A few weeks ago before my life turned überbusy I visited the tiny island of Peng Chau (坪洲) located off the north-eastern coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong for a bit of R&R. Around 6,300 people live on the island which, only being around 1 km², can easily be explored in a couple of hours.
Whilst walking down Hollywood Road yesterday I noticed that the old decommissioned Central Police Station compound was playing host to a free art exhibition providing a unique opportunity to take a look inside one of Hong Kong’s oldest colonial relics.
Away from the glitz of Hong Kong’s many skyscrapers the city is much like any other with a mix of people from all walks of life. Having been segregated from mainland China for much of the last century it’s developed it own unique culture and ways of dealing with the inherent lack of space.
Concluding my four-part photographic walk around the historic center of Macau (see Parts 1, 2, & 3) today we take a jaunt around some of the old shops which line the labyrinth of streets surrounding Rua dos Mercadores in the south to Rua Nossa Senhora do Amparo in the north.
Below is a wonderful film providing a tour of colonial Hong Kong in 1938 when the city was still under British colonial rule. It was shot by the filmmaker André de la Varre, and ran in movie theaters after the newsreels and before the main features. He used a small Leica camera, and was completely self-taught, crafting his technique through trial and error as he traveled the world.
Once you get away from the touristy side of Macau (see Parts 1 & 2) there are some great back streets full of thriving traditional communities which look like they date back some considerable time. With camera in hand I ventured inside the labyrinth of narrow alleyways to explore how some of the locals live.
Despite having lived in the south of China for the best part of the last three years there is was one striking place I had never visited; Macau (澳門). As a former Portuguese colony Macau is classed as a special administrative region along with Hong Kong, and retains a large degree of autonomy.
Shenzhen is one of the most modern cities in China, having rapidly developed over the past 30 years since its inception as a special economic zone. Walking around its streets there is little to see in the way of history or culture but scratch beneath the surface and there are a few intriguing glimpses of the past to be found.
I spent the second half of my recent trip to Japan in Kyoto (京都); formerly the imperial capital of the country which carries the reputation as its most beautiful city. Having taken an early morning Shinkansen bullet train from Tokyo I arrived a little over two hours later at what must be one of the most magnificent stations I’ve ever seen…
On my second day in Kaiping we started off the morning with a breakfast of tasty egg tarts from the local cake shop and then took the no. 4 bus out of the city towards Tangkou town where we then flagged down a passing van and negotiated with the driver (¥10) to take us the rest of the way to Li Gardens (立园) – more details here about the directions.