Making the most of out of everything available

Hong Kong is so well known to the world that if fully lives up to its reputation as an international city. It is also well known as wonderful place for shopping and a city with enchanting night scenes. But it would be rash to try to define Hong Kong in a single phrase because Hong Kong is a city that is always changing. From starting the day with Tai Chi exercise and a breakfast of traditional congee porridge, to enjoying an expresso in a chic coffee shop or dining in style at a Soho restaurant, a wide range of lifestyles have been absorbed without awkwardness by all generations and both genders in Hong Kong. Here you can drop the timidity of the outsider and the anxiety of encountering a new place. An open place. An open place where everyone can be themselves, Hong Kong will set you free.

Hasty or hard working

Some time ago, a survey found that Hong Kong had the lowest average sleeping time per person per day of any place on earth. And sure enough, the hard-working character of the Hong Kong people comes out in the way they walk and speak. It's not unusual to see many people in Hong Kong pass you by at a brisk clip through Tsim Sha Tsui Causeway Bay or Central. It's not that Hong Kong people are impolite - no one frowned when I asked directions. It's just that they make as efficient use of the limited 24 hours in a day as they do of their limited land area - not much larger than half the size of Korea's Jeju Island. They hurry because they are hard-working not because they are hasty, and you can quickly realize that the way they pass other people and stride on ahead shows you how energetically they live their lives.

A real gourmet city

In Hong Kong, no matter how busy people are, they never miss a meal. It's not ususal to see groups of businesspeople in smart suits having a early breakfast of congee. Made with lashings of meat, fritters, boiled eggs or innards, this porridge makes a hearty meal. And how about the colorful dim sum? Siu maai packed with shrimp, xiaolongbao full of rich broth, crispy spring rolls, and sweet lotus-seed dumplings: these are good to look at and great to eat. But only after adding a dessert, can you really say you've had a proper Hong Kong meal. So try the dun lai (milk pudding), made with sweetened milk and egg whites; dau fu fa (sweetened silken tofu), made from ground soy beans, liquefied sugar and ginger; or tang won, made with thin-skinned glutinous rice dumplings. Those combine to make a true gourmet feast to satisfy the eyes and palate alike.

A night just for lovers

If asked to name a city that looks as beautiful by night, one is bound to think of Hong Kong, so outstanding are its night scenes. No matter how busily you explore Central, Causeway Bay, or Mong Kok during the day, the night scenes are so different that every visitor is in for a surprise. Hong Kong by night seems to take on a subtle atmosphere all over the city. The combined effect of the flashing neon signs, the varied lights of the tall buildings, the laser shows and the clear lights of the Star Ferry will make anyone admire this city of the night. Perhaps that's why Hong Kong's streets at night are full of loving couples, holding hands affectionately. It's just as Deng Lijun sang in Hong Kong Night: "That beautiful night, loving couples hold hands and talk endlessly of love."

A city with a life and breath of its own

In her novel Looking for Someone, Hong Kong-born Wing Tching described Hong Kong's weather as follows: "Except for a cold wind, Hong Kong has no winter at all. The cold wind came quickly, but it went away quickly too. Somehow the city seemed to exude a thick warm breath, like a cauldron of boiling water." Truth be told, it is hard to find even a trace of winter in Hong Kong January. There is sometimes a cold wind, but it is not the typical winter that stings the tip of your nose. In Hong Kong, even in that cold wind, you feel a touch of warm breath. So instead of sultry summer, the warm period from December to February is considered the best time to visit Hong Kong. The vibrant atmosphere of the holiday season continues uninterrupted to February. The streets are at their most lively and colorful during Chinese New Year - a special site to see. Above all, no visitor should miss the Symphony of Lights that begins at 8:00 each evening. The laser show combines music with night views of Hong Kong's skyscrapers. From around the Avenue of the Stars and Lover's Walk in the Tsim Sha Tsui area, the views are so beautiful that you could find yourself falling in love at first sight.

Still a mecca for shopping

Even those who are not interested in shopping are unlikely to walk away from Hong without having succumbed to at least one impulse buy. Hong Kong's strength lies in being a mecca for shopping. Except for alcohol and tobacco products, everything is duty free, and December to February is the time for bargain sales. During these months, high-ticket imported brand-name products can be found at such reasonable prices that some people call it "brand hunting." As the sales go on, the price cuts become more drastic, starting at around 20-40 percent and often reaching 70-90 percent by the end of the sale period. Among the best places for brand-name shopping are the British-style elite department store Harvey Nichols; the International Finance Centre Mall (similar to Korea's Coex Mall); and Harbour City Mall, Hong Kong's largest shopping mall at the tip of the Kowloon Peninsula. Naturally, shoppers also have their pick of Japanese department stores such as Seibu, Sogo, and Mitsukosi; British department stores such as Marks and Spencer's; and Hong Kong department stores such as Lane Crawford and Wing On.

But the real beauty of shopping in Hong Kong is not so much the up-market brand-name stores as in its local brand and road shops with their reasonable prices and special atmosphere. The plethora that is Mong Kok Night Market and the second-hand shops of Stanley Market and Hollywood Road are popular sites as well. To take just one example, Times Square at Causeway Bay Station is always packed with young people excitedly shopping for stylish, brand-name goods at places like Zara, Bread and Butter and Che 2. Among the road shops of Causeway Bay, GOD (Good of Design) and Esprit are particularly striking for their ideal brands that can be found only in Hong Kong.

If you'd like to pick up a souvenir of Hong Kong before you go, take a look around Stanley Market or Hollywood Road, where you can find Chinese-style accessory boxes, abacuses, mahjong sets, curious-looking cards and old photographs. And everywhere you look is Mao Zedong - reverted in true Hong Kong style as a commodity; a character on watches, postcards, T-shirts, even coasters.

Green, green. green

Would you believe that in the ultra-modern city of Hong Kong you can find green fields and woods? To escape the image of a congested city, officials have always reserved a variety of natural spaces. Bearing all the characteristics of a subtropical monsoon climate, these natural spaces can feel quite exotic to the tourist from more temperate reigons. Two good examples are Nan Lian Garden on Diamond Hill and the Hong Kong Wetland Park in Tin Shui Wai. But don't forget that you can also enjoy Hong Kong's natural scenery at the traditional villages such as Tai O Fishing Villiage or Ngong Ping Village.

Nan Lian Garden is a reconstruction of a traditional Chinese garden, and it looks so exotic that you might not see a single familiar tree, flower, or plant. The Hong Kong Wetland Park is quite far from the city center and it is recommended only for visitors with plenty of time. Still, it's a nice break from shopping and is also a popular place for Hong Kong school trips, so the curious eyes if children are another refreshing sight there.

Tai O Fishing Village has a quiet atmosphere, like a picture where time stands still. It presents such an unexpected scene that it feels as if you've left Hong Kong. If you pause on the bridge in the evening as the sun is setting, the warm beauty of a fishing village will sink into your heart.

Hong Kong, a city with two faces

If you think about it, Hong Kong is a very remarkable city. Behind the colorful shops and neon signs are old high rise apartments packed with tenants. And not far from the glamorous clothes and elegant makeup displays is washing hanging from the windows of cramped apartments. Yet the Hong Kong people are energetic. They walk fast, work hard, and use their time carefully. After the handover to China in 1997, Hong Kong went into an economic and cultural slump for a while, but Hong Kong remains a shopper's paradise and one of the most international cities in Asia. This was only possible because of the hard work of the residents. Hong Kong is Hong Kong; not any particular kind of a city but unique onto itself. A city that always dreams of change and has no fear of the new, like the differing scenes of day and night, Hong Kong is continuing to evolve at this moment.

Standing on one of the several bridges that cross the river, you can join in the peaceful riverside scene, or enjoy the strange harmony of skyscrapers standing alongside the old buildings of this historic city. One of the special attractions of Frankfurt is the natural harmony between the simple look of a Medieval city and the modern image of a hub of commerce and finance that attracts visitors from around the world all year around.