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BIRDS, FISH, FLOWERS & TURTLES
I explored many outdoor markets on Kowloon Peninsula and
Hong Kong Island, and here’s a bit about some of the more
interesting places:
Flower Market:
The Flower Market has many vendors selling fresh flowers, seeds,
dried flowers, etc. Everything was so colorful and lush. The
air was perfumed for many blocks – a welcome surprise
for the nose to the otherwise auto-exhausted thick air (as I
made my way to the Flower Market).
Yuen Po Street
Bird Garden: The Bird Garden was previously situated
in illegal stalls in Mongkok district. The government then rebuilt
and relocated the stalls into the current Bird Garden. There
are about 50 stores selling birds, bird accessories (such as
delicately crafted wood or bamboo cages) and bird food (including
live crickets and grasshoppers). Curiously, it seems that only
elderly Chinese men specialize in the art of caring for songbirds.
Dawn Market:
Hawkers begin selling here as early as five in the morning (I
couldn’t sleep!), and they were selling a wide range of
fish (& turtles) and aquarium supplies. I was shocked that
fish were crowded in small plastic bags.
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NEW
TERRITORIES & OLD TRADITIONS
Postcard-perfect vistas of Hong Kong may suggest that Hong
Kong is only a cosmopolitan city with its high-rise apartment blocks
and busy roads. Not so. The New Territories, which lie between the
Kowloon Hills and the boundary with mainland China, is an enormously
diverse suburban area full of contrasts, a blend of traditional
customs and modern ideas, of scenic beauty and man-made achievements.
More than a century ago, this area was entirely rural. Small villages
and paddy fields covered the landscape, home to the Hakka people
who farmed rice, tea and other crops.
As I explore the New
Territories, the area still abounds in rural beauty. Yet modern
developments have made their mark. Sophisticated new towns exist
alongside peaceful woodland. A modern factory produces goods for
worldwide export a short hike away from a wildlife sanctuary sheltering
protected species. Vast housing estates soar skyward, casting their
shadow on traditional villages, old open markets and green rolling
hills. “The land between” stands both as a reminder
of Hong Kong’s past as well as a symbol of its hopes and plans
for the future.
Killing two birds with
one stone, I started a day-trip early to see the sites of the New
Territories and crossed the Hong Kong borders into Shenzhen Province
(the first special economic zone of China). I was a bit nervous
going into mainland China, but the day worked out fine. I spent
most of the afternoon wandering the roads of downtown, open marketplaces.
Goods here were, not surprisingly, much less expensive than in Hong
Kong; I didn’t realize that things could get *that* inexpensive,
though I didn’t closely inspect for quality.
The big tourist spot
I visited in Shenzhen was the Window of the World Park. At this
park were many wonders of the world in miniatures, including wonders
from the U.S. (the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore National Memorial,
Niagara Falls), Egypt (the Sphinx and Pyramids), Greece (the Acropolis
of Athens), Italy (the Leaning Tower of Pisa), U.S.S.R (the Wall
& Clock Towers of the Kremlin), France (the Eiffel Tower), Australia
(Opera House in Sydney Harbor) and India (the Taj Mahal royal palace).
Macau:
A Future Hong Kong?
(I’ve seen it spelled both ways: ‘Macao’ and ‘Macau’)
I self-organized a day-trip to Macau province, where (like Hong
Kong) the East meets West. Macau is the oldest European settlement
in the Far East dating back to about the mid-1550’s. More
than 400 years of blending of Eastern (Chinese) and Western (Portuguese)
heritages are reflected in a cultures and architecture. The jetfoil
ride took just over an hour to get to Macau … and I was fortunate
that the South China Sea was cooperating; apparently, the weather
is unpredictable this time of the year due to tropical winds and
currents (meteorology not my thing). Macau is known for its gambling
(I lost HK$100 to slot machines at the Casino Lisboa, the largest
casino in Macau), I had decidedly planned the day to visit the architectures
and to learn a bit about Macau’s history/culture.
The landmark of Macau
is the Ruins of St. Paul’s church. The Jesuits built this
Roman Catholic Church at the start of the 1600’s; fire burnt
it to the ground in the mid-1830’s. Miraculously, fine art
of relief carvings and statues can be seen on the surviving façade.
Here’s what I remember from my art history courses of a façade:
The façade is
like an altarpiece to invite the faithful to meditate on the great
trusts of Christianity, by preparing them to pray and celebrate
the Eucharisty inside the church. It is divided into horizontal
sections, topped with a pediment, and vertical divisions containing
various symbols that tell a story (similar to a cartoon strip).
I won’t bore you with the detailed floor plan of a medieval
church, but it’s basically in the shape of a cross. Chinese
and Japanese craftsmen were involved in building the church, exemplifying
the cultural encounter preached by the Jesuits. In the mid-1700’s
with the expulsion of the Jesuits, the building was abandoned and
then handed over to the Leal Senado. After a few decades, a military
battalion was accommodated in the premises but in the 1830’s
a fire erupted in the kitchens of the barracks, ravaging the other
buildings and destroying the church and almost all the complex.
Within a short walking
distance of the Ruins of St. Paul’s church was Monte Fort.
Built in the early 1600’s, Monte Fort occupied more than 20,000
square feet in an irregular quadrangle with bastions at each corner.
The fortress was built to sustain a siege of up to two years (there
were barracks, cisterns and storehouses). In 1998, the Museum of
Macau was installed into the fortress, with two levels underground
and one on top. There are three sections with exhibits illustrating
the history of Macau during its gold age in the 16th and 17th centuries;
the period of rising and falling fortunes, and modern Macau, from
the last 19th century to today. Ironic that a past fortress has
been transformed to a public park.
St. Anthony’s church
is just a short walk westward of the Ruins of St. Paul’s church
and through a narrow street (intended as a highway for scooters)
lined with antiques shops. This church stands on the site of a chapel
founded in the 1550’s, the first to be built in Macau. The
history of the present building is told briefly on a plaque by the
door: “Built in 1638. Burnt in 1809. Rebuilt in 1810. Burnt
again in 1874. Repaired in 1875.” However, there is a cross
in the churchyard bearing the date of 1636. Apparently, another
fire necessitated another restoration in 1930 and further work was
done on the façade and tower in 1940.
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RECORDING
& SHOWCASING HISTORY
I dedicated a day to
visiting just museums; a long-time Hong Kong residence flagged me
that admission to museums are free on Wednesday (I’m traveling
on a shoe-string budget, so can you blame me for taking advantage
of the City of Life’s great kindness?!?!?) For the student
of history and culture, there’s no place like it – because
there’s no other place like Hong Kong. Words like ‘modern,’
‘dynamic,’ and ‘forward-looking’ come to
mind, yet with a past that goes back six millennia, it’s a
city of fusion where East meets West and the old blends seamlessly
with the ultra modern. Hong Kong’s history is impressive:
Chinese, British, and (now) Chinese again, punctuated by wars and
occupation, peace and prosperity. Thus, (in no particular order)
I’ll briefly describe a few of the museums and monuments I
visited during my stay in Hong Kong (I didn’t’ take
great notes on exact dates, so granular details are in your favorite
encyclopedia):
Duddell Street
Steps & Gas Lamps (Central District, Hong Kong Island)
These fine wide stone steps connect Ice House Street with Duddell
Street. The lamps at the head and foot of the steps, built in
the late 1800’s, are surmounted on either side by the
only four gas laps remaining in Hong Kong.
Flagstaff
House/Museum of Tea Ware (Central District, Hong Kong Island)
Located in Hong Kong Park, Flagstaff House was built in the
mid-1840’s and until the mid-1930’s was used as
the office and residence of the Commander of the British Forces
in Hong Kong. It now houses the Museum of Tea Ware. I was not
allowed to take an photographs inside (understandable), but
the three winning tea sets from contemporary artists were amazing.
First place was for a tea set fashioned after a human skull
with an emerging skeleton for handle, and cups shaped like bone
joints. Second place went to a tea set looking like a huge clamshell,
with cups shaped like snail shells. Third place went to a tea
set looking like a giant flower, with cups shaped like seedpods.
I’ll write more about the mysteries of tea in an upcoming
issue.
St. John’s
Cathedral (Central District, Hong Kong Island)
The cathedral I the oldest surviving Western ecclesiastical
building in Hong Kong, and is believed to be the oldest Anglican
church in the Far East. Built I a style adapted from both the
thirteenth-century early English and decorated gothic styles,
constriction was completed in the mid-1800’s, under Bishop
George Smith, first Bishop of Victoria. An eastern extension
was added in the 1870’s, the foundation stone laid by
His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. During the Japanese
Occupation, the cathedral suffered heavy damage; most of the
present interior design and furnishing are post-ware. Services
continued throughout the war except in 1944, when the church
was used as a social club for the Japanese community.
Hong Kong
Museum of Art (Tsim Sha Tsui District, Kowloon Peninsula)
The museum boasts a collection of hundreds of oil paintings,
drawings and etchings, as well as lithographs of old Hong Kong.
Of the seven exhibition galleries, four display Chinese antiquities,
Chinese fine arts, historical picture and contemporary Hong
Kong art. Two special exhibition galleries show collections
of art drawn from around the world with the aim of keeping the
Hong Kong public up to date with international artistic trends.
The seventh gallery displays the famous Xubizhai collection
of Chinese paintings and calligraphy.
Lei Cheng
Uk Han Tomb (Sham Shui Po District, Kowloon Peninsula)
This ancient tomb was discovered in 1950’s when workmen
leveled a hill slope to make way for the surrounding Lei Cheng
Uk Estate. Close to 60 pottery and bronze objects were found
inside the tomb, believed to have been constructed during the
Eastern Han Dynasty (AD25-220).
Former Kowloon-Canton
Railway Clock Tower (Tsim Sha Tsui District, Kowloon Peninsula)
The clock tower was built in 1910’s as a part of the Kowloon-Canton
Railway Terminus. The terminus was moved to Hung Horn District
in 1975 and now only the clock tower remains to mark the original
railway terminus.
Rock Carving
at Lung Ha Wan (Sai Kung District, New Territories)
Discovered by hikers in 1980, the carving is located on a vertical
face of a badly weathered boulder facing east. It is believed
the design may resemble animals, birds, or natural geological
patterns. Nevertheless, this rock carving is protected under
the Antiquities & Monuments Ordinance.
Kun Lung
Gate Tower (Fanling District, New Territories)
Kun Lung Wai, or San Wai, is one of the eleven Tang villages
in Fanling District. It is enclosed with brick walls and is
the most authentic and undisturbed walled village left in the
area. The gate house was declared a monument only recently (1988!)
and has been restored to its original structure.
Tang Chung
Ling Ancestral Hall (Fanling District, New Territories)
This ancestral hall of the Tang clan was erected in the early
1500’s to honor their founding ancestor. Situated in the
village of Tsz Tong Tsuen, it comprises three halls and two
courtyards, with three ancestral altars arranged in the main
hall.
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RESOURCES
TALKED ABOUT
These are the addresses/locations
of some of the places I talked about …
Hong Kong Museum of
Art
10 Salisbury Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Peninsula
Hong Kong Space Museum
Hong Kong Cultural Center Complex
10 Salisbury Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Peninsula
Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb
Museum
41 Tonkin Street
Sham Shui Po, Kowloon Peninsula
Hong Kong Museum of
History
100 Chatham Road South
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Peninsula
Roxy (jazz bar)
3/F, Oterprise Square
26 Nathan Road
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Peninsula
Flagstaff House/Museum
of Tea Ware
Hong Kong Park
10 Cotton Tree Drive
Central, Hong Kong Island
Tang Chung Ling Ancestral
Hall
Lung Yeuk Tau
Fanling, New Territories
Mad Dog (British bar)
1, D’Aguilar Street
Central, Hong Kong Island
Dublin Jack (Irish
bar)
G/F, 37 Cochrane Street
Central, Hong Kong Island
St. Anthony’s
Church (Santo Antonio)
Rua de anto Antonio, Macau Peninsula
Ruins of St. Paul’s
Church (Sao Paulo)
Rua de S. Paulo, Macau Peninsula
St. Dominic’s
Church (Sao Domingos)
Largo de S.Domingos, Macau Peninsula
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