Staying trendy in Hong Kong
by Phyllis Yip on Jan 14, 2011
Many may argue that Hong Kong, being a former British colony and now a quasi-autonomous region of China, has no culture of its own. They say Hong Kong has no culture – no appreciation of art and humanities and no shared aspirations other than making money. The recent project to develop Brand Hong Kong labels our attributes as cosmopolitan, secure, dynamic, diverse, and connected – and unfortunately, that makes us sound like Tokyo or Singapore, or most major cities for that matter.
But I would say that Hong Kong does have its unique culture. Hong Kong is always looking to follow the latest trends, sometimes in unconventional ways, but it is in this pursuit that unites us all and creates our distinctive culture.
In retrospect of 2010, what happened?
- Frozen yogurt craze with hundreds of new shop openings
- An astonishing proportion of the population with an iPhone 4, ranging from my mom to the carpark security
- A pop artist who released two albums, two movies, and went on a global concert tour
- A Chief Executive who wraps up the year with a YouTube holiday rap with MC Jin to appeal to young people (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te-TiL9YVaE)
Hong Kong may be perceived to have no culture because things change so fast that nothing lasts – historical monuments are torn down to make space for hundred-storied skyscrapers and retail spaces change hands a few times every year. It is also true that HK copies a lot of trends from the western world, like frozen yogurt and rap, but when we get into a trend, it penetrates all walks of life and impacts the entire city. This means that on the subway, more than half of the people will be playing Angry Birds on their iPhone 4 and the newspaper will tell me about the latest YouTube videos. Knowing that everything is replaced so quickly motivates us to always stay relevant. Few nations can say that its people are always on trend like Hong Kong can.
This enthusiastic (and at times, blind) pursuit of trends may make Hong Kong seem like a copycat, but it is an enthusiastic and unified effort to stay current and relevant. It is the foundation of our unique culture and separates us from the other cosmopolitan, secure, dynamic, diverse, and connected cities in the world.