Late in 2009 I did a post on the cultural melting pot that is Chungking Mansion.
Located on Nathan Road (opposite the new iSquare Mall) Chungking Mansions is easily the cheapest place to stay in Hong Kong.
However, until recently, it was probably also the ugliest, dirtiest building in Kowloon. I say ‘Kowloon’ because I’ve seen some UGLY structures in the older part of Kowloon Bay.
A couple of days ago I noticed that the outside of the building is covered in the green netting used when construction takes place. In fact, while traveling to the Hong Kong Stadium for the Sevens, I saw some Chinese workers starting to off-load truckloads of bamboo in Nathan Road.
A lot can be said about the lack of green space in Hong Kong. Where an area may exist for the establishment of a park, whatever the size, one often finds the obiqutous, concrete and metal, uniquely Hong Kong ”sitting out area.”
Then of course there’s the rampant (I would be forgiven for saying “condoned“) development of multi-storey residential and commercial buildings.
But that aside, when the Hong Kong government actually gets down to building a “green lung” in this densely populated city, they actually do it rather well. Needless to say, it begs the question: Why don’t they do it more often?
One such park is the Kowloon Park situated in Kowloon’s Tsim Sha Tsui district.
Located right next to the busy Nathan and Haiphong roads, the Kowloon Park is indeed an oasis in this busy shopping and cullinary district.
Formerly a site for the British army’s barracks, some of the buildings were preserved and now serve as museums. Some of these include the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre and the Health Education Exhibition and Resources Centre.
The Park also boasts a state-of-the-art Sports Centre with an Olympic-size indoor swimming pool as well as a huge outdoor water-park. The sports centre was a key venue when Hong Kong hosted the East Asian Games in 2009.
I recently enjoyed breakfast in the park, while on my way to the HKFRU’s event with the Hong Kong Special Olympics. I had my trusty FlipCam with me and took some footage:
While I was living in Taiwan, a colleague used to tell stories of his days spent in Chungking Mansions. He was travelling on a “backpackers budget” and Chungking was the only the place he could afford. In a city where space for accommodation (both for locals and tourists) come at a premium, Chungking Mansions is universally known as probably the cheapest place to live in Hong Kong.
Wikipedia describes it as: “a labyrinth of guesthouses, curry restaurants, African bistros, clothing shops, sari stores, and foreign exchange offices. It often acts as a large gathering place for some of the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, particularly South Asians (Indians, Nepalese, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans), Middle Eastern people, Nigerians, Europeans, Americans, and many other peoples of the world.”
I have not stayed at Chungking Mansion, but must admit that I do like to go there to buy some otherwise hard-to-get South Asian spices, fresh vegetables and other products. When I do venture out there, I’m always amazed at the long lines that form at the elevators. Bear in mind that air conditioning on the ground floor is virtually non-existant and in the height of summer this place could be unbearable. “Melting pot” then takes on a whole different smell! However, the queues that form also tells me that the place is also very popular, especially with budget-conscious travellers.
My visits to Chungking Mansions have also be limited to the ground floor mall, so I cannot tell you what it looks like upstairs. However, while research Chungking on the internet, I came across this informative video (posted 2 years ago):
Stay tuned for a first-hand account, right here on Howzit-HongKong.
