Chungking Mansions sits nestled in downtown Hong Kong, framed by stately hotels, LED-bedazzled storefronts, and an iconic skyline. But it is not the Hong Kong of native Chinese residents -- as the Economist reports, many regard the place with a "kind of horror, as a heart of darkness that just happens to be located in the heart of their city." The shopping mall structure has morphed into a collection of apartments, cheap guesthouses, restaurants, and shops, inhabited by 5,000 residents.
Illegal transactions abound; there are drugs, sex, and black market goods for sale. But as Gordon Mathews, an anthropologist at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, writes in Foreign Policy, Chungking Mansions is also "a central node in low-end globalization," a hub in the underground economy that supplies goods to much of the developing world. As much as 20 percent of the mobile phones used in sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, have passed through the building.
Above, the main entrance to Chungking Mansions, located on Hong Kong's bustling Nathan Road.
Wikimedia Commons
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CHARLESFRITH
4:21 AM ET
November 25, 2011
Charles Frith
Enjoyed this photo set.
JOHANMALMO
4:09 AM ET
December 5, 2011
Me too
Really enjoyrd it me too :)
/Viktminskning
AS456
9:02 AM ET
November 25, 2011
Fantastic place to live, with
Fantastic place to live, with the choice of food, places to see & things to do.......just wonderful! No better city on earth! kompiuteriu supirkimas
Try the shopping at Causeway Bay, the New year celebrations are ging to be awesome, particularly the CPI New Year Night Parade.
The sights, the smells & the noise......all very exciting!
Hong Kong is also a great place to work, with hard working collegues and a 'can do' attitude, coupled with low tax and relatively high salaries!
BERFROIS
10:10 AM ET
November 25, 2011
The World in a Building
More from Gordon Matthews on Chungking Mansions here:
http://www.berfrois.com/2011/08/chungking-mansions/
and here:
http://www.berfrois.com/2011/09/ghetto-center-of-the-world/
DAVEMCLANE
1:04 PM ET
November 25, 2011
The Pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow
That's what CKM looked like to me at the end of a six year journey overland from London, everything and everybody packed into one.
MARKBALLKEY
6:56 PM ET
November 26, 2011
Dont think
I dont think so that any body in this world can do this kind of weired thing.. :(
This is really weired if you look at the china wall. They are too much friendly and how can you do this with them??? :(
I was born and have lived most of my life in Hong Kong, and whenever I travel to the other two members of the Nylonkong triumvirate I see immediate connections. But if you really want to compare the soul of Hong Kong to that of another Western place, it's not New York or London. It's Sicily, of all places. Like us, Sicilians are islanders — tough and maritime. They have known colonization, revolution and emigration. They have their cosa nostra, we have our triads. Both the Sicilians and the Cantonese are obsessed with seafood, smuggling, secrecy and saving money. O.K., Hong Kong isn't The Godfather, but pay attention as you work through our list below: There's a hint of Palermo in the hilly, narrow alleyways of old Central and in the shirtless, tattooed men lounging in Kowloon doorways. The city of Hong Kong may rub shoulders with New York and London, but its feet still dangle in the brackish water of a sultry, southern port.
On July 1, 1997, Hong Kong, a fervently capitalist and increasingly democracy-minded British colony, came under the control of China, a Communist nation that values stability over individual freedoms. The New York Times looks at the forces that have shaped Hong Kong and at the story unfolding as this dynamic city-state undergoes a radical change of leadership. This is the Humour of china.
I think we should respect them. :)
Thanks
admin of wall clocks | buy Kettles
JANI01
12:55 PM ET
November 27, 2011
Hong Kong's is my Favourite
I quite recently visited Hong Kong and I think that Hong Kong is the best place on the earth.
Watch Online Movies
LEEOOING
4:02 PM ET
November 27, 2011
Hong Kong is the most beautiful Country
Last year i had a holiday with my mom in hong kong. I was supprise about this country. it was totally beauty and developing. now i am looking job in hong kong just want to spend more time in this country.. love it
Meratol Reviews
FIVESTAR2
12:04 AM ET
November 30, 2011
These are great pics of Chungking Mansions
Hong Kong both beautiful and the diverse. these pictures are so telling. a great city with great people and great things. It reminds me of my own city.
KUNINO
6:25 PM ET
December 2, 2011
Golly, people wait for elevators in these Mansions, huh?
Probably a much much more interesting place than these words and pictures allow us to know about. The photos seems to have been sneaked on some smartphone, but not a very smart one; the words are cursory and possibly lifted from a guidebook. The whole thing suggests a hurried last-minute effort to fill a gap in the current issue and means, sadly, that FP will never feel any need to do better on this subject. The Gresham's Law of crap journalism..
JACKEY2
4:25 AM ET
December 3, 2011
I thik
They have known colonization, revolution and emigration. They have their cosa nostra, we have our triads. Both the Sicilians and the Cantonese are obsessed with seafood, smuggling, secrecy and saving money. O.K., Hong Kong isn't The Godfather, but pay attention as you work through our list below: formatforkindleThere's a hint of Palermo in the hilly, narrow alleyways of old Central and in the shirtless, tattooed men lounging in Kowloon doorways. The city of Hong Kong may rub shoulders with New York and London, but its feet still dangle in the brackish water of a sultry, southern port.
HECTORBD
10:42 AM ET
December 5, 2011
Nice photos
So this is the famous Chungking mansions, nice photos. Been planning to check this out for curiosity once I am in Hongkong.
CONTATOCA
9:28 AM ET
December 7, 2011
Whether in India
... China, Bangkok, and host of other South East Asian capitals, mall have become the hub of multiracism. One could see everyone from many different races in the first photo. The multiculturalism in West is down with fever and in developing world is the fever. Ethnicity is a better word but racism has its own extra charm. Good ! Seguro Imoveis Massagistas Acompanhantes Ar Condicionado Carro