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Hong Kong

Hong Kong Island from Kowloon, on a misty night

I've actually been to Hong Kong twice in my life, once when I was too young to remember much, and a second time in November 2002. These pictures, naturally, are from the later trip. The whole week was misty without interruption, which has flattened a lot of the photos, but every now and again it seemed to work with me. I love this place more than any other city on earth - I hope you can see why.

All of these images are copyright © 2003 Eldan Goldenberg, and are provided free for non-profit use only. If you are interested in commercial licencing please contact me to negotiate terms.

day trips

The giant Buddha statue on Lantau island

Lantau island

Detailed plasterwork from an old mansion in the New Territories

The New Territories

Hong Kong Island & Kowloon

The former KCR station clock This clock tower is all that's left of Kowloon's old railway station - once one end of the longest rail journey possible on earth



Hong Kong Island from Kowloon The view of Hong Kong island, across the Victoria Harbour from Kowloon



The Star Ferry The Star Ferry, which runs people across the harbour ceaselessly all day



A shiny building



The fast ferry The fast ferry to the outlying islands



Kowloon from the sea Kowloon, from the boat to Lantau



The mass transit
The mass transit is clean! (and efficient)



The bank of China building
It seems deliciously symbolic that the building to most blatantly defy Feng Shui rules (something about the triangles being daggers pointing to the heart of Hong Kong) belongs to the Bank of China. Hong Kong's more superstitious residents view this place with a mixture of fear and loathing



A convocation of Filipina maids on their day off
Norman Foster's HSBC building, on the other hand, is raised on stilts so as not to break another Feng Shui rule (not obstructing the flow of people from the port of entry (the Star Ferry terminal) to the administrative centre of the city). This has the side effect that it provides a sheltered space for some of Hong Kong's Filipina maids to gather if their Sunday off is not blessed with good weather



The HSBC building
And this is what the HSBC building (left) actually looks like. I have to say I prefer the evil Bank of China building aesthetically, but if I were commissioning something for Hong Kong I would certainly take the superstitions of the population into account...



St.John's church
In between the shiny skyscrapers are reminders of Hong Kong's colonial past. St.John's church (above and below) is my favourite



St. John's church




Bamboo scaffolding
Hands up who thought the building techniques in Hong Kong would be ultra-modern



View from the Peak Tram




A temple nestles between huge modern buildings
One thing I particularly appreciated in Hong Kong was that having escaped the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution there was far more evidence of living Chinese culture than in the People's Republic. In the PRC this place would have been bulldozed decades ago because the space it takes up (between two huge buildings on a high street) was too valuable



A skyscraper




Suburban houses
It's only a short bus ride from Hong Kong Central to altogether slower and quieter places. These last few pictures are from a beachside suburb on the East side of the island



A temple




The beach




American football with the Pacific in the background
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