I am a diehard Chinese patriot. I bleed the exact color of the Chinese flag. So I would usually be the last person to say something like this:
Thank God for British occupation in Hong Kong.
Sure, the redcoats converted half the native population into poppy-heads during the Opium Wars and were summarily owned by the Japanese during World War II, but they also saved a few million mainlanders from Communist Mao in the late 40s and 50s and served as China's only connection to the outside world until the 1970s. Much more importantly, though, the British taught the Hong Kong-nese how to wait in proper "queues".
Chinese people do not know how to wait in a line. It doesn't matter if they're waiting for a cashier in the mall, or for a stoplight on the street, or for a stall in a public toilet, they will run and shove and bounce and spit and generally maneuver themselves, with whatever means necessary, to get closer to their objective. It won't matter if you're as tall as Sun Mingming or have the countenance of a recently castrated bull, because they aren't trying to pick a fight. They just want, more than anything in life, to cut in front of you.
On the left: how to wait in a proper line. On the right: how Chinese people tend to wait in lines. Based on the size of that crowd, they're probably trying to order some KFC.
But if it's anyone who pretends to have manners, it's the British. And it took them nearly a hundred years but I think they succeeded in teaching Hong Kong people some etiquette.
So unlike a typical Chinese metropolis, drunk off its own economic success and staggering to keep up with its own progress, Hong Kong feels like an established business center, a cosmopolitan community, a mature and civilized big brother to the slightly obnoxious little siblings of Shanghai and Chongqing. You won't have to worry about rude, unshowered folks with head lice cutting you in line. Hong Kong is like New York, if New York didn't have all the hobos; it's like Los Angeles, if Los Angeles had a gorgeous harbor running through the middle of it; it's like London, if London had Chinese translations on all of its street signs.
To illustrate the cosmopolitanism of Hong Kong: If you know Cantonese, there will obviously be no language barrier; if you know Mandarin, there will also be no language barrier; if you know English, there will still be no language barrier.
To illustrate the stiff British-inspired culture: It was the middle of summer when I went. I wore the equivalent of a loose-fitting Speedo when I went outside. But everyone else wore long pants, vests, and shoes.
A typical Hong Kong couple demonstrating typical Hong Kong fashion. Note the dyed hair, the flimsy vest, and all the black. The outside temperature was about 700 degrees, and since I secretly took this picture with my camera at waist level, I've included a scientifically accurate scale of their heights.
The most important thing about the city, though, I have saved for last, and it's a point that I don't think I can ever emphasize enough. The food is so good. Go to any restaurant, eastern or western. Point to any item on the menu. And it will be absolutely delicious.
Thank God for British occupation in Hong Kong.
Sure, the redcoats converted half the native population into poppy-heads during the Opium Wars and were summarily owned by the Japanese during World War II, but they also saved a few million mainlanders from Communist Mao in the late 40s and 50s and served as China's only connection to the outside world until the 1970s. Much more importantly, though, the British taught the Hong Kong-nese how to wait in proper "queues".
Chinese people do not know how to wait in a line. It doesn't matter if they're waiting for a cashier in the mall, or for a stoplight on the street, or for a stall in a public toilet, they will run and shove and bounce and spit and generally maneuver themselves, with whatever means necessary, to get closer to their objective. It won't matter if you're as tall as Sun Mingming or have the countenance of a recently castrated bull, because they aren't trying to pick a fight. They just want, more than anything in life, to cut in front of you.
On the left: how to wait in a proper line. On the right: how Chinese people tend to wait in lines. Based on the size of that crowd, they're probably trying to order some KFC.
But if it's anyone who pretends to have manners, it's the British. And it took them nearly a hundred years but I think they succeeded in teaching Hong Kong people some etiquette.
So unlike a typical Chinese metropolis, drunk off its own economic success and staggering to keep up with its own progress, Hong Kong feels like an established business center, a cosmopolitan community, a mature and civilized big brother to the slightly obnoxious little siblings of Shanghai and Chongqing. You won't have to worry about rude, unshowered folks with head lice cutting you in line. Hong Kong is like New York, if New York didn't have all the hobos; it's like Los Angeles, if Los Angeles had a gorgeous harbor running through the middle of it; it's like London, if London had Chinese translations on all of its street signs.
To illustrate the cosmopolitanism of Hong Kong: If you know Cantonese, there will obviously be no language barrier; if you know Mandarin, there will also be no language barrier; if you know English, there will still be no language barrier.
To illustrate the stiff British-inspired culture: It was the middle of summer when I went. I wore the equivalent of a loose-fitting Speedo when I went outside. But everyone else wore long pants, vests, and shoes.
A typical Hong Kong couple demonstrating typical Hong Kong fashion. Note the dyed hair, the flimsy vest, and all the black. The outside temperature was about 700 degrees, and since I secretly took this picture with my camera at waist level, I've included a scientifically accurate scale of their heights.
The most important thing about the city, though, I have saved for last, and it's a point that I don't think I can ever emphasize enough. The food is so good. Go to any restaurant, eastern or western. Point to any item on the menu. And it will be absolutely delicious.
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