!!!Hong Kong - the City Where Dreams Come True

by Dmitry Moiseenko,
member of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

30 December 2011

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

On the way from the romantic Bali Islands to Moscow, Dima decided to
make a one-day stopover in Hong Kong. He was traveling with his
girlfriend, Alina. After an enjoyable evening stroll through the city,
they returned back to the hotel. As they got out of the taxi, Dima asked
his girlfriend what she was dreaming of — "It would be wonderful to stay
here for another week!" said Alina.

Hong Kong is known to be the city where dreams come true.

The taxi left, carrying away Dima's backpack with the telephone, credit
cards and the passport on its back seat. It was Friday night, their
plane was leaving on Saturday, and the Embassy was going to be opened
only on Monday... This is how Dima and Alina have stayed in Hong Kong
for another week.

Surveillance video cameras at the hotel's entrance captured the license
plate of the taxi, but the backpack was no longer there. The driver said
that he didn't see anything and that the next passengers must have taken
the backpack.

While a friend from Moscow was sending his new foreign passport to Hong
Kong, Dima had a lot of spare time. He shot these panoramic photos when
the sky was especially beautiful, decorated with magnificent clouds.

[{Image src='01_over Hong Kong.jpg' caption='over Hong Kong' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='658'}]

Alina's wish helped to stay in Hong Kong for another week

Editor's note:

Actually, I also wanted Dima to stay in Hong Kong and shoot the
panoramas. And as we know, Hong Kong is the city where dreams come
true...

Now, a few words about Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is both a city and a state, and (more precisely), a special
administrative area of the People's Republic of China. It is truly
"special" in all regards.

Hong Kong is one of the worldwide financial centers, and this mere fact
places certain obligations on its residents and determines the city's
architectural appearance (the first skyscrapers in China were built
here). Additionally, a special administrative status allows Hong Kong to
have its own laws, and it takes full advantage of those.

For example, the notorious one-child Chinese birth restriction policy
does not apply to Hong Kong: its citizens may have as many children as
they like. Frequently, Hong Kong residents do not think of themselves as
Chinese. They speak fluent English, which is the second national
language here. Those who were born prior to 1997 have "open passports",
which means they can travel without a visa to the countries that
otherwise require an entrance visa from Chinese citizens.

So, where does "prior to 1997" come from? It is the year when the former
British colony became a part of China. Prior to that, Britain has leased
this land from China for 99 years, developing it and spreading its
culture. Nevertheless, this lease agreement was not renewed upon
expiration.

Rumors say that the British were unable to keep their overseas territory
because Hong Kong does not have drinking water sources of their own.
Historically, drinking water was delivered to the islands from the
Chinese mainland, which imposed a strict condition — a renewal of lease
agreement would bring the water supply to an end. As a compromise, Hong
Kong was promised a full autonomy and preservation of their lifestyle.
Nowadays, Hong Kong is an incredible mix of all achievements of the West
with unique appearance of the East.

Charming colonial-style mansions co-exist in harmony with high-rise
buildings erected due to the limited territory. Architects of Hong Kong
are guided by modern technical knowledge, and at the same time they
follow Feng Shui tradition. Hence, many buildings have mirror tiles on
their front side to prevent evil spirits from getting inside. The
corners of buildings can be slanted or rounded — it is a Feng Shui
symbol of friendship and protection from all negative influence.

The name of the city, "Hong Kong" is translated as "fragrant harbor".
Thus, water and plants become an equally important part of the local
landscape. Actually, there is a lot of greenery around: both in the
city, and in the famous Victoria Park — home of the Victoria Peak, the
highest (552 meters) point of the Hong Kong Island.

By the way, Hong Kong has a total of 262 islands in the South China Sea,
most of which are really small. The largest island of the archipelago is
the Lantau Island, famous for its airport, Disneyland and the gigantic
Buddha statue. Curiously enough, fairly small territory of Hong Kong has
over 600 shrines that are spread all over the islands.

"The Hong Kong Skyscrapers" and "The Hong Kong Lights" are the two names
of the second-largest Island. It is this very island that you can see on
this panoramic photo.

\\ \\
[8 Panoramas of Hong Kong - the City Where Dreams Come True
|Geography/Asia/China/Pictures/Panoramas_of_Hong_Kong_-_the_City_Where_Dreams_Come_True]










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