A Farewell to Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a lively blend of different cultures, unique in the world; you either hate it or love it, so I was told by those who have visited it. (Photo 1)

I loved it instantly, for its disproportionate chaos, its excess, its unstoppable frenzy, its desire to show and to show itself.

I would never stop describing it, visiting it, observing it in every aspect and form, sure of always finding something new to see, photograph, describe. (Photo 2)

On the last day I decide to enjoy the whole panorama that from the Peak I can look out over this city; from there numerous marvellous views open up over Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, the New Territories, even Macau...

I take the Peak Tram from the Garden Road station, in Central, and head up... passing the refined buildings of Mid-Levels, and little by little a landscape opens up that leaves me open-mouthed; the panorama of Central, the Kowloon peninsula, are beneath my eyes; among the trees I glimpse them far away, lit up, beautiful.

The gradient seems almost impossible, until we reach the upper station, the Peak Tower, where on the fifth floor there's an exceptional view. (Photo 3)

Hong Kong unrolls like a colourful carpet before me; wherever I turn my gaze it fills with pictures of it — imposing, endless, dizzying in its lights.

From the houses of Mid-Levels to the skyscrapers of Central, from luminous Kowloon to the green hills of the New Territories.

Crowds fill the Peak constantly; there are no quieter hours, it's a continuous coming and going of people in search of breathtaking views... which is why the Peak has become one of the most expensive and crowded tourist destinations.

The Peak Tower has expensive restaurants, souvenir shops, a Madame Tussauds wax museum, open-air bars where you're guaranteed always very striking views.

After enjoying the spectacle I head back down, returning by Star Ferry to Kowloon; I don't want to miss, on my last evening, the show of lights that every day, at 20:00, enchants tourists and locals alike.

I sit in the front row on the incredible Hong Kong skyline at the Waterfront Promenade; already by about 19:00 people begin to take their places, some setting up tripods with their cameras, some eating something to stave off the boredom of the wait, some knitting, some watching the panorama in front of them; at 20:00 the show begins... a voice over a loudspeaker presents it in English, clearly announcing the names of the promoters of this light show; background music begins that grows ever more insistent, the tallest skyscrapers light up, beams of light wrap around them, lasers rise into the sky and in a few moments the sparkle before me is almost unbelievable... (Photo 4)

Hong Kong is celebrating... for about ten minutes music and light burst onto the scene at a relentless pace, applause covers the music, gradually the glow fades, Hong Kong returns to its true appearance, awaiting the next day, when the spectacle will begin again for the usual enthusiastic crowd. (Photo 5)

I return to the hotel, leaving behind me a city frantic with life; I will certainly come back to savour new places still unknown and to revisit places now familiar.

Simona Salini

INTERESTING FACTS:

* The Peak Tram runs every day from 7 to 24, departing every 15 minutes and lasting about ten minutes;