HONG KONG Mega Photo Thread

[hkskyline]

More photos in my new Hong Kong skyline gallery at : http://www.geocities.com/asiaglobe/gallery/hk-skyline.htm

A chunk of the harbour is now being reclaimed for a waterfront promenade and an underground highway.

Normally the hills separating Kowloon and the New Territories are not so clear from this side of the harbour.

Is there an exhibition coming soon to this site?

A helicopter was flying above the harbour advertising a new airline - Hong Kong Express :

The golden skyscraper :

Another angle of AIG :

A few more leftover skyline photos :

Kowloon's emerging skyline

... and across the harbour :

Now that the Four Seasons has opened, the IFC development is complete.

What do you think of this angle?

How about this one with Central Plaza?

I really like this store sign. What a fat ginseng!

Taking photos of buses from a moving tram was quite difficult.

The Hang Seng Bank is part of the HSBC global empire. Here is their headquarters.

One of my favourite street scenes in Hong Kong is this intersection.

Turn around a bit, and you'll see this scene :

Walk down a bit more, and you'll see this :

... and walk down a bit more and you hit the world's largest Armani store outside Milan.

Traffic

3 Pacific Place is still under construction, even though it has topped out already. Across the street the new Police Headquarters recently opened.

Church and skyscraper combination

Here are some intense streetscapes in Wanchai :

Head east a bit more, and you hit the Causeway Bay shopping district.

[hkskyline]

Western District is one of the earliest development areas of Hong Kong. Here, the British landed and took possession of Hong Kong Island as their new colony. Today, Western is mostly an older residential area, with some pockets of redevelopment here and there.

More photos in my Western District Photo Gallery : http://www.geocities.com/asiaglobe/gallery/hk-western.htm

Accompanying Music : http://portalmp3.zhongsou.com/md?id=6f5ca3...82b4b223980.wma

Dryers are not common in Hong Kong. Most people hang their clothes out even if they live 40 stories above the ground. Many units have a dedicated window and a rack so residents can hang their washed clothes outside.

Once in a while the bottom floors receive the underwear from residents above them.

The waterfront area here has traditionally been a cargo loading zone and not very tourist-friendly. It's just a bunch of concrete at the water's edge.

Pencil Tower!

Here is an example of a redevelopment project where an older run-down area has been converted into luxury residences.

Another similar development, The Belchers, is visible nearby.

Hong Kong is a hilly place. Although this location is only a few hundred metres from Victoria Harbour, it is high enough such that the entrance has to be suspended several stories above the street already. The bottom floors are for parking.

[Mith242]

Wow, some great pics. I like some of the architecture in the early pics. Then just showing some of the density in the later pics was great too. Nice to see some updates on Hong Kong. The city is still growing up and has a bit of a different look than I last remember seeing it.

[hkskyline]

Hong Kong's skyline and cityscapes change very quickly over a span of every few years. I'll continue to post what I've got over the next little while.

Many of Hong Kong's skyscrapers feature light shows at night. Here are a few of the top ones.

First stop : The Centre, captured from their garden looking straight up :

Their entrance is quite stunning.

The Bank of China's neon tubes rise up gradually :

I'm now heading back downhill towards the city.

I like AIG's big sign at the top of its new building.

Hong Kong's light show is quite amazing at night. The hillside streets are not that busy at night (outside Lan Kwai Fong), so it's quite easy to set up a tripod to snap some photos.

Now some close-ups of the BoC :

Chater Garden is a good spot to take pictures of the BoC, AIG, and a more distant view of 2 IFC :

Look at the BoC sparkle!

A professional photographer was doing some work down a few steps from where I was, so I stayed on the pedestrian bridge to take these shots :

[Mith242]

Great shots, I had no idea that Hong Kong put on such a great show at night. I really like those night shots.

[hkskyline]

The Flower Market is one of many theme markets in Mongkok. Imported flowers aren't too expensive in Hong Kong at all. I ordered two dozen roses all wrapped up for about HK$400. I think I might have overpaid for them though.

More photos : http://www.geocities.com/asiaglobe/gallery/hk-flowerfish.htm

Located on the Clearwater Bay peninsula east of Kowloon, the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology first opened its doors in 1991. Today, over 8000 students study in 4 faculties in this campus overlooking the ocean.

More photos at : http://www.geocities.com/asiaglobe/gallery/hk-ust.htm

The university is set in the middle of a rolling countryside with many islands out in the ocean.

Imagine living in a dorm with an ocean view!

The university extends downhill, with a series of walkways and elevators bringing the students and faculty up and down the changing elevations.

Do you want to swim in the pool or in the ocean?

How about a BBQ here - just next to the pool?

Yes, this is a university campus.

Is someone drowning?

[Mith242]

Quite a difference with the vegetation and ocean views from the previous pics.

[hkskyline]

Tseung Kwan O is the seventh new town in Hong Kong. The Executive Council approved the development of the new town in 1982, with an initial planned population of about 175,000. The Government subsequently decided in 1987 and 1988 to proceed with the Phase II and Phase III developments with the planned population increasing to 325,000 and 445,000 respectively. The current Outline Zoning Plan provides for an ultimate target population of 480,000.

More photos of this district on my website - new photos :

http://www.geocities.com/asiaglobe/gallery/hk-tko.htm

[Mith242]

You weren't kidding when you said mega thread. They're great pics though, even if you have to wait a little bit to wait for them all to load.

[ZachariahDaMan]

MANY great pics, I looked at that last picture quickly and thought it said "Yao Ming house"

[hkskyline]

I did a walking tour of some of Hong Kong's most prized real estate, with stunning views of the city and harbour. Hong Kong is a very compact city. Walk for about half an hour, and you're back in the busy city.

We start off with some vantage points from high above :

Now off to Jardine's Lookout! The bus was full of Filipino maids. The residents of that area rarely use public transit. They're rich anyway so they can afford to use a nice car and pay a lot of money for parking.

The less rich of the rich get to see the eastern parts of Hong Kong Island from their nice residences. I used to live just to the east of here. Sadly, Although I was near the top of the hill, the views downhill were better. My window would have faced the harbour towards Harbourfront Landmark back in the day.

Highcliff and Summit are obviously not for the less rich of the rich.

I'm under repair.

We're available for rent!

Luckily I went downhill instead of the other way up. The walk was quite nice and it didn't take long. Unfortunately, the other side of the road offered the best views but there was no sidewalk. Nevertheless, I did brave the traffic to run across and take some pictures from the curbside as cars and trucks weaved their way up hill past me.

Leighton Hill is a high class housing development overlooking the Happy Valley racetrack.

A few more minutes down, the city becomes congested again, and I've arrived in Causeway Bay.

Causeway Bay's leading skyscraper is this building with the Manulife label at the top. Canadian insurer Manulife's Asia regional headquarters is in Hong Kong.

[Mith242]

Some great views of the island area of Hong Kong.

[hkskyline]

The apm shopping mall in Millennium City Phase 5 at 418 Kwun Tong Road is the Sun Hung Kai's retail flagship in East Kowloon, with 630,000 sq.ft. of space. Opened in 2005, it is the poineer of late-night shopping in Hong Kong. Even its name is a combination of morning (am) and afternoon (pm).

More photos of these 2 areas on my website - new Hong Kong sections now online : http://www.geocities.com/asiaglobe/gallery/hongkong.htm

[Mith242]

Interesting pics and shopping area. I also think it's interesting to see those dispensing machines used for other purposes. Seems you never seem them used over here for things like that. I could imagine someone being really mad if they spent that much and the item they picked got stuck.

[Australian1]

WOW!,That topic is huge!

Anyway,great pic's!

One more question, does HK speak English?

[Mith242]

I'm sure hkskyline can explain it better than me. But I always got the impression there's not a lot of English speaking population overall. I think part of it is because a lot of the population has migrated to Hong Kong from other areas and had to learn Cantonese. I also think people who tended to know English were ones who left before the handover as well. That's not to say you can't find any there but I don't think you're going to hear it used a lot over there.

[hkskyline]

Hong Kong's official languages are Cantonese and English. Both are taught in schools, as well as Mandarin, so the younger generation shouldn't have a problem speaking the language at all. The older generation working in markets and the smaller restaurants will speak some broken English, but it's never a problem finding someone nearby who can understand you.

The city is bilingual after all. Signs are bilingual. Bus stop announcements are bilingual. Getting around shouldn't be a problem at all.

[Mith242]

I stand corrected.

[hkskyline]

While Wan Chai is one of Hong Kong's key financial districts, many areas have aged and await redevelopment. However, redevelopment has come with controversy. Many local residents oppose plans to relocate them to other districts, while conservationists have voiced opposition to razing some architectural landmarks in the area.

A lot of the older areas earmarked for redevelopment lie along the tramline, which marks the old waterfront. This area is very far inland now after decades of reclamation.

However, this is Hong Kong. A district will always have some newly developed skyscrapers.

On this street, local residents have put up banners protesting the relocation. They demand housing in the immediate area.

The government's ownership signs are everywhere along this street. However, some shops are still open in defiance.

[Mith242]

Once again nice pics. I also know this has been a problem not only in Hong Kong, with tearing down everything for newer developments, but other Chinese cities as well.

[hkskyline]

Mongkok is one of Kowloon's most congested districts, with a lot of markets selling from flowers to running shoes. It has a very intense urban atmoshpere that lasts from day to night.

Fa Yuen Street is one of several open-air markets in the area :

Adjacent streets are also full of big signs :

After Kai Tak Airport closed, new skyscrapers began popping up here and there to take advantage of relaxed height restrictions.

From the ground the scale of these signs is quite enormous. Many of these do light up at night in a sea of neon.

There are also some intimate street markets on pedestrianized streets such as the Ladies' Market :

[Mith242]

Nice pics, you can certainly feel the density. It's funny because I had almost asked if you had any pics of Mongkok. If I'm not mistaken I think some of Chungking Express was filmed around this area.

[hkskyline]

Disneyland

[hkskyline]

Langham Place is a major redevelopment project in Mongkok whereby a new office tower, hotel, and shopping mall was built. The biggest feature is a huge atrium that separates the two parts of the shopping centre and the long escalator ride between them.

Accompanying Music : http://www.smcc-canossian.org/~eca18/1.mp3

It was a little freaky looking down like that!

More photos : http://www.globalphotos.org/hongkong.htm

[DigitalSky]

good lord at this photothread. tres amazing!