A name card of Hong Kong

提到香港，哪一种元素会映入脑海？是王家卫的电影、林夕的歌词，还是旺角黑夜的霓虹闪烁、遍地可寻的7/11？是维多利亚港跨年的倒计时、坐着红van穿越狮子山隧道，还是佐敦老牌茶餐厅里搭台饮一杯冻鸳鸯、中环街头人潮汹涌擦肩而过时道一声：唔该？

喧嚣拥挤的金融热土，高楼林立的国际都会，逼仄的空间下拥有着飞速发展的生命力。极具辨识度的城市景观、无处不在的本土文化符号，长久以来记录着繁华背后的生活百态，也传递着几代人的集体回忆。

如果用一张城市名片来诠释香港，千言万语也道不尽—CGTN带你走近香港地，找寻心中共鸣。

Hong Kong. You may call it an urban jungle, a cultural melting pot or simply one of the most expensive places to live in the world. But peel back the skin of this unique city, and you’ll find a myriad of micro-factors which underpin its social and cultural values.  

What lies behind Hong Kong’s enduring appeal? What are the icons of popular culture? What elements in the city’s modern life resonate most with each generation?

行走于九龙、新界各地的富豪雪糕车，有着红、白、蓝相间的鲜明配色，车身上还写着「每日新鲜为你制造」的标语。几十年来，这款经典的流动雪糕车不但只卖香滑软雪糕、果仁甜筒、莲花杯和珍宝橙冰这四种口味，连《蓝色多瑙河》的招牌音乐都没有换过，早已成为一代港人抹不去的舌尖味道和心头记忆。

Ice cream trucks have long been part of the collective memory of Hong Kongers. The streams of refreshing, soft vanilla, but also the iconic red, white, and blue exterior of the trucks, with The Blue Danube tune playing on a continuous loop.

Owned by Ng Enterprises, Hong Kong’s first ice cream van was imported from England and began to work the streets in 1970. Renamed Mobile Softee in 2010, the company now has 14 trucks dishing out ice cream on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. 

|Cha Chaan Teng

​由大排档、冰室演变而来的茶餐厅，是地道香港食肆。比起传统茶楼翻着报纸消磨半日的节奏，遍布在大街小巷的茶餐厅离普通港人的日常生活更近。如果听过“澳牛光速餐”的故事，你一定会对香港讲求效率、充满点餐暗语的餐饮文化产生感受得淋漓尽致—“搭台得唔得啊？”

A newspaper with 一盅两件 (Lit. One bowl with two pieces, meaning a cup of tea with two dim sum dishes) is how many elderly people spend their morning, but the blue collar workers of Hong Kong usually have a quick lunch in a nearby Cha Chaan Teng – tea restaurant, serving Western dishes with Chinese twist – during rush hour. 

​Only in Hong Kong can you experience such a variety of dim sum delicacies — in fact, you have probably read about them in our previous newsletter (食嘢 | Sampling Hong Kong's gourmet food).Taking a seat in a Cha Chaan Teng is also a window into Hong Kong’s hectic lifestyle, as many local tea restaurants are known for their fast service and high efficiency. Don’t dawdle, you won’t get much time to decide what to eat or even to finish your meal. And brace yourself for some impatient waiters just in case they yell at you, but don’t be put off — it’s all part of the Hong Kong experience.

​那夜凌晨，我坐上了旺角开往大埔的红van…这种没有固定路线、班次、服务时间和收费水平的红色小巴，无论你有没有坐过，它在港片里的出现频率总会让人产生一种莫名的亲切感。九龙仔，荃湾，佐敦道…白底胶牌上红蓝色的繁体楷书，一笔一划见证了“天水围的日与夜”，却道不尽这一站又一站的香港往事。

Nearly 90 percent of all trips in Hong Kong are taken on public transport, amounting to around five million journeys every day. One mode, the red minibus, is particularly special to Hong Kongers. It’s a kind of flexible shared taxi, with passengers allowed to hop on and off anywhere. It also changes its fares and routes during the course of each day.

The public light bus is ubiquitous in TV soap operas and movies. The red and blue signs that inform would-be passengers where a red minibus is going are another icon in the eyes of many. Sixty-year-old calligrapher Mak Kam-sang, Hong Kong’s last writer of minibus signs, is campaigning hard to preserve the tradition.

Of the more streamlined options, Hong Kong’s subway system is the envy of the world. It offers locals and tourists a fast and convenient carriage to all the excellent highlights of the city at a low price… and all the signs, announcements, and calls are in English.

​“在世间平凡又普通的路太多，屋邨你住哪一座？”作为半个多世纪公屋发展史的时代产物，香港的公共屋邨在19世纪著名学者王韬的《香港略论》一文中，就被形容为“小如蜗舍，密若蜂房”。其中曾于1965年荣获香港建筑师学会银奖的彩虹邨，凭借其色彩斑斓、造型独特的外观，成为了Instagram上最受粉丝欢迎的拍照打卡地之一。

With a population of more than seven million and an average living space as small as 13.1 square meters, providing affordable public housing for lower-income residents is a central duty of the Hong Kong SAR government.

Located in the Wong Tai Sin district of Kowloon, the Choi Hung Estate (Lit. rainbow) was built in 1962. It consists of 11 blocks of public rental housing and has been painted eight different colors. The unique design and charming pattern was not only awarded silver by the Hong Kong Association of Architects in 1965, but also continues to attract scores of tourists. If you want to post an insanely beautiful photo on Instagram, this is one of the top places in Hong Kong to take a sharable shot.

​自20世纪中期，遮天蔽日的霓虹灯广告牌便装点着香港的街景和天际线，以伸出直立式最为常见。今天，在北美和欧洲各大主要城市的唐人街上看到这样的繁体字招牌，都会勾起华人心底深处的浓浓乡愁。遗憾的是，由于政府的相关规定，传统的大型灯箱招牌在香港逐渐被拆除、被LED灯替代。但曾经充斥过漫漫长夜的璀璨霓虹，在一代电影人各具审美的镜头语言见证中，将记录下香港鲜明跳跃的视觉文化。

With 8,000 buildings reaching taller than 14 floors, Hong Kong has more skyscrapers than any other city in the world, almost double the number in New York. When striding through the streets, tens of thousands of colorful signboards hang from the buildings above. 

The glittering creatures come alive as night falls, placing you at the heart of the concrete jungle. Such visually-appealing neon signs have become an indelible part of Hong Kong’s skyline. The traditional neon glare is slowly disappearing, however, replaced by more energy efficient LED signs. A blow to the city’s heritage, but a boost to its future.

东方之珠| The diverse nature

​20年很短，历史很长。从一个不起眼的小小渔港，到如今寸金尺土的摩登大都会。无论经过多少艰辛坎坷，今日的香港比昨日更精彩—风情万种、复杂而多元，东方之珠整夜未眠。

​Hong Kong’s local identity is, of course, far more than the snapshots above. The city is shaped by every single aspect of law, politics, education, language, cinema industry and expression. There is a long 

and important story to tell on such a sophisticated fusion of East and West.

What kind of signage in Hong Kong can best reveal the hidden depths of the city’s culture? Which part of the city lingers in your mind? How would you define the metropolis in one keyword? Share with us @CGTN on our social media platforms.