On October 1st, Hong Kong commemorated China National Day, this year celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. A beautiful fireworks lit up the night sky over Victoria Harbor. I watched from the Wanchai waterfront near the Convention Centre. Some new types of fireworks were added this year, including ones in the shape of the Chinese characters 中国六十（China 60) and also a set in which red lanterns exploded out of the fireworks, suspended in mid-air for a few moments before slowly drifting down and then disintegrating from hot sparks flying everywhere.
October 1st was also the also the last day of my Fulbright grant. Watching the fireworks for the second time while in Hong Kong, I feel like my journey has come full circle. Last year the fireworks marked the beginning of my time here, when I had only been living in Hong Kong for a month. There were still so many things I didn't know about the city, so many places left to explore. This time watching the fireworks reminded me of everything I learned and experienced here, how familiar Hong Kong has become, and all the memories I have made here.
Saturday was a beautiful day. I went on a hike along Dragon's Back, this was my 5th time on the trail. But today's weather offered the most stunning views I've seen yet- visibility was great. Since August is the wettest month in Hong Kong, the hills were a magnificent bright green, the waters a clear and deep blue. I saw so many butterflies, and a giant spider clinging to its web. After the hike, we took the bus for a short ride to Shek O beach. In 35 degree C weather, the hot sand burned our feet, but the water was really refreshing. It's days like this that make me fall in love with Hong Kong all over again.
Went back to Sham Shui Po, this time with the big video camera I borrowed from the university. Another unbelievably hot day. I walked down Hoi Tan Street, where my Mom and her family first lived in Hong Kong. I stopped for a cold drink at a tea place, and made small conversation with another customer, me speaking in Mandarin, him speaking to me in Cantonese.
I have really grown to like this area, which feels like a throw-back to the past. There were some gems of buildings that looked like colonial era (maybe the 20s and 30s?) that are rare to find on Hong Kong island.
The hotel I stayed in last September, just behind the street where my Mom and her family first lived in HK
Delicious cold tea drink. The small sign on the left says "Five Flower Tea"
Went walking around Sham Shui Po on a hot hot Saturday afternoon. Sham Shui Po was where I first stayed when I came to HK. I came back to take some more photos of the streets and buildings. It was strange returning, I hadn't been to this neighborhood in almost 10 months already. As I was walking, I found a small shop that sold those large plastic vinyl bags that are great for holding just about everything. I was really just trying to take photos of the sewing machine, which looked pretty ancient. Later when I uploaded the photos, I saw the Yankees hat in the background. Oh, New York, how I miss you!
My grandmother worked hard to support her family, sewing and doing embroidery work in Hong Kong. The textile industry was booming during this time due to the influx of available workers and the capital and technology brought from down from Shanghai. I wonder what it was like for her...
A walk down the Chun Yeung Street outdoor market, one street up from the building where my Mom's family used to live in North Point. I took a photograph of every single shop along the north side of the street, starting on the eastern most corner of the street and moving west. I finished just as a downpour started, leftovers from yesterday's typhoon.
Last Sunday I went to see an old public housing estate that was open to the public for the last time before the government closes it- for historic preservation, renovation, I'm not sure.
The Mei Ho House was one of the first public housing projects the Hong Kong government undertook in 1954, as a response to the devastating fires that leveled thousands of homes in the squatter village in December of 1953. The public housing estates were an answer to the overwhelming numbers of refugees that swelled Hong Kong's population by millions in the early 1950s. It provided shelter in fire-proof structures, albeit small and not so design-friendly.
I first saw the Mei Ho House coming down the road from JCCAC.My first thoughts were it looked a little like a prison, because it was behind barbed wire and a fence.It also looked eerily deserted, and the structure itself was un-inviting in design and taste.Boxy, decrepit, with peeling paint. The day hot and humid, I quickly thought how unbearable living there must have been in the summer months.No air-conditioning, sweaty, cramped stuffy rooms, the smell of rotting food, garbage, human sweat.This was an upgrade from the squatter villages?It was hard to imagine living conditions worse than this…
My first view of the H-block style housing estate.It was swarming with visitors on this late Saturday morning.I felt really happy that so many local Hong Kong people were taking an interest in their local heritage by visiting this historic site.
Faded peeling paint. Balconies facing outwards, long corridors.Geometrical, simple.Six stories. No elevators.Gates and bars.
Hot sun beating down.
Visitors with big professional cameras.One man takes our picture. Concrete, concrete concrete.Nothing soft or organic left.A hard empty shell.
In the first flat, crowded with people taking photos.The apartment is a small rectangular box.
The front door a faded mustard yellow.A tiny bathroom, big enough for a sink and toilet off to the right just inside the entrance.A front window.White walls, no windows except all the way in the back, coming in through the window/kitchen.
Things from decades ago..the 60s, the 70s?Plastic flowers.Ovaltine.A ceramic statue of Guan-Yin, Chinese goddess of mercy.A Chinese bible of sorts.A bright green mini-fridge.Very 70s.Horlicks.Thermoses.A cassette player and cassette tapes. The linens, table cloths, dresser covers, none of it matches.Things just there, randomly, but all necessities.Nothing is decorated, just put together.An old tv.An old radio. An old calendar, time frozen.Old tin cans hold nothing.Small beds, folding tables, folding chairs.Plastic coverings, plastic for protection.
We meet a woman, she and her husband speaks English.She looks to be in her 50s.She has come to the Mei Ho House because she was born there.They still live in Hong Kong, out in New Territories.The house she grew up in is not open to the public.It must be a very special feeling to be back.She remembers playing outside with her friends, but I don’t think she remembers much.
The corridors are long and empty, but once they must have been filled with children running up and down the corridors.Parents who walked home from a long day of work at a factory.Grandparents and elderly, joints stiff, backs aching, slowly shuffling down, one step at a time.There is no rush.Time is still.
I went to the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre out in Shek Kip Mei to see a photography exhibit on life in the old public housing estates. Large public housing projects were built in the 1960s to accommodate the large number of refugees who had fled the turmoil happening on mainland China. Now the estates are being torn down, their purpose served. The exhibit is an attempt to capture and remember the texture and culture of the lives of the people who occupied these buildings. The photography was really beautiful. JCCAC itself is housed in an old estate block, renting out space for artists and arts organizations.
Photos are from Shing Mun Country Park up in the New Territories to find Bride's Pool waterfall. Despite a Typhoon 3 warning, the weather held up, and the views were splendid.
A short break before the big hill and park entrance
Exploring some ideas for backgrounds and art direction. The newspaper is a piece I found in an antique market in SoHo (HK). It's from 1951, around the time my Mom's family moved to HK, so I thought it would be interesting to incorporate historical artifacts into the artwork.
I was walking home today along the highway from Causeway Bay. I found a great little spot under the highway where all these old boats were docked. It was really hot and humid today, the sky changing constantly, the sun coming in and out intermittently.
On Sunday evening I went to see the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay neighborhood. We watched a 220 year old Fire Dragon Dance, in which the dragon was made entirely out of burning incense. It was different from the other dragon dances I've seen in Chinatown, except the dragon was real slow in making its appearance, and Mom and I had already melted into puddles of sweat. We were "chee chee nup nup" (Cantonese for sticky). We then walked to Victoria Park where crowds swarmed the special celebration grounds. It was so cute to see all the children holding their little lanterns that they picked out for the holiday. I equate it to the tradition of picking out a pumpkin for Halloween. The lanterns come in all different shapes and varieties. Traditional lanterns are made of paper and wire and are usually in the shape of bunnies or starfruit. More modern lanterns are like plastic blow-up toys, and many popular choices are Pixar's Cars and Buzz Lightyear, Disney's Stitch, My Melody, and Hello Kitty tops them all. There were dance and singing performances and elaborate lantern displays for families to enjoy under a bright and beautiful full moon.
On October 1st, Hong Kong commemorated China National Day, this year celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. A beautiful fireworks lit up the night sky over Victoria Harbor. I watched from the Wanchai waterfront near the Convention Centre. Some new types of fireworks were added this year, including ones in the shape of the Chinese characters 中国六十（China 60) and also a set in which red lanterns exploded out of the fireworks, suspended in mid-air for a few moments before slowly drifting down and then disintegrating from hot sparks flying everywhere.
