Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Mong Kok, Hong Kong

With a focus on electronics, cosmetics and clothes, Sai Yeung Choi Street South in Hong Kong's Mong Kok district is at its liveliest when the street is blocked to vehicular traffic and the shopping and entertainment options expand. In the words of Anna Cummins in Time Out Hong Kong:

Walk along the pedestrianised zone of Sai Yeung Choi Street in Mong Kok as evening settles and prepare for all your senses to be smashed – repeatedly. Between the sales reps inexorably blocking your passage with their banners and leaflets, you’re bombarded by sweet and unsavoury smells as fulgent lights blind your eyes. Then there are the political activists who wax lyrical about the state of the world as they stand next to portable amps, which discharge a cacophonous mixture of street karaoke, beatboxing and live pop-rock. When we take our tour down the street, a man, for some reason, is balancing on a Rolla Bolla with a bunch of flowers in his mouth. Nearby, a group of footballers have gathered a sizeable audience as they perform tricks to music. In between the bustle, another guy nonchalantly appears to levitate, drawing a crowd of silent, bemused onlookers.

No matter if you love or loathe the madness, it’s undeniable that Sai Yeung Choi Street’s audacious atmosphere stands out against so many stagnant streets in Hong Kong, which are full of stationary cars and high end swank.

I recall far more savory than unsavory smells in the area and would not characterize Hong Kong as having many stagnant streets, but I agree the pedestrianized Sai Yeung Choi Street South stands out in Hong Kong. As Cummins later explains and the South China Morning Post also earlier reported, catching the experience is harder, because the city reduced the amount of time the street is pedestrianized due to concerns voiced by residents and shop owners. The Standard reported the different viewpoints on how the change will impact business and commercial rents in the area:

Midland IC&I head of research department Jimmy Chan expects leasing activities to fall with the traffic announcement. However, while most analysts forecast retail rents in the area to fall due to declining sales, some shopowners and tenants think differently.

They welcome the new rules as the return of more cars will prevent street performers from attracting crowds and creating a nuisance to potential shoppers.

Whatever the case, on weekends and public holidays the street is still pedestrianized and during several recent visits I found it full of life. With up to 20,000 pedestrians per hour, there are plenty of people to see. Below are photos from there and a few smaller cross streets of pedestrians, sellers, and performers, Rolla Bolla and all. They offer a more expansive look than the several photos from there--street-level advertising, a flash mob, and people posing for a paid photograph--in last year's post about Mong Kok. .

Valentine's Day Scenes in Hong Kong

Yesterday was not only the last day of the Lunar New Year celebrations, it was also Valentine's Day. Hours after visiting the Kwun Yum Temple, I stopped by Hong Kong's Harbour City Mall which had decorations incorporating both holidays. For a small taste of Valentine's Day, holiday fusion, and the entrepreneurial spirit in Hong Kong, below are Friday evening scenes in an area reaching from a mall entrance to the nearby Star Ferry Pier at Tsim Sha Tsui. The pink lanterns were one of the fusion decorations. See if you can spot at least one other. Some of the sights, such as musical performances and people taking selfies with iconic Hong Kong skyscrapers in the background, could be seen on many other days, but the less common Valentine's Day spirit was unmistakable.

Over 500 pink and purple lanterns

Many were taking Valentine's Day selfies under the lanterns

Plenty of posing kids

Deciding whether to buy more Valentine's Day items

Enthusiastic ballon sellers

Posing with a Valentine's Day ballon sculpture for a price

More lanterns

Ballon sellers enjoying themselves

Relatively decent air for a nighttime photo including Hong Kong Island

One bubble-wand seller repeatedly yelled "Only tonight!"

More balloons for sale

Masked man selling Valentine's Day flowers and signs

One of the musical performances in the area

Posing with a bunch of balloons before purchasing one from a clown

Finally, although many sellers in the area were targeting couples out for Valentine's Day, some people were trying to give a bit of cheer to everyone for free.

Very outgoing high school students

The Kwun Yum Temple in Hong Kong

On Friday, the last day of the Lunar New Year's celebrations, I visited the Kwun Yum Temple in Hung Hom, Hong Kong:

Kwun Yum or Kwun Sai Yum (觀世音) [has been] known for centuries as a deity of sympathy, compassion and mercy, hearing the pleas of those who are suffering. She is worshipped by people of both the Taoist and Buddhist religions. Kwun Yum in the earlier times was a male divinity, but evolved to be a female deity in Tang Dynasty (唐朝). Arising from a saying that Kwun Yum studied Taoist teachings on lotus blossoms, some Kwun Yum Temples are also called Lin Fa Kung or Palace of Lotus Flower (蓮花宮). Temples dedicated to Kwun Yum are often alternatively known as Shui Yuet Kung or Palace of Water and Moon (水月宮), which stands for all that is quiet and peaceful and detached from the material world.

The inside did feel detached from the world outside. People prayed, made offerings, and had their fortunes told. The scenes especially contrasted with others I saw later in the day regarding a holiday not so detached from the material world--the subject of the next post. But first, below are a few scenes, most of which include incense burning or being lit, from a temple full of people, smoke, and spirit.

A Chinese New Year Holiday Spent Atop Shanghai

I previously shared a photo from near the top of what was then Shanghai's tallest building. Vadim Makhorov went higher. Much higher. And there is not an elevator to where he went.

He recently wrote:

I dreamed to visit Shanghai for a while. One of the main sights for us was Shanghai tower, a huge skyscraper in the city center, which currently is under construction. The height of it will be 632 meters. When the construction will be completed, the tower will become the highest building in China and world’s second high building after Burj Khalifa (if not to mention TV tower in Tokyo, which is only 2 meters higher).

Ten days ago, during the celebration of Chinese New Year, the entire country was resting – all the people had vacations, so as the builders. Everybody was squibbing in their neighborhoods and enjoying the holidays. For us, it was perfect time to climb the tower and a crane jib above it (the highest point is about 650 meters).

That many people were away for the holidays is key. According to his video, Makhorov did not take a conventional route into the building.




And he did not take conventional photos.

Photo by Vadim Makharov from here

See Makharov's posts here (HT to Evan Osnos) and here (HT to Andrew Webster) for more of his story and photos. The dramatic video is worth watching in HD.

Prayer and Mobile Phone

At the Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong

Where I Was Going With "Where Are You Going?"

Dots on a pedestrian bridge window

Several recent posts shared a similar format: a questioning title followed by a single photo of a scene from Hong Kong. When I first looked at the photo of a ship with an ancient Chinese design sailing towards modern buildings, "Where are you going today?" immediately came to mind. This usually straightforward question now seemed to be asking something deeper. I also found it striking that the photo's effect on me was so different from experiencing the scene in person. Perhaps some of the feelings the boat's design evokes can be dampened by the sound of the boat's motor. Similarly, more mundane events occurring nearby may provide a grounding context. And heightened awareness that the boat is likely providing a very local tour could take one's imagination away from distant places or times.

The photo of a winding High Street in the second post brought to mind the same question but with a different spin. In this case, the potential destinations appear more restricted, though the two levels of roads suggests a significant choice was made earlier. There's also an added sense of mystery with the elevated road disappearing between the buildings. A video by Anil Maharjan reveals where the elevated road leads. Based on the video's perspective and it ending at a bus stop, I would guess it was taken from an upper-level front seat of a double decker bus--rather appropriate for what some describe as a double decker road. Even if you don't care where the road leads, the video provides a good ride:


Hill Road Bypass in Hong Kong from Anil Maharjan.

The third post asked a slightly different question--"Where do you want to go?" For me, this question was implicit in the earlier posts, and the scene of a man sitting alone on a large rock provided a setting to raise the question explicitly. I don't really know what the man was thinking about at the time, though. He may already be exactly where he wants to be.

The most recent post asked "Where do you want to play tennis today?" and included a scene from one of Hong Kong's many residential complexes. It mostly resulted from a bit of humor & self-mockery. But like the other posts, many different interpretations are possible.

The different interpretations possible for all of the posts are part of the reason I didn't say any of this before. I didn't want to lead people's experience of the photos any more than I already had. We often have our own places to go. Even now, new thoughts arise when I look at the photos. It reminds me that you don't need to move a single inch to see something different. Sometimes all it takes is a change of focus.

View of Kwai Cheong Road in Kwai Chung, Hong Kong, through a pedestrian bridge window with dots

And Where Do You Want To Play Tennis Today?

Kornhill Recreation Club in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong

Where Do You Want To Go Today?

Lei Yue Mun, Hong Kong

And Where Are You Going Today?

Hill Road in Shek Tong Tsui, Hong Kong