Hannah Lu Schmitt | Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
Hong Kong: modern skyscraper, authentic
restaurant or busy bar?
Skyscrapers, Dim Sum,
Cocktails and Typhoons. My exchange semester in Hong Kong has developed into a
diverse set of impressions.
Both university life
and city life merge into a picture of analogies and paradoxes. In the morning,
I’m packing a cozy woollen sweater to put on for several hours under the AC at
Run Run Shaw Library and in the CityU classrooms. Around 2 o’clock, the big
decision comes: Which canteen to have lunch at? You can choose among
traditional Chinese food, Thai and Vietnamese dishes as well as Western options
(sometimes the Asian edition of Western food). If you are a coffee lover, the
afternoon study break session will include a small walk to Coffee Academics,
whereas everyone else would opt for the Fish Cakes with soy sauce, the most
popular afternoon snack for which students stand in line for several minutes
during peak time at the canteen.
In the evening, you
will certainly find your way to the central bar area in Hong Kong Island. I
would dare to guess that some exchange students will not manage to see more
than the busy party streets of LKF. However, the hipper spots are only a few
streets away. In the area around Peel Street, you get the real street vibe with
neon lights and stunning view on the shining facades of skyscrapers lighting up
Hong Kong Island in its nocturne beauty.
What best describe Hong Kong? Modern skyscraper, authentic restaurant or busy bar?