CONTRAST Yingjie Liu
The contrast between construc7ons Photo credited: Yingjie Liu The Peak A Street redit: Unknown Photo credited:
Unknown The Harbor Photo credited: Unknown A Residen7al Building The contrast between people’s lives Photo credited: Unknown The Line Outside an LV store Photo credited: Unknown Caged House where poor people live The contrast between cultures Photo credited: Unknown Lan Kwai Fong – Popular expatriate haunt for drinking and clubbing Photo credited: Unknown Local people spend their night at Da Pai Dang – Sidewalk Snack Booth The contrast between religions St.John’s Cathedral Tian Tan Buddha (Big Buddha) Kowloon Mosque Hong Kong is a special place because of its contradic=ons, complexity,inclusiveness and exclusiveness. It is one of the richest places on earth but also the most unequal. It is largely westernized but is s=ll saturated with Chinese tradi=ons and values. It is very materialis=c but also struggles to remain genuine. Now I want to tell some stories about Hong Kong’s outlying islands... Out of the concrete jungle of Hong Kong Island, there are many outlying islands. On the east side of Sai Kung where HKUST was established, there is a big bay called Da Lang Wan. Dr. Zhou (Zhaoxiang Zhou) is siRng with his students in an open area in Da Lang Wan. Although they just experienced a four-­‐day fast, it seems that they are full of vim and vigor. Speaking of green and organic way of living in Hong Kong, Dr. Zhou is the ini=ator. He seUled in Hong Kong in 1984 and has been ac=vely promo=ng the protec=on of environment. In 1988, he established two organic farms in Da Lang Wan. Decades of years ago, when Dr.Zhou appealed to people to live in an environmental-­‐friendly way, people thought he was insane. Today, people realize that what he promotes is the remedy for many modern ills. Somewhere even more utopian than Da Lang Wan is Yan Tian Zi,also in Sai Kung. Mr. Ou (Jifu Ou) established a pure land here. People who live with him must eat vegetables only, grow and pick food by themselves, make cookfire and cook by themselves. By prac=cing what they preach, people are pursuing a natural and spiritual way of living. Mr.Ou used to be a senior chemistry engineer in Fornisa Plas=c Group, which is Taiwan’s largest industrial company. Because he detest the industrial pollu=on very much, he realized that what he did is detrimental to the world. At the age of 42, he quiUed his job and determined to live in a minimalist lifestyle. Thanks to Mr. Ou, Yan Tian Zi has become the most experimental and special outlying islands in Hong Kong. It is interes=ng to see how differently people live in such a small area. Some people are crazy about buying luxuries, finding a job or making more money while some people are on the journey of searching for the soul.