Vignettes of the World
I Have a Date with Spring
You don’t know what you got till it’s gone, and that is the story of the China Café. I visited this old-schooled, Hong Kong styled café on December 28th, 2019. This is one of its very last days before saying goodbye to Hong Kong. …
The Hong Kong UNESCO Global GeoPark remembers Hong Kong in a way that none of us does. Hexagonal rock columns line the slopes at the Eastern Dam of the High Island Reservoir in Sai Kung. They span a total area of 100 square kilometers including …
For centuries, the villagers of Kat Hing Wai lived in contentment. The Tang clan settled in the Yuen Long area as early as the Song dynasty. The Tang villagers were the first settlers in this area of the New Territories. When the last Emperor of …
Literally meaning “the dragon leaps over the mountain,” Lung Yeuk Tau spans a large area in Fanling in the Northern District. It was the second heritage trail in the New Territories that the Antiquities and Monuments Office proposed and promoted. The 2.6km walk takes visitors …
By Patrick H. Hase “The leased area [the New Territories] was not seen as an economic advantage to the City (indeed, it was initially assumed that it would be a drain on the Colony’s finances), but it was seen as greatly strengthening the City’s security …
Nestled in the deeps of Hong Kong’s countryside, the Plover Cove Reservoir in Tai Po is the first stop along the scenic route leading to the general area of Luk Keng in Fanling. The Plover Cove Reservoir is the largest reservoir in Hong Kong by …
The Jackfruit Festival of Kwong Ban Tin Village in Tsuen Wan has become a popular event amongst the Hong Kong locals as a family-friendly occasion to celebrate the jackfruit harvest in the fall each year. In October 2016, I went there to learn the story …
The Qing Dynasty mansion known as Tai Fu Tai is a site that speaks to the local history in Hong Kong before the colonial times. Originally constructed as home to Man Chung-luen, the brick mansion showcases the honor bestowed on a senior Qing official. A …
There was a time when Hong Kong was considered China’s window to the world. In Chinese, it is said that Hong Kong faces the world with China at its back. If we consider the geography, geopolitics, economy and cultures of Hong Kong, what really provides …
By Martin Booth In this delightful memoir, Martin Booth shares about his childhood exploring Hong Kong in the post WWII period as the son of a British civil servant stationed in Hong Kong. This was the time when Hong Kong was blossoming from a sleepy …