Couture and Lamma

Like most public transportation systems, the MTR subway system here in Hong Kong has its fair share of advertisements. One advertisement was for the Couture exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum up in New Territories. It interested one of my friends, so we went up there to check out the exhibition as well as the permanent exhibits of the museum.

With public transportation, it took half an hour by bus to get to the MTR station and about 45 minutes on four lines of the MTR to get to the museum. From the Che Kung Temple station though, it was an easy walk from there.

When we got there, I knew I was hungry, and that at many American museums, they put decent restaurants on the premises to squeeze more money out of their patrons, but there, there was just a 7-Eleven style convenience store with a sitting area, along with a ritzy tea shop which didn’t serve food.

Going into the museum itself, I didn’t know what to expect. In the advertisement in the subway, it explained that the Couture exhibition was a fashion display specifically of London and Paris in the 1940s and ‘50s. It featured several models—all Asian, dressed up in clothing like that on display.

At the museum itself, which cost HK$10 as a student to get into, the exhibition took up several “thematic rooms” spanning the first floor (which would be the second floor in the United States) included rows and rows of dresses, along with original sketches. There was nothing more than what was to be expected, though one question remained on my mind.

Why is this about fashion on the other side of the globe? Why not have some sort of exhibition about contemporary culture in Hong Kong? This brings me to something that exchange students learn about Hong Kong—there is a deficiency of culture here—and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

Elsewhere in the museum there were exhibits about operas and theater in Hong Kong, as well as a permanent exhibit about the history of land reclamation here.

Land reclamation—Hong Kong is famous for it. The most visible and architecturally beautiful landmarks here are arguably on reclaimed land. Because they are on reclaimed land, they are relatively new, as land reclamation didn’t start until after the British arrived. This means that much of Hong Kong’s pre-colonial history is not cherished, including the many Tin Hau temples (dedicated to the Daoist goddess Mazu who overlooks seafarers) dotting the territory.

The result? Locals think they are more British than they really are. Because of Hong Kong’s history as a colony separate of China and its continuing high level of autonomy, it has been a haven for businesses of all sorts to make their way into East Asia.

This competitive advantage, though still visible in such aspects as freedom of press and free flow of information, is gradually but surely diminishing. Soon, I feel it will become nothing more than other large Chinese city.

Many locals think that the use of English in Hong Kong, having been a British colony, is an advantage that they have a monopoly on. However, the Mainland Chinese students coming over speak better English than the local Hong Kong students. With such a large business and finance presence here, in combination with the wide array of human capital here, why wouldn’t we get more business? However, why wouldn’t business skip Hong Kong and go straight to somewhere like Shanghai, where there is more usable land, cheaper human capital, and a rapidly expanding infrastructure.

With many of the locals that I meet being business majors hoping to go into finance, I can’t help but realize how true this veil really is. If diversification of industries is the key, then Hong Kong is behind a double-bolted door, in a room furnished with attractive furniture that is, unfortunately, of poor material, ready to break.

And I don’t mean the furniture is the people—it’s the attitude here. Many locals feel that Hong Kong is ultimately a financial center, feeling it wouldn’t be plausible, much less desirable, to introduce other economic sectors, such as creative industries, into the mix.

For a while, Hong Kong used to be second only to Hollywood (meaning Southern California) in film production in the world. Regarding local music, I’ve heard of Cantopop but I’ve never heard Cantopop. Sports?—what are sports?

So where do I feel Hong Kong stands in the world? I think it’s a declining city. Though not having reached its economic peak yet, life here seems hallow, and the culture seems conceited. Maybe Hong Kong should accept that it’s part of China and go from there in terms of long-term planning.

I don’t hate Hong Kong. I just think it’s misguided.

On a brighter note, the next day we went on a daytrip to Lamma Island. Still located within the SAR, it sits just southwest of Hong Kong island itself and contains a few large power plants and a lot of pristine, undeveloped land.

I can actually see Lamma Island from my window, but from Central it takes about a half-hour ferry ride to get to. While both of the towns on Lamma Island are noticeably touristy, there is a sense of relaxation and enjoyment there not present in the more crowded areas of Hong Kong.

My friends and I took the two-hour hike from one town to the other. On one hand, the weather was thoroughly unenjoyable. It was hot and really humid. My shirt was so soaked with sweat that instead of being able to spot sweat stains, my whole bright green shirt turned a shade darker.

It was totally worth it though. I feel like that was the most fun I’ve had since coming here. Walking through the first little town named Yung Shue Wan, we felt relatively crowded. We visited a temple and lit incense there. After getting out of the town, the island was overwhelmingly wooded with plenty of tropical-looking trees and pleasant houses pushed into the hillsides.

It was great until we spotted a huge spider up in the tree in front of us. Legs included, it was likely six-inches long. Then a friend of mine pointed one out that was but a few feet away from my head. It had noticeable stripes of color on it, and, long story short, I don’t like spiders.

In total we saw about six of those big spiders by the time we were halfway through the hike. Along the way, we saw a large beach named Hung Shing Yeh, complete with shark nets and expats and tourists. Halfway through, we bought water from a guy who raised prices to make an extra buck. Instead of buying water himself, one of my friends refused to pay the slightly higher prices and instead drank out of another friends bottle.

At the other town named Sok Kwu Wan we ate good seafood family style. We definitely paid tourist prices, but as part of eating there at Rainbow Seafood Restaurant we were given a ride back to Central on a charter boat.