Reclaimed Land: Hong Kong in Transition

City in Transit - Spaces of Circulation

City in Transit Spaces of Circulatio n in Transit Spaces of Circulatio n Hong Kong's existence as a city is owed to its natural harbour, to its usefulness a s a port for trade with China. Even today that task as an economic gateway to China, as a place of transit, is a major rol e for Hong Kong, and in term s of traffi c volum e it s container por t count s a s one o f the world' s busiest . Th e vitality o f this aspec t o f th e city' s economic lif e i s easy to monitor, sinc e anyone ca n observe th e constant flo w o f ships into the harbour, an d th e unloading of their cargoes onto the swarms of attendant lighters. One of the many to profit from this trade has been Tung Chee-hwa, first Chie f Executiv e of the post-handover SAR , who was heir to the extensive shipping lin e his father established . The container ship s and othe r larg e trading vessels are the first t o catch the eye as one scans the harbour an d it s approaches, but they are by no means the only vessels to be seen on Hong Kong's busy waters. Other large ships can also be spotted occasionally , namely th e American nava l vessel s that periodically visi t the city on thei r circuit s around th e Pacific. Such visits have continued i n the post-handover period (albei t with interruptions at certain low points of Sino - U S relations), although members of the Shore Patrol no longer wear their uniforms an d arm band s when o n duty in the Wanchai red-light area or in Lan Kwai Fong. Smaller ships to be seen in the harbour includ e many fishin g boats , sampans, tugs pulling th e aforementioned lighters , and motorize d pleasur e junks (th e on e sailing junk stil l to be regularly see n in the harbour i s also equipped wit h a motor). Ferries linking the outlyin g islands to Hong Kong Island are also a frequent sight , as of course is the Star Ferry connecting Hong Kong Island t o Kowloon. Until the construction of tunnels this had been the main public transport link across the harbour, and lik e City . mm m A Vessel in fog,East Lamma Channel. 22 March 1995. I American aircraft carrier, East Lamma Channel. 1 November 1995. A American forces Shore Patrol on duty, Wanchai. 5 November 1996. •< Marine Police launch stopping a vessel off Tuen Mun to conduct a check of documents. 23 March 1997. A Sailing junkDuk Ling in Victoria Harbour, which it is hired to cruise by the Hong Kong Tourist Association as a picturesque reminder of times past. 20 June 1997. the Peak Tram it continues to be an integral part of th e transport syste m today, performing bot h practical an d touristic duties. Marine Police vessels keep a watch o n all the harbou r approaches, conducting routine checks of vessels in an attempt to prevent the smuggling of goods and people . Flows of the latter from mainland China, both legal and illegal, have been a s crucial t o the evolutio n o f Hon g Kong as the flows o f commodities: this place of transi t grew t o it s presen t scal e throug h mas s immigratio n rather than the expansion of a settled population. At one point most people in the city had come from elsewhere , and no t al l originall y intende d t o stay . Onl y thei r children's generation , growin g u p wit h th e cit y a s a horizon, develope d a more fir m bon d t o Hong Kong , although man y fro m thi s generation were to emigrat e to Canada, Australia an d othe r havens as the handove r and all its uncertainties approached . •< Sign on the Star Ferry terminal, Central. 20 May 1999. < Cable television screens inside Star Ferry terminal, Central. 12 April 1995. Although illega l immigrants continue to arrive by sea , most visitors not coming overland from mainland Chin a arrive by air. Before 6 July 1998 this would hav e mean t the spectacular landin g at Kai Tak, Hong Kong's inne r city harbour-front airport , with its flight pat h ove r th e rooftops of Kowloon City. From that day on it has meant an arrival at the new Hong Kong International Airpor t at Chek La p Kok , an islan d o n th e fa r sid e o f Lanta u Island whic h ha d bee n levelle d an d extende d fo r th e purpose. This new out-of-tow n airpor t i s connected t o the urba n area s o f Kowloo n an d Hon g Kon g b y a purpose-built roa d an d rai l lin k tha t passe s ove r a dramatic bridge , a n architectura l set-piec e i n its ow n right that helps create a more flattering firs t impressio n for visitors than Kai Tak's run-down inner city environs were ever able to provide. Hong Kong's topography, as well as residents' sense of it, was transforme d b y th e new airport . Th e massiv e ^ Approach road to the tunnel of theEastern Harbour Crossing, Lam Tin. 29 April 1997. < Reclaimed land in Sheung Wan, zuith construction work in progress in connection with the tunnel of the Western Harbour Crossing. 24 April 1996. Peak Tower, housing the terminus of the Peak tram, night. 13 July 1997. < Aircraft coming in to land at Kai Tak airport, as viezued fromKozuloon City. 24 December 1996. A Building in Kozuloon City, zuith airport landing light on roof. 24 December 1996. reclamation fo r airpor t terminal s o n both side s o f th e harbour altered its urban core irrevocably, and the new ease with which the western Ne w Territorie s could b e reached fro m bot h Centra l an d th e airport itsel f gav e that previously relatively inaccessible part of Hong Kong a new importance. Tung Chung on the far side of Lantau, previously a sleepy village only accessible from Hon g Kong Island after a n hour's ferry journey followed by a long bu s ride , wa s no w onl y a quic k Mas s Transi t Railway journe y awa y an d thu s a possibl e plac e o f residence for commuting office workers . The closure of Kai Tak prompted th e removal of airport-related heigh t restrictions on the Kowloon side of the harbour, leadin g to th e appearanc e o f towe r block s an d othe r ne w construction o f a kind previousl y see n onl y o n Hon g Kong Island. •4 Viezu of the harbour and Hong Kong Island froma plane taking off atKai Tak airport a fewdays before its closure. 3 July 1998. < Viezu froma plane landing at the nezu Hong Kong International Airport, Chek Lap Kok, on the second day of its operation, zuith Lantau Island in the background. 7 July 1998. Right from th e beginning the colonial government ha d intended th e ne w airpor t a s a confidence-buildin g measure, the decision to build it being made in the wake of th e June Fourt h crackdow n i n Beijing , whic h ha d turned the approaching handover into a more uncertain prospect. I n fac t thi s prou d symbo l coul d no t b e completed before the end of British rule, in part because it becam e a n issu e o f disagreemen t wit h Chin a a s relations between th e two sovereig n power s began t o fray. Whe n i t di d ope n i n 1998 , it wa s shamelessl y appropriated b y a post-handover governmen t i n nee d of it s ow n confidence-boostin g opportunities , an d Chinese Presiden t Jian g Zemi n preside d ove r th e opening ceremony . Unfortunately , du e t o compute r glitches and othe r problems caused i n part by the rus h to open aroun d th e anniversar y o f th e handover , th e airport's operation s soo n degenerated int o chaos. The < Detail of bridge structure on the Lantau Fixed Crossing, a part of the nezuly opened route to the future airport site. 1 October 1997. ^ Passenger complaining to the media about delays, Arrivals Hall, Hong Kong International Airport. 7 July 1998. _ M < Hill Street flyover and surrounding buildings. 12 March 1997. M Construction of support for an elevated roadzuay, Central. 22 October 1997. A Construction of an elevated roadzuay, Western. 28 December 1996. •฀ * ^ - S฀-§r »฀ A Elevated roadzuay under construction, Slieung Wan, zuith Taizuanese flagonpedestrian zualkzuay. 14 November 1996. M Homeless zuoman and elevated roadzuay under construction, Slieung Wan. 24 April 1996. < Elevated roadzuay under construction, and man resting on a pedestrian zualkzuay zuith a makeshift 'hammock'', Slieung Wan. 24 April 1996. A Pedestrian zualkzuay at night, Wanchai. 9 April 1995. < Elevated roadzuay through a building, Temple Street night market, Kozuloon. 15 Decemeber 1996. recriminations and negative publicity reverberated lon g after the new airport had recovered the level of efficienc y for which it had been built. The airport apart , ther e was a great dea l o f new roa d construction during the last years of the 1900s. Elevated highways have long been a feature of Hong Kong urban space an d a favoured wa y o f allowin g faste r traffi c a priority and thu s shrinking distance. A stretch linkin g Central to Western, which opened in sections during this period, was not the first to be constructed o n a valuable waterfront site . It ran close by several older parts of town without interactin g wit h th e slower-pace d lif e t o b e found there , linking at one point with th e previously constructed Hil l Stree t flyover , whic h snake s dow n through what ar e mostly olde r buildings, oblivious t o the life that goes on at street level below. ** Kerbside hoarding zuith defaced image of Martin Lee, leader of the Democratic Party. 9 May 1998. ^ Electioneering poster forthe Liberal Party in shop zuindozu, Hennessy Road, Wanchai, featuring Ada Wong (top). 30 April 1998. < Detail of kerbside hoarding placed by the Democratic Party alleging complicity of the government zuith the commercial sector by means of a linking oftzuo characters, Sai Ying Poon. 17 December 1997. •< Taiwanese flags placed by the roadside in celebration of the 'Double Tenth' (the 10 October Taiwan national day), Sai Ying Poon. 10 October 1996. k Hoarding in celebration of the 'Double Tenth', placed zuithout permission on Gloucester Road, Wanchai. 9 October 1997. On slowe r roads , advertisement s hav e a chanc e t o address th e occupants o f vehicles, and th e kerbside i s particularly the site of political messages. These appea r in force around election time, naturally, but can be seen at just abou t an y othe r tim e a s well . Governmenta l messages, as opposed to party-political ones, are also to be found , an d ca n li e i n wai t fo r passenger s a t bu s shelters, as well as in the vicinity of the ferry terminals . Buses and tram s themselves, of course, can equally b e moving billboards , an d aroun d th e handove r man y carried patriotic messages instead o f commercial ones . One perso n wh o seem s t o regar d al l o f Hon g Kon g public spac e a s offerin g potentia l location s fo r hi s personal message s i s Tsan g Tso u Choi , commonl y known as the King of Kowloon. The favoured site s fo r his calligraphic graffiti , whic h gaine d hi m somethin g ** Government poster on a bus shelter opposite Queen Mary Hospital inviting applications for British National (Overseas) passports, zuhich confer no right of abode in Britain. 28 January 1997. < Government poster on a bus shelter asserting that forthcoming Legislative Council elections zuill be democratic, despite the factthat only a minority of the seats are in geographical constituencies zuhere voting is open to all. 5 March 1998. of a cult status in the period aroun d th e handover, ar e walls an d item s o f stree t furnitur e i n area s o f hig h vehicular or pedestrian traffic. Tsang has been tirelessl y writing his calligraphic protest s fo r abou t forty years , apparently, an d show s n o sig n o f diminishe d energ y despite now being forced t o move around o n crutches. < Illuminated poster placed by the Education Department to promote acceptance of itsnezu policy of mother tongue education, near Kowloon-side Star Ferry terminal. 13 November 1997. < Tram with painted advertisement, Wanchai. 25 April 1996. A Bus in handover celebration livery, Tsim Sha Tsui. 24 May 1997. Often hi s writin g i s foun d i n clos e proximity to buildings and places that have an association with state power , which h e actively contests. His mai n refrain has been a claim that the British crown has stolen land from his family, whose lineag e h e proudl y records , asserting a n imperia l statu s fo r himself. Making u p i n metaphorica l truth wha t the y lac k i n litera l exactitude, Tsang's inscriptions on the margins o f publi c spac e ar e a vivi d protest agains t th e displacemen t c a u s e d b y th e c i t y ' s r a p i d transformation. Constantly in motion, it seems, this urban nomad continuall y inscribes complaint s agains t hi s exclusion fro m th e moder n rapid transit environment which can find n o place for him . < Tsang Tsou Choi, the 'King of Kozuloon', painting calligraphic graffiti on an item of street furniture in the vicinity of Victoria Park. 27 September 1996. ...