Hong Kong people should focus more on the positive
Nearly 25 years after I first came to Hong Kong and feasted my eyes on the jaw-dropping splendor of Victoria Harbour, I’ve decided to become a tourist again. So, every Thursday, my wife and I take a day off work and set off to see what the SAR has to offer beyond the A-list attractions we’ve seen so many times before and the mundane locations we see so many times every week.
My new tourist trail began a few months ago at the Discover Hong Kong website, the “official travel guide” of the much maligned Hong Kong Tourism Board. There, contrary to my preconceptions, I discovered far more than a glorified shopping list of high-profile tourist sites and upscale restaurants and shops catering to wealthy visitors (although the Peak, Avenue of Stars and Hong Kong Disneyland did all feature prominently on the homepage, while “Dine and Drink” and “Shop” came directly after “Things to Do” on the navigation bar). In fact I found a plethora of places to visit that I hadn’t been to before, and a whole host of things to do that I somehow hadn’t got around to doing in the past couple of decades.
Now I’m a bit of sucker for old stuff, and I love to get out in the open as well. So the past few months have seen me following the Ping Shan Heritage Trail in Yuen Long, the Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail in Fanling, and the Dr Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail in Central and Western. I’ve also strolled around the Kowloon Walled City Park in Kowloon City, Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Lian Garden in Diamond Hill, and the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery in Sha Tin. I’ve visited the Hong Kong Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui East, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Sha Tin, and the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence in Shau Kei Wan. I’ve also hiked all the way up to Pinewood Battery, and all the way down the Tai Tam Waterworks Heritage Trail. And it’s been great!
Living in Hong Kong, with all its stresses and annoyances, it’s all too easy to forget just what an amazing city it is. Where else can you find such a rich and varied cultural heritage in such a stunning natural setting; such dense urban development alongside such pristine country parks; such a vibrant modern metropolis next to such a beautiful marine environment — and all within an hour’s commute from almost any location in the territory?
The fact is, we’re all incredibly fortunate to be living in Hong Kong today. But amid all the challenges of the post-colonial era, it seems that many of us have simply lost sight of how lucky we are. Punishing working hours have dulled our senses, and rising property prices have blinded us to the wonders of “Asia’s World City”.
The upshot is a prevailing sense of pessimism among certain segments of the population, notably the younger generation — a kind of collective depression rendering those afflicted incapable of appreciating either their present situation or their future possibilities.
The remedy for collective depression is the restoration of hope. So it’s absolutely imperative that the SAR government continues its efforts to resolve all the issues regarding standard working hours and affordable housing, as these are two of the major concerns of grassroots and middle-class Hong Kong people. It’s also extremely important for our leaders to make the population fully aware of the myriad opportunities offered by closer economic integration with the mainland, while at the same time emphasizing Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy within the framework of “One Country, Two Systems”.
Ultimately, however, hope is something that comes from within. So all Hong Kong people, including adopted Hong Kong people like me, need to make sure that our minds are focused on the positive, so that we can rise above the pettiness of polarized politics to meet the challenges of the decades to come. As many commentators have said before me, we need to rediscover the “Lion Rock spirit”, the can-do attitude that built the city that so many Hong Kong people are so justly proud of today.
But how can we rekindle the Lion Rock spirit? How can we cure ourselves of our collective depression? Well, one of the most effective remedies for mild depression is adopting a better lifestyle: a healthier diet, more sleep and, crucially, regular exercise. So what better way to start our collective recovery than by getting out and exploring our unique and captivating city?