Two weeks ago Don and I went to Hong Kong. We went with the other four BYU teachers. Our Chinese visa required that we leave China and re-enter before we could apply for a permanent resident's visa. Hong Kong is considered a special administrative region and qualifies as "leaving" China. The other four have to leave the country and re-enter every 90 days since this is a requirement of those with American passports. We felt lucky that we don't have to do that.
We took the fast train (not the bullet train) from the East Guangzhou Train Station. It took about 2 hours and it was relaxing, comfortable and interesting. There were rural scenes to see. As we neared Hong Kong, it was obvious that the region is more prosperous, even though Guangzhou is a very prosperous part of China. Stepping off the train at Kowloon,(the north, mainland side of the harbour) we were greeted by a different world. For one thing, we saw many foreigners. Also, the place had a lot of pizzazz. We enjoyed the food at the spaghetti house. Food hasn't been an issue for me, but some are having a hard time with the unfamiliar food in China. Then we walked around the harbour at night and saw the light show and the sights and the expensive shops. We stayed at a hotel on the Kowloon side.
The next day we boarded a double decker bus and found the LDS temple on Cornwall Street. It is a lovely building tucked into a residential area. After this, we crossed the harbour to the Hong Kong side on the Star Ferry. It was all very thrilling. We wanted to take the bus ride out of the city to Stanley Market, but we ran out of time.
With all honesty I can claim that Hong Kong is the most beautiful city I have ever seen. The setting, with the hills, the water and the mist is simply spectacular. Nevertheless, we were happy to return to our little Guangzhou (15 million). Hong Kong has beauty and history, but we wanted our much more humble city. We feel safer here. Hong Kong looked like, on first appearances, a proud, fast, trendy, materialistic place.
It is certainly one of the great cities of the world.
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