China celebrated its equivalent of Labor Day this past weekend: the Mid-Autumn Festival. I didn't completely understand how the 'mid'-autumn festival marked the start of autumn, but I wasn't one to ever question a three day weekend. I'm more the type to hope a plane to Hong Kong for 3 non-stop days of out of this world (or out of this developing world) adventure.
I just want to start by saying that I'm in love with Hong Kong. I'm in love because it is a world class city, teaming with the nuances of life; because it has great buildings, but also has great wilderness, because it is clean and civilized - because it makes sense.
In all my travels, I don't think I've ever seen a city with such breathtaking contrasts. The ocean is gobbled up by city, which sweeps up green slopes to peaks high above. Outfitted with water, mountains and green life, its no wonder people concerned with Fung Shui decided to build a city here.
Hong Kong isn't just one city, it is really a series of islands and peninsulas, separated by mountains and water from each other. In fact, over 70% of Hong Kong's land is still wilderness, and even more of its footprint is the ocean. Those green hills that divide the villages of 50 story high rises seem like pure wilderness, but they're not. Hong Kong has developed an intricate systems of parks for itself, allowing its inhabitants to escape the pressure of city life amid beaches, streams and natural greenery.
Having seemingly survived the handover back to the mainland with no real ill effects, its easy to understand why China has done so little to change it. Why would they want to?
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