Lauren Fenimore
Hong Kong Trip
Drs. Eric Hung and Shunzhu Wang
Post Trip Paper
The underlying theme of our trip to Hong Kong was the paradox of the Hong Kong identity. In one of the articles that I read for my pre-trip paper, it stated that Hong Kong’s history was the history of colonialism. It described Hong Kong as a sort of “cultural desert” because before the British colonized it there wasn’t much in the way of civilization. When I first read this it seemed to make sense. How can culture develop in a place where there is no society present to develop it? If there are no people inhabiting the land then there can be no civilization, and therefore no culture.
It wasn’t until I was actually in Hong Kong and visited the Museum of History that I realized how short sighted this view of Hong Kong’s cultural history was. In the museum there is a permanent exhibit called “The Hong Kong Story”. The exhibit spans 2 floors and is made up of 8 galleries, with 4,000 smaller exhibits utilizing graphic panels, dioramas, multi-media programs and special audio-visual and lighting effects. It tells the story of Hong Kong, outlining the details of its natural environment, prehistoric era, and folk culture. It also traces the development of Hong Kong from a series of early fishing settlements to its return to China from British rule and its rise as a thriving, vibrant metropolis in the modern day.
I found everything in this exhibit to be fascinating and could have spent a whole day wandering slowly in and out of all the different display areas and auditoriums. Some of the most interesting displays were the ones that illustrated the history of the early people that inhabited Hong Kong. The information that was presented in this part of the exhibit seemed to contradict the statement that I read in the article, that labeled the pre-colonialism Hong Kong as a “cultural desert”. This paper will therefore be a summary of what was displayed in the galleries that presented a detailed look at the history of the early settlements of Hong Kong, up until the time that the British took possession.
The Dynasties: From the Han to the Qing
The first people to bring an advanced sense of culture and technology to Hong Kong were immigrants who had traveled down from North and Central China, after the mainland regions were unified under the Qin Empire. In the South the emperor Qinshihuang established the Nanhai, Xiang and Guilin Prefectures in the regions of Guangdong and Guangxi. As a result, Hong Kong fell under the control of the Panyu county of Nanhai. When the Qin Dynasty fell, Nanhai became an independent territory, renaming itself the Nanyue Kingdom, with Panyu becoming its capital. Relics from the Nayue Kingdom have been found scattered across the island of Lantau, providing evidence that Hong Kong was under the jurisdiction of Panyu from 222-330. Other relics found from the Western Han Dynasty have included decorative bronze wine casks, bronze bells and string, stone and pottery-made musical instruments used in rituals and ceremonies that the Yue had no doubt adopted from Han customs. Small clay houses were also excavated from tombs. These miniatures were modeled after actual houses of the period and in some cases had clay figures inside them, depicting scenes of people engaged in everyday activities such as pounding rice or carrying a baby. The artifacts provide an important glimpse into the life of the people of early Hong Kong, as well as their relationship to China as observed through the similarities in architectural style and cultural characteristics of the houses.
In 331 Hong Kong was reclassified into Bao’an County in Dongguan Prefecture. At this time North China was in the throes of heavy warfare, which persuaded people to travel south to escape the violence. This new group of immigrants brought knowledge of crafts and mechanics with them, evidence of which has been excavated from Jin Dynasty tombs in present-day Shenzhen and Guangzhou, as well as from Pak Mong on Lantau Island. It is also interesting to note that many Southern dynasty emperors of the time were devout Buddhists, suggesting that Buddhism was already the prominent religion of Hong Kong during this period.
The following dynasties of Sui and Tang saw Guangzhou become a prosperous port for international trade. Lime kilns found along the coast also attest to a significant salt industry in the region. In the Five Dynasties period, pearls were also harvested off the coast of Tai Po and troops were placed in the area to protect this valuable natural resource. During the Song Dynasty, the production and trading of salt was taken over and regulated by the government. Warfare continued to be a major problem in Central and North China and numerous clans continued moving south where things were relatively peaceful. Towards the end of the Song Dynasty, Mongolia invaded North China and two boy emperors had to seek refuge in Hong Kong.
When the Song Dynasty fell, the Ming Dynasty brought even more growth to Hong Kong. A large number of clans with diverse origins continued to make their way to Hong Kong, while those who had settled there previously began to expand their families. The county of Xin’an was created in 1573 and Hong Kong fell under its jurisdiction. 74 villages were on record as having existed in the county and in addition to salt production and pearl diving, settlers also made a living by fishing, farming and planting trees used to make incense. The craft of pottery making was becoming a big industry and the kiln at Wun Yiu in Tai Po made numerous wares for both the domestic and international markets. Late in the period military posts were even set up to guard against pirates who hoped to rob ships along the Maritime Silk Route.
In the Qing Dynasty settlers in Hong Kong were uprooted when the courts ordered all those living along the coast to move inland. This abandonment, although it left Hong Kong a barren landscape, only lasted for 8 years and when the ban was lifted several of the clans eventually returned to continue expanding their settlements.
Ethnic Groups of Hong Kong
Before the British annexed Hong Kong there were four main Chinese ethnic groups living in the area. The Punti (“local people”) arrived in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). They settled on the fertile plans and took to farming, landlording and running small businesses. The main element of every Punti walled village is the ancestral hall. This hall is used in ceremonies where the Punti worship their ancestors and celebrate major festivals. During these festivals Cantonese operas are performed and sumptuous banquets are prepared. In modern times many descendents of the Punti clan still live in the walled villages that once protected their ancestors from bandits.
The Hakka (“guest people”) came from north of the Yellow River and arrived much later than the Punti, settling in Hong Kong from 1648 onwards. Unfortunately for the Hakka, the Punti had already occupied the most fertile land in the region, so they would have to make do with the more remote and infertile hillsides. The Hakka had long been a farming people, but when they could not farm they made mud bricks, tailored and dyed clothing and worked on handicrafts. Hakka people were often identified by their shanfu, or a pajama-like work shirt and trouser outfit, which was dyed in black and blue. These simple garments must have been valued for their ingenious practicality and indeed some styles are still being worn today. One example of this is the liangmao, or “cool hat”. While touring around Hong Kong I saw several instances of women garden workers wearing a type of liangmao. The most striking was a pair of women who were pulling weeds in the Wetland Park. Perched on their heads were what looked like large round disks with material draped over the brim to form a hood all the way around their heads. Traditionally, these were flat circles of woven bamboo, surrounded by a blue or black cotton fringe with a hole in the center. Tassles and hand woven bands were also a part of the traditional custom, though I’m not sure if they were worn by the women that I saw in the park. The hat is designed to keep the sun off your face and neck and as protection against insects as well. The Hakko were also known to cook simple, earthy food, but the pastries they made for festivals were sweet and very rich in flavor.
The Boat Dwellers were a sea-faring people who settled on the coast where they could fish in the Pearl River Delta and along the coast of Guangdong and Guangxi. Legend tells that their ancestors belonged to important clans in Central China, who had fled to the sea to escape war and persecution. They spent almost their entire lives on the water, not only fishing but pearl diving, oyster farming, and ferrying passengers and goods. By choice it seems they isolated themselves from the land-based people. When they did go ashore it was only to tend to boat repairs, shop for supplies, sell their catches or grab a meal in a restaurant. As a rule they tried not to get involved with dealings that would get them into trouble with people on land.
The Hoklo too were a fishing people, having come from other coastal regions such as Huizhou, Haifeng and Lufeng in the province of Guangdong. They are distinct from the other ethnic groups in their language, customs and dress. The women are very fastidious about their hair accessories and the way they wear their hair, pinned up in buns. The traditional dress is comprised of a brightly colored blouse, loosely fit with a side fastening, long narrow sleeves and no pockets. The distinctiveness of their clothing style can also be seen in children’s clothing and baby carriers, which are often embellished with shiny trinkets, colorful beads and floral trim. When the Hoklo were primarily a fishing people and lived on boats, wedding ceremonies would include the bride being ferried over to the groom’s home on a dragon boat, rowed by the married female relatives of the groom’s family. Aspects of this tradition remain intact today, but because the Hoklo have now settled on land, the women perform a dragon boat dance where they pretend to row the boat.
Conclusions
After visiting the Hong Kong Museum of History and studying the history and ethnography of Hong Kong in pre-colonial times, I would disagree with the notion that Hong Kong was a “cultural desert”. Not only were there different ethnic groups constantly moving into and across the landscape of Hong Kong; but I’ve learned that fashion, food, music and art: the stables of modern day culture were very much a part of life for the early peoples of Hong Kong.
Bibliography
The Hong Kong Museum of History
Permanent Exhibits: The Hong Kong Story
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/History/download/the_hk_story_exhibition_materials_e.pdf
Monday, March 2, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Hong Kong Final Paper
Charlie Zielinski
Hong Kong, a subtropical island, off the coast of China, has invited a group of students a chance of a life time to speculate its grand beauty, and we have all returned hoping to relive the experiences or to stay one day. For most of us, this has been our first trip to Asia and one of the first things I noticed was the environment of Hong Kong. The environment of Hong Kong is a broad subject, but it entails the biology, topography, geology, air quality and hydrology. My expertise is in environmental science and geosciences and that is perhaps a reason I noticed these studies in the field, Hong Kong. The beauty of Hong Kong is that it is unique compared to China in many different ways, including: the people and other organisms that inhabit the island. Hong Kong, for some people, is a business “get-a-way” and it truly is that, but underneath all of the money, stores, and apartment complexes, there lays a history that is about 400 million years old in which we cannot forget.
Hong Kong has a very diverse biological environment with about 450 species of birds, 50 species of mammals, 80 species of reptiles, 23 species of amphibians, 230 species of butterflies and 110 species of dragonflies that is supported by a wide range of habitats and varied fauna through out the island. Around Kowloon, an area we grew familiar with, there are wild groups of long-tailed macaques and rhesus macaques, and their hybrids (Hong Kong 2003).
During out stay in Hong Kong I noticed that some of the trees grew in unique ways, such as climbing up walls, for example:
Hong Kong has a rich flora because it is in tropical South-East Asia and that explains the variety of life that we are not familiar with. There are about 3,100 vascular plants on Hong Kong, and some areas have survived the human influence and hill fires, for example: the remnants of original forest cover or “old growth” forests and developed woodlands, but only found in steep ravines. Although, it felt like we were surrounded by buildings on the small island there was still glimpses of nature seen throughout the day (Hong Kong 2003), for example:
Topography, which is a graphic representation or a map of a selected region, will be grouped together with the geology of Hong Kong. Since, Hong Kong is an island and its terrain is covered with steep mountains and hills, one may be able to guess that Hong Kong was once filled with lava flowing tubes. Though, volcanic activity on the island has ceased by 60 million years ago, there is still visibly history of what happened in the past. During out stay on the island, we stopped at a beach and I was able to collect some specimens of a granite rock which looked like this:
Granite is typically formed by a type of rock called Basalt that is deep within the Earth which entails the melting of the Basalt and changing the original composition when it cools, or reaches the surface of the planet, and that is why I found my specimen on the beach. Also, the Hong Kong people have taken the advantage of having a grand supply of granite. I can recall almost every building and structure in Hong Kong being made from granite which is obviously a good and reliable resource for the people.
Hong Kong, as a typical large city, has some air pollution though most of it is from mainland China and the breeze moves the pollution over the city. Like the United States, the most major source of the air pollution are the emissions released from the transportation vehicles. Hong Kong has been working on a solution for the transportation problem, for example: Hong Kong became the first city in Asia to introduce ultra low sulphur diesel, which has a sulphur content of less than 0.005 percent, for use in motor vehicles (Hong Kong 2003). Hong Kong has a much larger population of buses, trolleys, and taxis than the United States does, and the government tries to promote the usage of those public transportations by making them easily accessible for anyone. The group and I were only there for a little longer than a week, and by the second or third day we were confident in using public utilities. Hong Kong’s subtropical environment has made the island a warm, inviting place for visitors, but the air pollution from mainland China has altered the visual affects of the sky compared to other places, for example:
This picture is a graphic representation of what air pollution can do. As you can see, the haze that has been produced lies over the city like a blanket, but it begins to dissipate as you increase the height of your vision.
Hydrology is the study of water, or how a city uses purifies or contaminates its water supply from usage. Hong Kong’s water supply is a mix of oceanic salty water and estuarine water masses. With increased urban development and population Hong Kong’s water pollution and sewage has increased. Around Victoria Harbor, water pollution has increased due to the lack of treatment, but it is slowly improving with increasing treatment plants in the area. “The percentage of rivers in the 'good' and 'excellent' categories increased from 34 per cent in 1986 to 76 per cent in 2003, and the percentage in the 'bad' and 'very bad' categories fell from 45 per cent in 1986 to 15 per cent in 2003,” (Hong Kong 2003). Also, some of the pollution in the New Territories comes from the livestock industry which could lead to a disease outbreak such as salmonella or other bacterial diseases. In 2003, an average of about 5178 tons of livestock waste was collected by the government. The Hong Kong government has made strict rules on pollution for bathing beaches because they are an important recreational resource. Here is a table on how beaches were classified with pollution in 2002 and 2003:
Beach
water quality
ranking Bathing season geometric
means of E.coli count
per 100ml of beach water Minor health risk cases per 1 000 swimmers Number of beaches
2002 2003
Good Up to 24 Undetectable 23 23
Fair 25 to 180 10 or less 10 11
Poor 181 to 610 11 or 15 2 1
Very Poor More than 610 More than 15 6 6
Since 1998, beach water quality grading for open beaches have been made available weekly through the mass media and the EPD's home page.
(Hong Kong 2003).
As the table shows, the number of poor beach water quality ranking has decreased by one which is very good for Hong Kong and the people.
Although, Hong Kong has its pollution problems like other cities. It is still very unique in its biology, topography and geological history. Hong Kong was a great “get-a-way” trip for me because it showed me a new part of the world in which I wanted to stay forever. One day, I will go back for whatever reason, and I will use what I have learned to help me in my journey. Hong Kong has a wonderful history that is as old as the rest of the world, and though we cannot see it underneath the beautiful city it will still be there in a million years even without its people and tall buildings.
Works Cited
Hong Kong 2003. 27 Feb. 2009.
Hong Kong, a subtropical island, off the coast of China, has invited a group of students a chance of a life time to speculate its grand beauty, and we have all returned hoping to relive the experiences or to stay one day. For most of us, this has been our first trip to Asia and one of the first things I noticed was the environment of Hong Kong. The environment of Hong Kong is a broad subject, but it entails the biology, topography, geology, air quality and hydrology. My expertise is in environmental science and geosciences and that is perhaps a reason I noticed these studies in the field, Hong Kong. The beauty of Hong Kong is that it is unique compared to China in many different ways, including: the people and other organisms that inhabit the island. Hong Kong, for some people, is a business “get-a-way” and it truly is that, but underneath all of the money, stores, and apartment complexes, there lays a history that is about 400 million years old in which we cannot forget.
Hong Kong has a very diverse biological environment with about 450 species of birds, 50 species of mammals, 80 species of reptiles, 23 species of amphibians, 230 species of butterflies and 110 species of dragonflies that is supported by a wide range of habitats and varied fauna through out the island. Around Kowloon, an area we grew familiar with, there are wild groups of long-tailed macaques and rhesus macaques, and their hybrids (Hong Kong 2003).
During out stay in Hong Kong I noticed that some of the trees grew in unique ways, such as climbing up walls, for example:
Hong Kong has a rich flora because it is in tropical South-East Asia and that explains the variety of life that we are not familiar with. There are about 3,100 vascular plants on Hong Kong, and some areas have survived the human influence and hill fires, for example: the remnants of original forest cover or “old growth” forests and developed woodlands, but only found in steep ravines. Although, it felt like we were surrounded by buildings on the small island there was still glimpses of nature seen throughout the day (Hong Kong 2003), for example:
Topography, which is a graphic representation or a map of a selected region, will be grouped together with the geology of Hong Kong. Since, Hong Kong is an island and its terrain is covered with steep mountains and hills, one may be able to guess that Hong Kong was once filled with lava flowing tubes. Though, volcanic activity on the island has ceased by 60 million years ago, there is still visibly history of what happened in the past. During out stay on the island, we stopped at a beach and I was able to collect some specimens of a granite rock which looked like this:
Granite is typically formed by a type of rock called Basalt that is deep within the Earth which entails the melting of the Basalt and changing the original composition when it cools, or reaches the surface of the planet, and that is why I found my specimen on the beach. Also, the Hong Kong people have taken the advantage of having a grand supply of granite. I can recall almost every building and structure in Hong Kong being made from granite which is obviously a good and reliable resource for the people.
Hong Kong, as a typical large city, has some air pollution though most of it is from mainland China and the breeze moves the pollution over the city. Like the United States, the most major source of the air pollution are the emissions released from the transportation vehicles. Hong Kong has been working on a solution for the transportation problem, for example: Hong Kong became the first city in Asia to introduce ultra low sulphur diesel, which has a sulphur content of less than 0.005 percent, for use in motor vehicles (Hong Kong 2003). Hong Kong has a much larger population of buses, trolleys, and taxis than the United States does, and the government tries to promote the usage of those public transportations by making them easily accessible for anyone. The group and I were only there for a little longer than a week, and by the second or third day we were confident in using public utilities. Hong Kong’s subtropical environment has made the island a warm, inviting place for visitors, but the air pollution from mainland China has altered the visual affects of the sky compared to other places, for example:
This picture is a graphic representation of what air pollution can do. As you can see, the haze that has been produced lies over the city like a blanket, but it begins to dissipate as you increase the height of your vision.
Hydrology is the study of water, or how a city uses purifies or contaminates its water supply from usage. Hong Kong’s water supply is a mix of oceanic salty water and estuarine water masses. With increased urban development and population Hong Kong’s water pollution and sewage has increased. Around Victoria Harbor, water pollution has increased due to the lack of treatment, but it is slowly improving with increasing treatment plants in the area. “The percentage of rivers in the 'good' and 'excellent' categories increased from 34 per cent in 1986 to 76 per cent in 2003, and the percentage in the 'bad' and 'very bad' categories fell from 45 per cent in 1986 to 15 per cent in 2003,” (Hong Kong 2003). Also, some of the pollution in the New Territories comes from the livestock industry which could lead to a disease outbreak such as salmonella or other bacterial diseases. In 2003, an average of about 5178 tons of livestock waste was collected by the government. The Hong Kong government has made strict rules on pollution for bathing beaches because they are an important recreational resource. Here is a table on how beaches were classified with pollution in 2002 and 2003:
Beach
water quality
ranking Bathing season geometric
means of E.coli count
per 100ml of beach water Minor health risk cases per 1 000 swimmers Number of beaches
2002 2003
Good Up to 24 Undetectable 23 23
Fair 25 to 180 10 or less 10 11
Poor 181 to 610 11 or 15 2 1
Very Poor More than 610 More than 15 6 6
Since 1998, beach water quality grading for open beaches have been made available weekly through the mass media and the EPD's home page.
(Hong Kong 2003).
As the table shows, the number of poor beach water quality ranking has decreased by one which is very good for Hong Kong and the people.
Although, Hong Kong has its pollution problems like other cities. It is still very unique in its biology, topography and geological history. Hong Kong was a great “get-a-way” trip for me because it showed me a new part of the world in which I wanted to stay forever. One day, I will go back for whatever reason, and I will use what I have learned to help me in my journey. Hong Kong has a wonderful history that is as old as the rest of the world, and though we cannot see it underneath the beautiful city it will still be there in a million years even without its people and tall buildings.
Works Cited
Hong Kong 2003. 27 Feb. 2009
Hong Kong’s “Go Green” Efforts
Amanda Pinto
IND-210-02-09SP
Hong Kong Research Paper
January 21, 2009
The citizens of Hong Kong have realized that they have two major reasons to adopt a greener lifestyle. First, the people living in Hong Kong are among the heaviest polluters, per head, on the planet. Secondly, all of the citizens directly suffer from the various pollutants that the city generates (1). In 2007, Hong Kong produced over 13,900 tons of solid waste each day. It is predicted that the three existing landfills will be fully occupied in the next few years, which makes waste reduction an increasingly important issue to their society.
Table 1. Quantities of Solid Waste Disposed of at Landfills in 1991-2007
Table 2. Types of Solid Waste Disposed of at Landfills in 2007
Recently, Hong Kong has been making an effort to reduce the city’s waste and “Go Green”. One of the groups created to inform people about how to go green is Green Power. Green Power encourages people to practice waste reduction in their daily lives and make it a sustainable habit. They have also launched a campaign to urge the public to celebrate festivals in a less wasteful way.
The International Finance Center is one of the most well known buildings in Hong Kong has dual flush toilets (fig.1). These dual flush toilets have two different buttons, one that uses 0.8 and the other that uses 1.6 gallons of water, depending on the flush. This innovation can reduce water usage by up to 67% compared with the traditional toilet, which uses 2.9 gallons in a single flush (3).
Figure 1. Example of the dual flush toilet, which depicts the button that allows you to select how much water the toilet uses when flushed.
Many of the restaurants and other public bathrooms have use hand driers instead of paper towels, which significantly reduces waste and reduces the amount of trees used to make the paper towels. Millions of trees are cut down a year in the production of paper towels. The Earth Threat dot org blog states that 544,000 trees would be saved by replacing a 70-sheet roll of virgin fiber paper towels with electric hand driers.
The busses, trams, and taxis in Hong Kong are making an effort to go green as well. On the side of the taxis and busses, signs are posted informing patrons of the company’s efforts towards being “Green” and being more environmentally friendly. The sign that was seen on one of the busses states “Please excuse us for not letting you board the bus yet as we would like to keep the engine off until the next departure (fig.2).” Efforts like this will help to lower the CO2 admissions into the air due to car exhaust.
Figure 2. The sign seen on the side of the taxi’s and the ones that were seen on the side of some of the busses.
There has been a great effort in Hong Kong’s subway system, the MTR, to go green. There are signs informing travelers that certain escalators will be shut off during the non-peak hours of the day (fig. 3). This would save a considerable amount of energy by not using about one fourth of the escalators during non-peak hours.
Figure 3. The sign found in the subway telling patrons that during peak hours certain escalators would be turned off to conserve energy. Also, the sign that denoted the escalators that were not in use during these hours.
More recycling bins have been placed thorough out the MTR. Giving people the opportunity and proper receptacles to recycle their trash increases the chances that people will recycle, especially in such a public place where people are constantly on the move between work, home, school etc., most of them have a Coke can, water bottle, or the daily newspaper in hand. So when cans are empty, instead of being tempted to ditch it in the trash, they will have the proper bins to dispose the can in.
Figure 4. One of the recycle signs seen in the MTR. A multi-recycling bin for paper, plastic, and aluminum. A recycling bin in the MTR that encourages recycling paper.
Organic and “green” stores have been added to the array of convenience stores, clothing shops, and fast food chains in the MTR station. Eating organic foods has become a new trend and part of the go green effort. The benefit of eating organic food is that it is not treated with pesticides, which eliminates the chemicals that can be found on food that is treated with them. Two of the “green” stores that were seen in the MTR Station were Organic Land and Green Life (fig.5). These stores offer foods that are made from all-organic ingredients and do not use some of the unhealthy preservatives and fats that many of our foods are made with today.
Figure 5. Two of the organic food stores found in the MTR station.
Also, on the subway there was an advertisement for The Green Walkers (fig.6), which is supported by the Green Power organization. This organization was founded in 1988 by a group of dedicated volunteers who were concerned about local environmental problems. Environmental education is their foremost priority and they “believe that education is the ultimate means of transforming our thinking and behavior.” (2)
Figure 6. The poster for Green Walkers in the MTR.
Some of their biggest works in the past year have been an Overseas Butterfly Watching Tour, Tree Workshops to educate people on conservation of trees, River Workshops to teach teachers and students about the quality monitoring methods and deepened their understanding of Kam Tin River, and waste reduction and recycling seminars to inform people about how much waste Hong Kong produces a year and how they can help to reduce it.
Even the local colleges support going green efforts. One of the local colleges had recycling receptacles that were equipt to recycle paper, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, laser printer cartridges, and inkjet cartridges. These recycle receptacles were shaped like large flowers and each of the petals served as the recycling bin for each of the different recyclable materials and it had the logo “Better Environment Endeavor” on the front of it. Having the recycling areas for ink cartridges is a great idea because colleges and office buildings are among the highest users of printers and printer ink, so having a proper place to properly dispose of them is great. These bins were distributed throughout the main areas of the campus, which is pictured below:
Figure 7. The multi-compartment recycling bin at a local college.
In Hong Kong, bamboo scaffolding is used for all of their building projects (fig.8). Although it is slightly dangerous to construct, bamboo is very environmentally friendly. By using bamboo as scaffolding material to fix and build buildings people may start to consider using it a building material as well. Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant in the world, therefore making it the perfect building material because it is such a renewable source. Unlike trees, which take nearly a decade before they can be cut down and used as wood, bamboo grows up to 2 inches an hour. The one stipulation for this growing material is that it depends greatly on local soil and climate conditions to grow the actual bamboo (4).
Figure 8. Pictures of the bamboo being used to make scaffolding.
The Going Green In Hong Kong website offers a 72-page guidebook with green solutions on how to lighten Hong Kong’s carbon footprint and how to decrease the toxicity around in the city. The booklet consists of information on how to easily access a sustainable lifestyle and a greener and healthier life in Hong Kong, and it is printed on 100% recyclable paper (1)!
In 1998, the Government unveiled the Waste Reduction Framework Plan (WRFP), which sets out the various initiatives for waste reduction (fig. 9). The progress of the plan was reviewed in 2001, and they saw that although they had made some progress in the overall waste recovery rate, but there was still room for improvement in different aspects of waste reduction and domestic waste recovery. The review recommended a series of measures to facilitate domestic waste separation and recovery in Hong Kong. The review set the following targets: (I) to raise the overall MSW waste recovery rate from 34% to 36% in 2004 and 40% in 2007; and (II) to raise the domestic waste recovery rate from 8% to 14% in 2004 and 20% in 2007. The construction industry is also a major target and the aim is to reduce construction and demolition waste going to landfills by 25 per cent between 1999 and 2004 (5). In May 2007, the EPD announced a proposal on an environmental levy on plastic shopping bags to reduce their indiscriminate use.
Figure 9. Advertisements from the Environmental Protection Department.
Individuals can reduce their waste by buying items with less packaging, using reusable bags for shopping, and separating waste paper, metals and plastics from our daily waste for recycling. Businesses can refer to the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence, which encourages the private sector to organize their own waste reduction activities. The EPD also offers industry-specific information on waste reduction and outlets for recyclable materials. Factories, trades, farmers and others can refer to the EPD website for information on the legal requirements for disposing of waste.
Additionally, the EPD launched a territory-wide Program on Source Separation of Domestic Waste in January 2005 which encourages housing estates/buildings to set up waste separation facilities on building floors and broaden the types of recyclables to be recovered, to increase domestic waste recovery and reduce waste requiring disposal (5).
References
(1) www.goinggreenhk.com/
(2) www.greenpower.org.hk
(3) Dual flush toilets www.treehugger.com/files/2005/03/dual_flush_toil_1.php
(4) Bamboo scaffolding – American Bamboo Society www.americanbamboo.org/GeneralInfo.html
(5) Environmental Protection Department
IND-210-02-09SP
Hong Kong Research Paper
January 21, 2009
The citizens of Hong Kong have realized that they have two major reasons to adopt a greener lifestyle. First, the people living in Hong Kong are among the heaviest polluters, per head, on the planet. Secondly, all of the citizens directly suffer from the various pollutants that the city generates (1). In 2007, Hong Kong produced over 13,900 tons of solid waste each day. It is predicted that the three existing landfills will be fully occupied in the next few years, which makes waste reduction an increasingly important issue to their society.
Table 1. Quantities of Solid Waste Disposed of at Landfills in 1991-2007
Table 2. Types of Solid Waste Disposed of at Landfills in 2007
Recently, Hong Kong has been making an effort to reduce the city’s waste and “Go Green”. One of the groups created to inform people about how to go green is Green Power. Green Power encourages people to practice waste reduction in their daily lives and make it a sustainable habit. They have also launched a campaign to urge the public to celebrate festivals in a less wasteful way.
The International Finance Center is one of the most well known buildings in Hong Kong has dual flush toilets (fig.1). These dual flush toilets have two different buttons, one that uses 0.8 and the other that uses 1.6 gallons of water, depending on the flush. This innovation can reduce water usage by up to 67% compared with the traditional toilet, which uses 2.9 gallons in a single flush (3).
Figure 1. Example of the dual flush toilet, which depicts the button that allows you to select how much water the toilet uses when flushed.
Many of the restaurants and other public bathrooms have use hand driers instead of paper towels, which significantly reduces waste and reduces the amount of trees used to make the paper towels. Millions of trees are cut down a year in the production of paper towels. The Earth Threat dot org blog states that 544,000 trees would be saved by replacing a 70-sheet roll of virgin fiber paper towels with electric hand driers.
The busses, trams, and taxis in Hong Kong are making an effort to go green as well. On the side of the taxis and busses, signs are posted informing patrons of the company’s efforts towards being “Green” and being more environmentally friendly. The sign that was seen on one of the busses states “Please excuse us for not letting you board the bus yet as we would like to keep the engine off until the next departure (fig.2).” Efforts like this will help to lower the CO2 admissions into the air due to car exhaust.
Figure 2. The sign seen on the side of the taxi’s and the ones that were seen on the side of some of the busses.
There has been a great effort in Hong Kong’s subway system, the MTR, to go green. There are signs informing travelers that certain escalators will be shut off during the non-peak hours of the day (fig. 3). This would save a considerable amount of energy by not using about one fourth of the escalators during non-peak hours.
Figure 3. The sign found in the subway telling patrons that during peak hours certain escalators would be turned off to conserve energy. Also, the sign that denoted the escalators that were not in use during these hours.
More recycling bins have been placed thorough out the MTR. Giving people the opportunity and proper receptacles to recycle their trash increases the chances that people will recycle, especially in such a public place where people are constantly on the move between work, home, school etc., most of them have a Coke can, water bottle, or the daily newspaper in hand. So when cans are empty, instead of being tempted to ditch it in the trash, they will have the proper bins to dispose the can in.
Figure 4. One of the recycle signs seen in the MTR. A multi-recycling bin for paper, plastic, and aluminum. A recycling bin in the MTR that encourages recycling paper.
Organic and “green” stores have been added to the array of convenience stores, clothing shops, and fast food chains in the MTR station. Eating organic foods has become a new trend and part of the go green effort. The benefit of eating organic food is that it is not treated with pesticides, which eliminates the chemicals that can be found on food that is treated with them. Two of the “green” stores that were seen in the MTR Station were Organic Land and Green Life (fig.5). These stores offer foods that are made from all-organic ingredients and do not use some of the unhealthy preservatives and fats that many of our foods are made with today.
Figure 5. Two of the organic food stores found in the MTR station.
Also, on the subway there was an advertisement for The Green Walkers (fig.6), which is supported by the Green Power organization. This organization was founded in 1988 by a group of dedicated volunteers who were concerned about local environmental problems. Environmental education is their foremost priority and they “believe that education is the ultimate means of transforming our thinking and behavior.” (2)
Figure 6. The poster for Green Walkers in the MTR.
Some of their biggest works in the past year have been an Overseas Butterfly Watching Tour, Tree Workshops to educate people on conservation of trees, River Workshops to teach teachers and students about the quality monitoring methods and deepened their understanding of Kam Tin River, and waste reduction and recycling seminars to inform people about how much waste Hong Kong produces a year and how they can help to reduce it.
Even the local colleges support going green efforts. One of the local colleges had recycling receptacles that were equipt to recycle paper, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, laser printer cartridges, and inkjet cartridges. These recycle receptacles were shaped like large flowers and each of the petals served as the recycling bin for each of the different recyclable materials and it had the logo “Better Environment Endeavor” on the front of it. Having the recycling areas for ink cartridges is a great idea because colleges and office buildings are among the highest users of printers and printer ink, so having a proper place to properly dispose of them is great. These bins were distributed throughout the main areas of the campus, which is pictured below:
Figure 7. The multi-compartment recycling bin at a local college.
In Hong Kong, bamboo scaffolding is used for all of their building projects (fig.8). Although it is slightly dangerous to construct, bamboo is very environmentally friendly. By using bamboo as scaffolding material to fix and build buildings people may start to consider using it a building material as well. Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant in the world, therefore making it the perfect building material because it is such a renewable source. Unlike trees, which take nearly a decade before they can be cut down and used as wood, bamboo grows up to 2 inches an hour. The one stipulation for this growing material is that it depends greatly on local soil and climate conditions to grow the actual bamboo (4).
Figure 8. Pictures of the bamboo being used to make scaffolding.
The Going Green In Hong Kong website offers a 72-page guidebook with green solutions on how to lighten Hong Kong’s carbon footprint and how to decrease the toxicity around in the city. The booklet consists of information on how to easily access a sustainable lifestyle and a greener and healthier life in Hong Kong, and it is printed on 100% recyclable paper (1)!
In 1998, the Government unveiled the Waste Reduction Framework Plan (WRFP), which sets out the various initiatives for waste reduction (fig. 9). The progress of the plan was reviewed in 2001, and they saw that although they had made some progress in the overall waste recovery rate, but there was still room for improvement in different aspects of waste reduction and domestic waste recovery. The review recommended a series of measures to facilitate domestic waste separation and recovery in Hong Kong. The review set the following targets: (I) to raise the overall MSW waste recovery rate from 34% to 36% in 2004 and 40% in 2007; and (II) to raise the domestic waste recovery rate from 8% to 14% in 2004 and 20% in 2007. The construction industry is also a major target and the aim is to reduce construction and demolition waste going to landfills by 25 per cent between 1999 and 2004 (5). In May 2007, the EPD announced a proposal on an environmental levy on plastic shopping bags to reduce their indiscriminate use.
Figure 9. Advertisements from the Environmental Protection Department.
Individuals can reduce their waste by buying items with less packaging, using reusable bags for shopping, and separating waste paper, metals and plastics from our daily waste for recycling. Businesses can refer to the Hong Kong Awards for Environmental Excellence, which encourages the private sector to organize their own waste reduction activities. The EPD also offers industry-specific information on waste reduction and outlets for recyclable materials. Factories, trades, farmers and others can refer to the EPD website for information on the legal requirements for disposing of waste.
Additionally, the EPD launched a territory-wide Program on Source Separation of Domestic Waste in January 2005 which encourages housing estates/buildings to set up waste separation facilities on building floors and broaden the types of recyclables to be recovered, to increase domestic waste recovery and reduce waste requiring disposal (5).
References
(1) www.goinggreenhk.com/
(2) www.greenpower.org.hk
(3) Dual flush toilets www.treehugger.com/files/2005/03/dual_flush_toil_1.php
(4) Bamboo scaffolding – American Bamboo Society www.americanbamboo.org/GeneralInfo.html
(5) Environmental Protection Department
FINAL Hong Kong Paper (Without pictures? I dont know what to do)
Hong Kong Consumerism Through Fashion, Clothing, and Shopping
Emma Basilone
Hong Kong Final Paper
Dr. Eric Hung and Shunzhu Wang
March 1, 2009
Hong Kong is known for its big city, small town atmosphere, its amazing structures, large population, and for its economic status of being a hub for trade on the world market. By being in Hong Kong for only 12 short days, all of these aspects became apparent. Hong Kong has everything one could look for in a city, the people are friendly, the food is amazing, and the shopping options are endless. Culture is a combination of the efforts of an entire city and the individual people. With a blend of traditional and modern fashion, clothing and shopping is an undeniable part of the Hong Kong experience.
Previous to the journey to Hong Kong we viewed a promotional video influencing people to visit Hong Kong. This video shows Hong Kong as a diverse place full of exciting shopping experiences infused with Chinese culture (Hong Kong Tourism). In one frame the video shows monks and other seemingly religious people dressed in traditional garbs (Hong Kong Tourism). Another frame shows the modern shopping with advertisements for high-end brands in the background. The video shows Hong Kong as a cosmopolitan area with its culture combination of east meets west in a very appealing light. For example the brand Louis Vuitton is shown in the background of one shot of the video and a few seconds later the women are show trying on traditional Chinese vests at what looks like a local store (Hong Kong Tourism). The women also shop in a huge mall that almost looks like a skyscraper with amazing circular architecture complete with windows on the ceiling creating a bright inviting lighting. Many other customs are displayed in the promotional video including a dragon performance and performers dressed in bright colors wearing a large amount of the color deep red (Hong Kong Tourism). Traditional face paint and other customs are also displayed in this exciting and very attracting video. Some thought that this video was too fake and showed Hong Kong in a false light- personally I thought Hong Kong turned out to be everything it was made out to be in the video and that the shopping, fashion and clothing was as expected through this promotional video.
An interesting part and seemingly major part of the Hong Kong culture are the vast markets that spread from street to street. The options for goods at these markets are seemingly endless and you can find pretty much whatever you want within reason. The hustle and bustle of the markets workers adds to the energy and the excitement. The main markets in Hong Kong include: The Night Market, The Stanley Market, The Jade Market, and The Ladies Market. At the Night Market you can find traditional street vender food, scarves, baseball caps, children’s toys, clothing, statues, jewelry and various other items. At the Stanley Market you can find similar items but more house wares. The Jade Market is more indoors and features amazing amounts of jade and pearls at prices that are so low it seemed crazy! All markets had a similar energy that mounted throughout the night and were filled with many more foreigners than Hong Kong people.
The Ladies Market is very large (seemed to be a huge favorite among the tourists) and features knockoff bags, clothing, suit cases and jewelry. Anything that one would want to buy in a high-end store in one of Hong Kong’s many malls could be found as a very good knockoff for a decent price. This part of Hong Kong was similar to New York’s China Town and Canal Street district- just on a much larger scale. The fashion consumerism is almost a façade in this aspect due to the vast black market for knock off items.
A different aspect to consumerism and shopping are the more Western malls that engage many shoppers on a daily basis. The main malls encountered on this trip include: Plaza Hollywood, Times Square, International Finance Center (IFC) mall, and “Shopping 360” at the cable car station on Lantau Island. These malls were similar to what one would find in the United States but still had a little Hong Kong flavor included within them. For example the Plaza Hollywood mall featured a grocery store that was about the size of one floor of a department store. The convenience of such a set up seemed to be another awesome idea that the Hong Kong people have instated. The mall and overall set up of Times Square was so interesting. Times Square looked similar to Times Square in New York City but it was on a closed road without any cars. This mall included many high-end stores and internationally raved restaurants. The mall at IFC was the one most frequently visited during this trip. The IFC buildings themselves are very pivotal to the convenience of the Hong Kong subway system and are a hub for industry. This mall also contains high-end stores like Burberry, Dior and many others. The people who work at the IFC buildings dress like all international businessmen in suits and nice dress clothes. “Shopping 360” at the cable cars station was very interesting and different from the other malls. This mall was more of a discount outlet style mall with various stores that seemed to be more of a European style.
The early expectations regarding traditional clothing in Hong Kong society was different than previously thought. Traditional clothing for retail was mainly found in a market setting and the main customers were tourists. This was surprising because I expected to see more Hong Kong people, especially older people, dressed in a more traditional way. It seemed that the traditional clothing was kept mainly in museums and worn during some of the traditional performances. For example, the brief performance of Cantonese Opera that we sat in on featured traditional garbs that one would expect to see in Asian culture and society. Many robes and Chinese style clothing was displayed at the Hong Kong History Museum. The pride in the presentation of these outfits and accessories could be felt simply by walking into the room. It was apparent that the Hong Kong people wanted their traditions to be on display in this pride filled manner and that is how they wanted these garbs to be perceived by people visiting the exhibit.
On the other hand, the markets had “traditional clothing” and accessories for sale almost mocking the preconceived notions that many westerners may have had when they arrived in an Asian country. For example there were many straw hats and other typical Chinese dresses for sale and the women selling these items were nothing short of pushy when selling these items. Many venders were also selling wine bottle covers that were little Chinese dresses. This was interesting because it was almost like their pride for their tradition was turned into marketing and advertising though these souvenirs.
In literature that was found previously to the trip, it was shown that The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra usually performs in concert dress, which included traditional Chinese robes (Witzleben [123]). When an open practice was held the members of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra were surprisingly dressed in civilian street cloths. During an actual performance, these seemingly regular people on the streets living everyday life came together, now dressed in traditional robes and played seemingly flawlessly.
The general attire of the Hong Kong people on the streets was much more “Western” than previously expected. There also was not a large movement of popular culture that seemed to make a large impact on everyday teenagers walking on the streets. Some areas of Hong Kong seemed to have people with more of a “grunge” or “underground” style. For example, the area around Victoria Park in Causeway Bay seemed to have a lot of “punk” teenagers with short spiky hair dos, chains, bright colors and biker boots. I expected to see more of that style around the city especially in shopping centers where younger crowds usually hang out in typical American cities.
Hong Kong is a very diverse country with its infusion of Eastern and Western cultures. In addition to Hong Kong being an intense blend of consumerism and tradition its people are another prime example to consumerism on a public daily scale. Hong Kong’s consumerism through fashion, clothing and shopping is similar to many large cities found in the United States but the inversion of being under British control and now under the control to Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China had an interesting effect on Hong Kong. Hong Kong has everything one needs and more in the aspect of shopping and fashion and is an amazing experience no matter what you are looking for.
Work Cited
Hong Kong Tourism Promotional Video . YouTube.com. 3 Jan. 2009.
Witzleben, Lawrence J. Cantopop and Mandapop in Pre-Postcolonial Hong Kong: Identity Negotiation in the Performances of Anita Mui Yim-Fong. N.p.: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
Emma Basilone
Hong Kong Final Paper
Dr. Eric Hung and Shunzhu Wang
March 1, 2009
Hong Kong is known for its big city, small town atmosphere, its amazing structures, large population, and for its economic status of being a hub for trade on the world market. By being in Hong Kong for only 12 short days, all of these aspects became apparent. Hong Kong has everything one could look for in a city, the people are friendly, the food is amazing, and the shopping options are endless. Culture is a combination of the efforts of an entire city and the individual people. With a blend of traditional and modern fashion, clothing and shopping is an undeniable part of the Hong Kong experience.
Previous to the journey to Hong Kong we viewed a promotional video influencing people to visit Hong Kong. This video shows Hong Kong as a diverse place full of exciting shopping experiences infused with Chinese culture (Hong Kong Tourism). In one frame the video shows monks and other seemingly religious people dressed in traditional garbs (Hong Kong Tourism). Another frame shows the modern shopping with advertisements for high-end brands in the background. The video shows Hong Kong as a cosmopolitan area with its culture combination of east meets west in a very appealing light. For example the brand Louis Vuitton is shown in the background of one shot of the video and a few seconds later the women are show trying on traditional Chinese vests at what looks like a local store (Hong Kong Tourism). The women also shop in a huge mall that almost looks like a skyscraper with amazing circular architecture complete with windows on the ceiling creating a bright inviting lighting. Many other customs are displayed in the promotional video including a dragon performance and performers dressed in bright colors wearing a large amount of the color deep red (Hong Kong Tourism). Traditional face paint and other customs are also displayed in this exciting and very attracting video. Some thought that this video was too fake and showed Hong Kong in a false light- personally I thought Hong Kong turned out to be everything it was made out to be in the video and that the shopping, fashion and clothing was as expected through this promotional video.
An interesting part and seemingly major part of the Hong Kong culture are the vast markets that spread from street to street. The options for goods at these markets are seemingly endless and you can find pretty much whatever you want within reason. The hustle and bustle of the markets workers adds to the energy and the excitement. The main markets in Hong Kong include: The Night Market, The Stanley Market, The Jade Market, and The Ladies Market. At the Night Market you can find traditional street vender food, scarves, baseball caps, children’s toys, clothing, statues, jewelry and various other items. At the Stanley Market you can find similar items but more house wares. The Jade Market is more indoors and features amazing amounts of jade and pearls at prices that are so low it seemed crazy! All markets had a similar energy that mounted throughout the night and were filled with many more foreigners than Hong Kong people.
The Ladies Market is very large (seemed to be a huge favorite among the tourists) and features knockoff bags, clothing, suit cases and jewelry. Anything that one would want to buy in a high-end store in one of Hong Kong’s many malls could be found as a very good knockoff for a decent price. This part of Hong Kong was similar to New York’s China Town and Canal Street district- just on a much larger scale. The fashion consumerism is almost a façade in this aspect due to the vast black market for knock off items.
A different aspect to consumerism and shopping are the more Western malls that engage many shoppers on a daily basis. The main malls encountered on this trip include: Plaza Hollywood, Times Square, International Finance Center (IFC) mall, and “Shopping 360” at the cable car station on Lantau Island. These malls were similar to what one would find in the United States but still had a little Hong Kong flavor included within them. For example the Plaza Hollywood mall featured a grocery store that was about the size of one floor of a department store. The convenience of such a set up seemed to be another awesome idea that the Hong Kong people have instated. The mall and overall set up of Times Square was so interesting. Times Square looked similar to Times Square in New York City but it was on a closed road without any cars. This mall included many high-end stores and internationally raved restaurants. The mall at IFC was the one most frequently visited during this trip. The IFC buildings themselves are very pivotal to the convenience of the Hong Kong subway system and are a hub for industry. This mall also contains high-end stores like Burberry, Dior and many others. The people who work at the IFC buildings dress like all international businessmen in suits and nice dress clothes. “Shopping 360” at the cable cars station was very interesting and different from the other malls. This mall was more of a discount outlet style mall with various stores that seemed to be more of a European style.
The early expectations regarding traditional clothing in Hong Kong society was different than previously thought. Traditional clothing for retail was mainly found in a market setting and the main customers were tourists. This was surprising because I expected to see more Hong Kong people, especially older people, dressed in a more traditional way. It seemed that the traditional clothing was kept mainly in museums and worn during some of the traditional performances. For example, the brief performance of Cantonese Opera that we sat in on featured traditional garbs that one would expect to see in Asian culture and society. Many robes and Chinese style clothing was displayed at the Hong Kong History Museum. The pride in the presentation of these outfits and accessories could be felt simply by walking into the room. It was apparent that the Hong Kong people wanted their traditions to be on display in this pride filled manner and that is how they wanted these garbs to be perceived by people visiting the exhibit.
On the other hand, the markets had “traditional clothing” and accessories for sale almost mocking the preconceived notions that many westerners may have had when they arrived in an Asian country. For example there were many straw hats and other typical Chinese dresses for sale and the women selling these items were nothing short of pushy when selling these items. Many venders were also selling wine bottle covers that were little Chinese dresses. This was interesting because it was almost like their pride for their tradition was turned into marketing and advertising though these souvenirs.
In literature that was found previously to the trip, it was shown that The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra usually performs in concert dress, which included traditional Chinese robes (Witzleben [123]). When an open practice was held the members of the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra were surprisingly dressed in civilian street cloths. During an actual performance, these seemingly regular people on the streets living everyday life came together, now dressed in traditional robes and played seemingly flawlessly.
The general attire of the Hong Kong people on the streets was much more “Western” than previously expected. There also was not a large movement of popular culture that seemed to make a large impact on everyday teenagers walking on the streets. Some areas of Hong Kong seemed to have people with more of a “grunge” or “underground” style. For example, the area around Victoria Park in Causeway Bay seemed to have a lot of “punk” teenagers with short spiky hair dos, chains, bright colors and biker boots. I expected to see more of that style around the city especially in shopping centers where younger crowds usually hang out in typical American cities.
Hong Kong is a very diverse country with its infusion of Eastern and Western cultures. In addition to Hong Kong being an intense blend of consumerism and tradition its people are another prime example to consumerism on a public daily scale. Hong Kong’s consumerism through fashion, clothing and shopping is similar to many large cities found in the United States but the inversion of being under British control and now under the control to Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China had an interesting effect on Hong Kong. Hong Kong has everything one needs and more in the aspect of shopping and fashion and is an amazing experience no matter what you are looking for.
Work Cited
Hong Kong Tourism Promotional Video . YouTube.com. 3 Jan. 2009
Witzleben, Lawrence J. Cantopop and Mandapop in Pre-Postcolonial Hong Kong: Identity Negotiation in the Performances of Anita Mui Yim-Fong. N.p.: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
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