As of yesterday, I am back in Hong Kong. The differences between it and the mainland are immediately obvious. As soon as people start saying "haiya" and giving you dirty looks, you know where you are.
Yunnan was great; the weather was wonderful (it's like Atlanta in September), the food was good, and the people were nice. People in the mainland, actually, are almost always nice; I've heard different things about different regions (Especially cities like Shanghai, where the people are apparently not nice). Being in the mainland for those four days, though, and being exposed to a completely different social demographic of China, brought something to my attention: People in Hong Kong generally aren't nice to strangers. Of course, there are exceptions: all of my co-workers, friends I've made, foreigners, and the rare person who defies generalization. Lots of people in HK, though, are not cool with people they don't know. This could involve being foreign, or black, or American, or asking too many questions or talking too much; I am/do all of these things and maybe that's what puts many people off. But for whatever reason, there's an anti-foreign sentiment in Hong Kong. Perhaps this makes it more like New York (which it's often compared to*, because of the geography, economy, and urban culture), although I've never faced discrimination as a minority in New York. Actually, the attitude here reminds me of the Michael Jackson song 'Beat It':
Don't wanna see your face, you better disappear / The fire's in their eyes, and their words are really clear, so beat it, just beat it.
That is a little dramatic.
The main point is that Hong Kong beneath the surface isn't that welcoming of a place for foreigners or even Mainland Chinese, in spite of all the foreigners who live there. They're tired of them and their international shenanigans, and some would rather they leave. Of course, the thousands of foreigners here aren't going anywhere, and their diversity has helped to make a more hospitable community within HK. Hong Kong is like an exclusive club that 0.5% of China has succeeded in joining.
Chinese weddings, also, are fantastic. Better than Western weddings, I think, because of how much ritual and cultural tradition is involved. The ceremony took the entire day, which was more fun than it was tiring, and the reception went into the night. Like I said before, I had a great time, met a lot of people, and was entertained thoroughly; it was well worth the total of around 63 hours I spent on trains to get there and back. Seriously.
I have two days left in Hong Kong to buy some stuff and prepare to leave. It's been a great summer.
Lastly, I want to link to a blog that I didn't write, but is very similar to mine, except about Taiwan. I've heard nothing but good things about Taiwan, and it's someplace I want to go in the future, so I hope to learn, and to let my readers learn, from reading a blog like this.
*This is a really excellent article, I recommend having a look.
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