Little Altars Everywhere

Hong Kong is a city of sensory overload. To be precise, Hong Kong is a whole district consisting of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. Formerly a British colony, it is now back under the Chinese banner, governed by a policy they call 'One Country, Two Systems'. Each area is distinct, and chock-full sights, sounds, smells, and people...lots of people. We spent two weeks in Hong Kong, staying on the Kowloon Peninsula, visiting our friends John and Sue on Hong Kong Island, and experiencing a completely foreign culture.

John and Sue, aka Our Charming Hosts


In seeking to describe it, the one word I keep coming back to is contrast. The city, and especially Hong Kong Island, is glitzy, glamorous, full of beautiful buildings and beautiful people.

View across Victoria Harbor of Hong Kong Island


Victoria Peak dominates the island, leaving a relatively small amount of land on which to build. As such, buildings go straight up...hundreds and hundreds of them.

View of the city from the top of Victoria Peak


To see the lights of Hong Kong at night is truly a sight to behold.



The center building is Sir Norman Foster's amazing HSBC Building


A world financial hub, there are movers and shakers thronging the streets, and every imaginable brand, mark, and type of commercial good is available at an unimaginable amount of malls and shopping areas. As a friend mentioned, space is so lacking that if you can't drive it, carry it, or wear it, they're not interested.

A street in Central, Hong Kong Island


There are glam areas on the Kowloon side as well, but by and large it has a grittier feel, lots of buildings are aging and crumbly (the results of cheap post-war construction and lack of maintenance) and there are wide swaths of immense poverty.

A recently condemned building in Sham Shui Po on Kowloon


And the pollution!

View over the harbor from the Bank of China Tower


The pollution at street level was unlike anything I have ever experienced. It was so thick you could taste it, and the air had a peculiar yellowish tinge to it most days. Kowloon is a non-stop mass of buses, taxis, cars, scooters, colorful signs, and hordes of people. One district, Kwun Tong, is among the most densely populated places on earth with ~55,000 people per square kilometer. (Take a second to let that figure sink in.)

Despite all this, one striking thing that we found in each part of Hong Kong was a proliferation of temples, shrines, statues, gardens, and greenery squeezed in between all the high rises.

A small shrine tucked in the back of a random housewares store in Causeway Bay


Po Lin Temple on Lantau Island


Inside Po Lin


Roof detail from a Tang-style temple building at the Chi Lin Nunnery


Vivid spots of color and bits of natural beauty popped up in often unexpected places, full of decoration and detail in both the man-made things and those from nature. These colorful oases provided a much-needed respite from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong's streets.

Temples and Natural Beauty - Click Here for Hong Kong Photo Album #2