Hong Kong

Since its return by the British almost 15 years ago, Hong Kong has become a popular playground for rich Chinese from the People's Republic. Easier entry has had a positive effect on visitor numbers and has also changed the composition of visitor statistics: last year, 63 percent of tourists were already mainland Chinese. For them, Hong Kong is more exotic than Europeans would expect at first glance. Disciplined queues of people in the public transport stations bear witness to the British past, as do the left-hand traffic and the two-storey buses and streetcars. "If you are pushed from behind in the crowd or see someone standing on the wrong side of the escalator, you can assume in both cases that it is a mainland Chinese," an annoyed resident of the city told us.

Maximum (construction) boom - little bohemia
Nevertheless, much has changed in Hong Kong, and from today's perspective, the change seems to have benefited the city rather than harmed it. To this day, the Chinese leadership has kept its promise to preserve Hong Kong's special political position. The most profitable newspaper in the world, the Hong Kong-based "South China Morning Post", is still not subject to censorship. In economic terms, the metropolis is currently booming like no other. There seems to be no end to the brisk construction activity: A major land reclamation project is currently underway on the waterfront near the Convention Centre, and on the opposite side, in West Kowloon, the ICC Tower has recently become the tallest building in the city, with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel on its top floors.
At the same time, Hong Kong is a fascinating place for Western visitors. Chinese pharmacies, traditional teahouses, night markets, Cantonese street restaurants and groups of men playing mahjong provide deep insights into traditional Chinese lifestyles. Walks through the bustling street canyons make you forget that Hong Kong is not overly blessed with classic sights - old colonial buildings can be counted on one hand, and the trips to the large bronze Buddha on Lantau Island or to Stanley Market in the south of the main island recommended in travel guides turn out to be mainstream tourist events. Less frequented are the numerous hiking trails that surround the metropolis - three quarters of the territory is unpopulated. The proximity of nature to the city is made clear by the eagles that soar around the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island.
The "Symphony of Lights" light show, which is applauded by the crowds on the Kowloon waterfront every evening, is quite nice. However, it reveals that public art discourse is conducted at a lower level than would be appropriate for a metropolis of seven million people, which is probably due to overly rigid rules. Street artists, if they exist at all, are still regarded as troublemakers even when they have already been elevated to Olympian status by leading art institutions. A difficult place for the bohemians. On the other hand, Hong Kong is an elitist metropolis where money rules like few other places. Stores run by global luxury fashion labels have replaced their local predecessors in many places. Some top brands, including Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co. and Bulgari, have more stores in Hong Kong than in Paris.
The luxury hotel industry is flourishing in a similar way, having undergone a transformation in many places over the past decade from faceless business establishments to stylish originality. Great emphasis is now placed on unique selling points, be it with an emphasis on feng shui (InterContinental Hong Kong), colonial architecture (Hullett House), bombastic sights (Island Shangri-La), contemporary design (Landmark Mandarin Oriental) or tradition (Peninsula Hotel).

China (De) Light
In view of this situation, it is not surprising that a separate Michelin Guide for Hong Kong and Macao has been facilitating culinary navigation for three years. It is noticeable that the most acclaimed restaurants in the guide are predominantly located in the top hotels. Almost every restaurant worth its salt has separate rooms for private parties ("private rooms"). Sommeliers have sprung up in recent years. The surge in demand has obviously had an impact on quality - it can happen that the "sommelier" makes Cabernet Sauvignon the main grape variety in Chianti Classico.
But perhaps one should only drink tea in Hong Kong anyway; after all, an intensive study of Cantonese cuisine is obvious. Admittedly, swallow's nest soup, shark's fins and turtles are not everyone's cup of tea, not to mention even more barbaric dishes, but a double boiled wonton soup and dim sum should definitely be tried. In addition, roast suckling pig in Hong Kong is just as delicious as the crispy chicken and duck that are also available everywhere.
At the latest when it comes to the finely cut slices of Peking duck skin, which are individually rolled into small críªpes with leek, cucumber, chilli and duck sauce, Western visitors will perhaps come to the realization that Hong Kong has remained in its essence what it perhaps always was, namely a fascinating spot of "China light".

More insider information on China in the Jin Sha blog by author Stephan Burianek:
www.jinshablog.org

Travel to Hong Kong - a cultural compass for your hand luggage
The excellent selection of short but highly impressive texts covers topics that aptly characterize Hong Kong: Feng Shui, colonial history, the film industry, land reclamation, mahjong, business bosses, triads, concubines and more. A perfect read before, during and after a trip to Hong Kong!
(Unionsverlag, Zurich)

Lage

China

Fläche

2.754 km²

Bevölkerung

7,188 Millionen

Sprache

Chinesisch (Kantonesisch, Mandarin), Englisch

Hauptstadt

"Central"

Religion

Almost every religion is practiced in Hong Kong. The Chinese population is dominated by the Buddhist and Confucian worldviews, and more than 10% of the population (mostly ethnic Chinese) are Christians.

Weather

Das Klima Hongkongs ist tropisch feucht mit einer jährlichen Durchschnittstemperatur von 22,5 °C, einer Niederschlagsmenge von 2.382,7 mm und 10 humiden Monaten. Der Winter von Januar bis März ist kühl und trocken, der Sommer von April bis September ist heiß und regnerisch, während der Herbst (Oktober bis Dezember) warm und trocken ist. Im Sommer besteht regelmäßig Taifun-Gefah.

Beste Reisezeit

Die beste Reisezeit Hong Kong ist von Oktober bis April. Während der Sommermonate ist Regenzeit und Monsun und zu den hohen Temperaturen kommt eine hohe Luftfeuchtigkeit, die das Klima sehr unangenehm für Westeuropäer machen.

Klima

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Max. Temperaturen	18	19	21	25	29	30	31	31	30	28	24	20
Min. Temperaturen	13	14	16	20	24	26	26	26	26	23	19	15
Sonnenstunden	5	4	3	3	5	5	7	7	6	6	6	6
Regentage	4	5	6	8	12	15	14	15	11	6	4	3
Wassertemperatur	18	18	19	21	25	27	27	27	27	26	23	20

Zeitverschiebung

+7h

Währung

Hongkong-Dollar

Visa

Obwohl Hongkong seit 1997 Teil der Volksrepublik China ist, gelten eigene Einreisebestimmungen. Ohne Visum ist eine Weiterreise auf das Festland nicht möglich. Für die Weiterreise in die meisten Nachbarstaaten muss der Reisepass noch mindestens sechs Monate gültig sein.

Arbeitsvisa bzw. Aufenthaltsgenehmigung müssen vor der Einreise beantragt werden. Anträge sind entweder an die chinesische Botschaft in Wien oder per Fax (+852 2877-7711) an das Hongkonger Immigration Department (www.immd.gov.hk) zu richten.

Bei Überschreitung der gewährten Aufenthaltszeit sind (je nach Länge der Überschreitung) hohe Geldstrafen, Haft oder Deportation festgelegt.

Bei Ein- und Ausreise kann es an den Grenzübertrittsstellen als Vorsorgemaßnahme gegen epidemisch auftretende Krankheiten zu Gesundheitskontrollen und zum Messen der Körpertemperatur kommen.

Vaccinations

No vaccinations are required for entry into the country. However, apart from a basic protection program for all travellers, the Zentrum für Reisemedizin Wien recommends a preventive vaccination against rabies for individual tourists and for longer stays