’s visit to Hong Kong!

Harbor Local Fishing Boat Ride

To help us experience a bit of the local culture, Viking Tours arranged for us to ride on a local “fishing boat” through the harbor.

For our private boat ride through the harbor, we were divided into smaller groups of 6-8 people per boat, providing a very intimate experience.

Today, some “fishing boats” are primarily used to take tourists on rides through the bay. Each boat had its own personality in decor and driver. Most of the operators are Chinese women! Our operator was excellent and certainly took her role seriously!

Side-by-side Cultural Diversity. We were fascinated as we passed luxury yachts anchored in the middle of the bay, side by side with junky, ram-shackled houseboats.

We were intrigued by the houseboats, with people living in them, anchored in the middle of the channel next to luxurious yachts and disheveled fishing boats.

Our boat ride in the Victoria Harbour provided us with a totally different experience to view Hong Kong from the water in a local mode of transportation.

Hong Kong Palace Museum

Hong Kong Palace Museum, the city’s newest museum, opened in 2023. As someone who has led countless museum tours, it was a thrilling experience for me! It is one of the finest and best laid out museums I have ever visited.

Over 900 priceless treasures from the Palace Museum (Forbidden City) are presented. Many are on display in Hong Kong for the first time. Some have never been shown before to the public.

The non-traditional “walls” that separated one display from the other was one of the aspects of the museum that greatly intrigued me. I did not feel like I was moving from room to room as is typical with most museums.

Entrances such as this “moon gate” added interest and intrigue to our museum experience. During our time in China, we had experienced this circular opening in Chinese gardens where it is a traditional architectural element. Symbolizing the moon, an important celestial body in Chinese culture, it is designed to create a harmonious transition between spaces, interior or exterior gardens. This pedestrian passageway is thought to bring harmony, good fortune and blessings to those who pass through, drawing us into the space beyond!

The finest collections from the Palace Museum (Forbidden City) and other world-renowned institutions are showcased. Selecting my favorites to showcase in this blog was difficult – but here are the finalists!

This Pair of Ceramic Elephants with Vases (Qianlong period, 1776 or earlier) topped the list. They were made of cloisonne, enamels and gold on a copper-alloy core. Symbolizing peace, they once adorned the Hall of Imperial Peace, a Daoist temple within the Forbidden City.

Having visited the Forbidden City a few days earlier, I could easily visualize them gracing that fabulous place!

Chinese vases are exquisite and high on my list of favorites. With many great options, I selected “Globular vase with Dragons Among Clouds.” Not only it is beautiful, it is a great representation of the Imperial porcelain with under-glaze of cobalt blue common during the Ming Dynasty (1400s). This one once graced the Palace Museum of the Forbidden City as well.

I was attracted to the museum’s “Jade Mountain” because it is a smaller version of one of my favorite “Jade Mountain” sculptures at my home museum, the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I learned that renditions of jade mountains were common items in the study of a Qing scholar. This sculpture, “Jade Mountain of a visit to friend with qin,” was also from the Palace Museum in the Forbidden City. I believe that it is a perfect piece to grace one’s study!

The Hong Kong Palace Museum is one of my favorite museum experiences on our adventure to China.

Hong Kong Museum of Art

The Hong Kong Museum of Art is on the waterfront next door to our hotel in Kowloon. Admission was free and it was a perfect place to spend a rainy afternoon!

HKMOA is renowned for its exhibitions of traditional Chinese watercolors and calligraphy. Museum displays included thousands of objects in ceramics, jade, bronze, lacquer, enamel, glass, ivory furniture and fine porcelain.

Inspirational quotes were posted around the museum. I particularly enjoyed these two:

“The purpose of art is to make the invisible visible.” (Paul Klee, 1879-1940)

“Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882).

The HKMOA had the best examples of Chinese scroll art showing the karst mountains we experienced in Guilin as we sailed on the Li River. These “Landscapes” by Lan Ying (1585 – ca. 1664) were part of an exquisite set of 12 hanging scrolls, ink and color on golden paper.

The HKMOA was fabulous! It’s collection was solely Chinese art. Having to select a couple pieces to highlight is impossible, but their impressive and diverse collection of fans must be included.

This “carved ivory ball in openwork” was exquisite. Only a few inches tall, it had several ornate movable balls within the outer ball. Dated “20th century” the only detraction to m e was its medium. I can only hope it was created before it became illegal to harvest ivory from its source.

On the last day of our trip, we enjoyed the time we had to just sit down, relax and enjoy a local brew with a mystical, rainy, view of Victoria Harbor window of the HKMOA cafe.

I particularly enjoyed the diverse and superb collect of ancient and modern Chinese art at the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

Wong Tai Sin Temple

The Wang Ti Sin Temple was one of the most unusual temples we experienced in China. It is one of Hong Kong’s largest, busiest, and most interesting places of worship. With altars and shrines to Buddhist, Confucian, and Daoist deities, all within one temple, it is quite a hodge podge of noise and colorful confusion.

The Wong Tai Sin Temple was an experience of its own. It was filled with bright, colorful sights and a mixture of noisy, chaotic sounds. The endless variety of conflicting smells of foods and incense tickled my nose. The personal touch of the bustling crowd of people jostling against me and one another made me a literal part of the experience. Combine these elements with the impact of the spiritual nature of the temple – and it all added to the sensory overload of this visit!

I had to watch my step to keep my balance as my eyes kept looking upward at the glorious color and magnificent patterns seen everywhere in the architecture.

There were countless shrines to multiple deities including many animals and reptiles. Worshipers engaged with fortune tellers in booths next to the temple. Divination was practiced by shaking canisters with bamboo sticks and burning incense as the worshiper sought direction in life. All of these entities provided a deep, often disconnected and disconcerting, spiritual component to the place for me.

This temple was totally different – much more intense – than any of the other temples we visited. It was noisy; others seemed more quiet and reverent. While all were colorful with a focus on colors of vibrant reds and shiny gold, most were much more subdued and reserved than this temple.

Hong Kong: our transition from East to West

In our short period of time in the city, we enjoyed many aspects of Hong Kong and would certainly consider returning for a longer visit. The harbor, the art, the shopping, the rooftop pool and lounge, and overall impression of the city were enticing and a great way to wrap up our wonderful 3-week visit to China! In a unique way, it served to ease our transition from eastern back to the western culture of our lives!

Visit

A visit to Hong Kong has long been quite easily available and accessible to westerners. Time will tell how the impact of its current political status will have on long-term travel, especially for westerners. The city has a lot to offer and is well-worth a visit!

Sources

• On-site information provided by and at museums, works of art and displays, and other sites
• Personal Visit and Observations of Cher B and Skip B
• Viking Local Tour Guides and Guest Lecturers during and in preparation for each site
• DK Eyewitness Travel. Hong Kong. ed. 2012

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