Hong Kong! Recommendations?

[Edward]

Most Hong Kongers won't speak Mandarin out of principle (or ability), but do speak English to an extent. I find that China is a subject best left alone with Hong Kongers themselves- the responses are often so prejudiced and insular about ordinary, everyday Mainland Chinese (who have done nothing wrong and also have views on their own government akin to HKers') that I find them hard to listen to (especially as so few HKers have been to China and a lot of grandparents would have been Chinese in any case).

Oh, yes..... there's no Hong Konger like the second generation immigrant to the SAR for being bitterly anti-"Chinese"!

 

[AllanP]

I don't look at HK as a touristy location, as in there just isn't that many "sights" to see other than the peak, or if you go to other islands. Like people said Hong Kong is a business hub with much less history and culture compared to much older cities like Beijing and Shanghai, it has great places to shop and a great variety of food whether it is cheap street food or 3 star Michelin 20 course tasting menu that will cost half of your pay chq a meal.

Whenever I visit HK I just ate at different restaurants and that's about it.

On the issues of mainlanders, I think on one hand I can understand their hostility because a lot of mainland Chinese people act like real uncivilized buffoons, but on the other hand I think the xenophobia is pretty over the line. I think there's a level of political frustration with the Chinese government that's being directed against the people, which I think it's pretty sad and unnecessary considering Hong Kong have only existed for 100 something years and a lot of their grandparents migrated from Canton.

 

[Blackadder]

I don't look at HK as a touristy location, as in there just isn't that many "sights" to see other than the peak, or if you go to other islands. Like people said Hong Kong is a business hub with much less history and culture compared to much older cities like Beijing and Shanghai, it has great places to shop and a great variety of food whether it is cheap street food or 3 star Michelin 20 course tasting menu that will cost half of your pay chq a meal.

Whenever I visit HK I just ate at different restaurants and that's about it.

On the issues of mainlanders, I think on one hand I can understand their hostility because a lot of mainland Chinese people act like real uncivilized buffoons, but on the other hand I think the xenophobia is pretty over the line. I think there's a level of political frustration with the Chinese government that's being directed against the people, which I think it's pretty sad and unnecessary considering Hong Kong have only existed for 100 something years and a lot of their grandparents migrated from Canton.

I think it's difficult to understand it if you do not live in Hong Kong. To me the uncivilized behaviour is just due to cultural differences. The true problem is the resources or the fear of losing all the resources. The fear was justified a few years ago when the mainlanders have depleted the whole of HK's stock of baby milk powder forcing the HK Gov't to place infant formula on export control. I guess it's the only place on earth where infant formula becomes something of a strategic commodity.
http://www.customs.gov.hk/en/whats_new/API/
Became kind of a problem to Australians too
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/au...a/news-story/a8753a4e96c062c7ebef3ac0d88ee536

As for speaking Mandarin, most people who originated from Canton/Guangdong uses cantonese in stead of Mandarin. They have to learn Mandarin at school in Mainland because it is the "official language" but they do not use it unless talking to people from outside the Guangdong province. They have different food, rice to noodles and dumplings. So it is really not just Hong Kong, there is vast cultural difference within Mainland China.

 

[Big J]

@Edward, I think you made a quote mistake and put your question in the wrong thread, but yes, I've been to two AVG museums in China. Neither of them are very big, and aside from a couple of flight jackets, odds and ends of equipment, they hold many photos and even more related documents regarding the AVG. Possibly more of scholarly, rather than tourist, interest.
But I'm always blown away by (given the intervening history; Korean War etc) just how positive the popular image of the AVG is in China. The fact that despite Cold War imperatives these Americans have not been whitewashed out of Chinese history really says something to me.

 

[Edward]

If either of you like spending time on boats, the trip out to see the pink dolphins is fun. They're a specific variety you only see there. http://hkdolphinwatch.com/

 

[Edward]

I think it's difficult to understand it if you do not live in Hong Kong. To me the uncivilized behaviour is just due to cultural differences. The true problem is the resources or the fear of losing all the resources. The fear was justified a few years ago when the mainlanders have depleted the whole of HK's stock of baby milk powder forcing the HK Gov't to place infant formula on export control. I guess it's the only place on earth where infant formula becomes something of a strategic commodity.
http://www.customs.gov.hk/en/whats_new/API/
Became kind of a problem to Australians too
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/au...a/news-story/a8753a4e96c062c7ebef3ac0d88ee536

As for speaking Mandarin, most people who originated from Canton/Guangdong uses cantonese in stead of Mandarin. They have to learn Mandarin at school in Mainland because it is the "official language" but they do not use it unless talking to people from outside the Guangdong province. They have different food, rice to noodles and dumplings. So it is really not just Hong Kong, there is vast cultural difference within Mainland China.

That's a thing that's very easy to forget from the outside. China is much like the US in that it's a huge territory made up of a very diverse set of provinces with sufficient differences in dialect, local culture, food, and so on that they could as easily be separate countries. Notably, Chinese provinces each have their own Congress at state level, and the role of federal government with regards to the state level is not entirely dissimilar to the operation of government in the US, for all the differences in how the representatives may be appointed and other quirks that differ between the two. Mandarin is the official standard language across all of China, but there are as many local dialects as there are places in China. I still haven't developed the ear for it, but to a Chinese person a Beijing accent is as distinct from a Hong Kong accent as a Tibetan or someone from Sichuan province. My understanding is - any political issues aside - that a Cantonese speaker can easily understand a Mandarin speaker, but not the other way around. Cantonese is a tonal language too, but significantly more complex than Mandarin.

@Edward, I think you made a quote mistake and put your question in the wrong thread, but yes, I've been to two AVG museums in China. Neither of them are very big, and aside from a couple of flight jackets, odds and ends of equipment, they hold many photos and even more related documents regarding the AVG. Possibly more of scholarly, rather than tourist, interest.
But I'm always blown away by (given the intervening history; Korean War etc) just how positive the popular image of the AVG is in China. The fact that despite Cold War imperatives these Americans have not been whitewashed out of Chinese history really says something to me.

I must see if I can fit them in some time. I've long found them fascinating from a number of perspectives, not least, of course, the US strategic aims in founding the AVG. I suspect part of the AVG's visibility there is rooted in the idea of them fighting a common enemy, though obviously their support for the Nationalist government is glossed over. The other museum that's well worth a visit is the Red Army Museum in Beijing - it's the story of the PLA and very much the 'authorised version', though that's what makes it fascinating. Big insight into how the state views its military, and particularly how it wants it to be viewed.

 

[Peacoat]

If either of you like spending time on boats, the trip out to see the pink dolphins is fun. They're a specific variety you only see there. http://hkdolphinwatch.com/

Had never heard of pink dolphins before. Interesting. Thanks for the link.

 

[Big J]

Update;

Thanks for all the advice guys!
We had a great time.
I think that HK is great for a weekend but stay away from the mainland rich as much as you can (who are generally lacking in class and unbearably bad mannered, and seem to enjoy being ruder in HK than they are at home). Even at the most expensive venues they are extremely boorish and parochial and dress like trash (what's the point in dress codes at 500 USD per person restaurants if you're not going to enforce it?).
HK very much feels like Dickens' Miss. Haversham; the party is well over, the 'scene' has moved on.

Bartender Edit: This post redacted and some following posts removed. Please be reminded of the 'no politics' rule on the Lounge.

There's a kind of listlessness even to it's snobbery. For example, my wife bought some 2,000 USD Jimmy Choos, and the staff looked like someone just killed their dog. Not a single smile.
I went to buy a steel Rolex Sub (just like Chuck Jeager in the 60's), and the store didn't stock steel items. The staff asked me if I'd like a gold one, and I told them no thank you, it's too vulgar for me, but they told me glumly that mainlanders only buy gold ones, so that's all they stock.

 

[Big J]

I highly recommend iced Hong Kong milk tea, and French toast at Lan Fong Yuen.

 

[Bushwalker]

And the Hong Kong egg waffle too.


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