Hong Kong: A marvel of a metropolis
I stood on the glass floor of Victoria Peak lookout, gazing expectantly at the panoramic cityscape of Hong Kong with its swaths of skyscrapers dotting the landscape, the view spreading outwards even up to Kowloon on the mainland. The morning mist cleared and the sun began to shine bright on the glass and concrete facades of buildings. Laid like packs of cards, the buildings rose right behind the azure waters of Victoria Harbour, set against the green ridges.
I wondered at this marvel of a metropolis on the hills – Hong Kong.
This cosmopolitan city has beckoned immigrants since the 1800s and currently boasts of more skyscrapers than New York City, becoming one of the most densely populated regions in the world. Yet, beyond the tall, glistening skyscrapers, Hong Kong is nearly 70% natural and wild, including the over 250 islands of diverse landscape, tall ridges and mountains.
The ascent to Victoria Peak
Early in the morning, I chose to take the Victoria Peak funicular, ascending the steep hill to nearly 1,800 ft; this vertical-gradient trip provided a magnificent 180-degree view from its glass-covered ceiling and side windows. The wind was cool and the air clean at this rarefied height compared to the subtropical humid weather in the city below. I looked out to the blue waters of the South China Sea, contemplating how over the ages it had given rise to a natural harbor that would later become a global financial and trading hub.
Victoria Harbour: The fragrant harbor of Hong Kong
Victoria Harbour, one can say, is the nucleus of the birthplace of Hong Kong itself. In the 1800s, the harbor would serve as the main trading post for the burgeoning trade of incense sticks produced in the vicinity of its fertile, mountainous soil, lending it the name of Hong Kong, or “fragrant harbor”. Though the incense trade declined substantially over the years, Hong Kong remains one of the busiest ports in the world.
Like India, Hong Kong was a British colony until 1997, when Britain ceded the territory to China. It is currently governed as SAR (Special Administrative Region) by China under a “one country, two systems” policy that bestows it a special status for the next fifty years.
Gateway to China
Hong Kong has acted as a gateway to China for many global corporations and multinationals trying to access the huge Asian and Chinese markets. This led to the rise of a powerful economy, with its stock market capitalization ranking globally only behind the U.S., China, and Japan and in neck-to-neck competition with India. Banking, shipping, and the IT sectors add a lot of heft to its economy, where a large number of Indian professionals work as well.
Hong Kong has deep trading ties with India and it is among the top five destinations for India’s exports. The Indian diaspora in Hong Kong played a substantial role in its formative years as it emerged as a trading hub, including establishing its prominent Star Ferry at Victoria Harbour.
Lantau Island and the Big Buddha
The next day I headed to the island of Lantau for a serene rendezvous with the Big Buddha, by taking a nearly 30-minute ride on the Ngong Ping cable car from Tung Chung. The sweeping 360-degree panoramic view from the glass enclosures of the cable car and its transparent glass floor was a treat to my still weary eyes. The ride on the cable car traverses a steep gradient over the rolling hills, green valleys, blue oceanic water, tiny islands, and the bustling city, melding together in a striking portmanteau.
As the cable car draws close to Lantau Island, a golden bronze statue of Buddha sitting in deep meditation on the peak of a verdant-green ridge, emerges from a distance, beckoning us to a tranquil natural paradise. Upon disembarking, I climbed the 268 steps to reach this magnificent Tian Tan Buddha, marveling at the intricate details of the carvings and admiring the spectacular bird’s eye view of the surrounding mountains draped in deep tranquility and serenity, as if the Buddha had cast his aura far and wide.
The colorful Ngong Ping village and the shrine complex of Po Lin monastery spread out in a straight line below. The green hills that remained shrouded in gray-cloud for much of the time during my climb up the stairs, sharply came into full view at the top, as the cloud parted and the sun lit up the sky. I felt a sense of wonder and natural calm in this lap of nature, so far removed from the bustling metropolis.
On my way back, I took some time to explore the Po Lin monastery, where the air was suffused with fragrances from bundles of burning incense sticks around the complex.
Two worlds in one
Up until now, I had two distinct tastes of Hong Kong – the bustling skyscraper of a metropolis carved out under British influence, and the tranquil Po Lin monastery in a natural setting, over a century old, keeping the Chinese Buddhist faith and culture alive. Hong Kong seems to be a place at the crossroads of the East and the West, borrowing the best from each culture and in the process, continually evolving its unique characteristics. Buddhism, which is a dominant religion in Hong Kong now, came from the Indian subcontinent millennia ago and quickly spread among its people.
Macau and the Portuguese influence
I decided to visit nearby Macau (Macao) and took the bus from Hong Kong, plying over the newly-constructed Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, which dropped me at the Macau immigration checkpoint within an hour. I wasn’t prepared for the serpentine queue at immigration; but the exhilarating memories of the fast, efficient, zippy train ride over the new bridge that I had just enjoyed sustained me through the long wait.
Soon enough, I was at the Senado Square, the historic plaza in Macau, admiring the rich tapestry of its architecture, ruins of ancient churches and Chinese temples, all walkable over cobblestone pavements. This is a perfect example of East meets West that has made Macau a favorite destination for travelers, writers, and artists, alike.
Macau is a former Portuguese colony located adjacent to Hong Kong just across the Pearl River Delta. Like Hong Kong, it is governed under SAR or Special Administrative Region by China. Though it’s known as the “Las Vegas of Asia”, the city has much more to offer, including a rich blend of European and Chinese architecture, cuisine, and culture,that led UNESCO to designate a large portion of its area as a World Heritage site. I learned there is a small Indian community in Macau, majority of whom are of Goan-Portuguese origin.
The story of two colonies
Hong Kong is a city of contrasts, where impossibly tall modern buildings of global banks are only a short distance away from Taoist temples and the sweeping vistas of uninhabited islands, rolling hills with unadulterated nature. It’s a city of splendor of Rolls Royce, millionaires, and a stock market that has created immense riches and inspired many dreams. It’s a city in transit, where expatriates from Australia, Japan, and India come seeking fortunes for a short period of time. It’s a city at the crossroads of Western and Eastern culture, of a capitalistic and socialistic economy, of modernity and tradition.
Much like Hong Kong, Macau also sits at the crossroads of East and the West, linked with Hong Kong through their common colonial history and their subsequent evolution from trading posts to modern metropolitan cities.
