SHORT AND SWEET FINDING AUTHENTICITY NORTHERN GEMS ...

HONG KONG TOURISM BOARD
market. At fi rst glance, the market may seem like a typical set up for the
saucy-eyed visitor. But a closer look reveals a typical Chinatown scene,
rowdy on the edges with hustlers lurking in dark corners, Chinese opera
singers waiting to perform, old men sipping tea contemplating the next
move in a game of mahjong, and fortune tellers patiently waiting by the
roadside for anyone interested. The hawkers may fl og anything from
counterfeit watches to made-in-China Manchester United t-shirts, but it’s
the peripheral scenes that best capture the real Hong Kong easily missed
cloaked under today’s glass and steel.
Conserving a slice of their heritage has also prompted the government
and various bodies to preserve many of the city’s architecture and
prominent landmarks. On Hong Kong Island, the Edwardian Western
Market is one of the oldest structures in Sheung Wan, dating back to
1906. With rapid development in the area, part of the former four-storey,
red-bricked market was destroyed. Those preserved were redesigned to
accommodate themed restaurants and boutique shops including a ‘Cloth
Alley’ selling silks and fabrics of all kinds. Similarly, the 1881 Heritage, a
unique colonial building with Victorian architecture, now stands proudly
on a small hillock on Canton Road revived as a mall and a hotel.
In a diverse city like Hong Kong, differing interests will always shape the
path of progression. Yet somehow, amid the wave of modernity, the city
still manages to balance the new with the old.
Royal Brunei Airlines fl ights to Hong Kong operate daily from Bandar Seri Begawan.
HONG KONG TOURISM BOARD
Fondly known as the
Ding Ding, Hong Kong
Island’s trams still run
today since 1904.
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