We stayed in Mong Kok, a former seedy enclave of prostitute dens and gambling joints which has been transformed recently with urban renewal projects like the Langham Place (which we stayed in). The gleaming towers of Langham Place pierced through the skyline of crowded apartments and equally crowded street markets like a beacon of 21st century urbanity in an area that hasn’t seen much new development due to its proximity to the old airport. City zoning laws then didn’t permit the building of gleaming skyscrapers until recently and the Langham Place took that new liberalization with great stride.
The Hotel was a homely luxury, filled with a smell that is more European than Asian, perhaps projecting the uniqueness of this city island state in its embrace of Western modernity in the rise of Asian, particularly the Chinese ascent, in the new global equilibrium of trade and military power. Perhaps it is a foreboding of how China will transform itself in this century as it becomes more integrated into the world economy. As China embraces economic liberalization, so too will its cities. And like Hong Kong, its buildings, people and way of life will be infused with an intoxicating mix of Westernisation while retaining its unique Asian roots. Sort of like drinking French wine with Sprite or mixing expensive XO Cognac with ice and green tea.
I enjoy this paradoxical mix. I find it refreshing perhaps of my Chinese roots. Growing up, I grapple with how my Chinese heritage would co-exist with my seemingly Western outlook and thinking. While I embraced values like individual freedom, I am often reminded by my peers about the way how Chinese empires were build to last thousands of years on draconian and often repressive means.
Maybe, this is the way forward for Asian countries.
Asian countries will just have to build modernity upon the foundations of the old. Perhaps then, can a new Asian renaissance be dawned. In what form that takes remains to be seen. But if it is anything like Langham Place, I think that we are in for a pretty good ride.
