David Hilgier Photographs

Within the shadow of this massive complex of buildings exists a city going about the day to day. Quintessential red Hong Kong vendor lamp shades encapsulate lights illuminating the forthcoming evening’s dinner.

The size of this complex enamored me and I still have trouble comprehending its volume and the amount of people living in it. At certain points such as this, its facade occupies the totality of one’s field of vision. The people, cars, and Ding Ding’s that circulate around its exterior are dwarfed by its massive scale.

On this particular day, we meandered from Sheung Wan to Quarry Bay with little purpose other than wandering the side streets, riding the tramway, and stopping at a few culinary spots on our map. Our turnaround point being the massive five building complex colloquially referred to as ‘Monster Building’.

As the summer wains, its heat maintains its grip on the city. Daily errands made slightly more bearable by the utilization of a bicycle and as little clothing as necessary.

Through a canyon of skyscrapers a constant stream of Ding Dings flow through the heart of Hong Kong Island. The reflection in the window of the current departure revealing the stop’s next arrival.

Contrasting the narrow alleys and streets of Hong Kong are large thoroughfares that wind their way through all areas of the city and beyond. The city’s elevated pedestrian walkways provided unique lookout over these areas visually identified by a yellow crosshatch pattern. In this instance, we paused for a few moments to watch the ubiquitous taxi cabs and public buses pass through on their way to their destinations.

A moment of lightheartedness towards the end of a day in a poultry store/restaurant in Kowloon. As I’ve touched on previously, one of my favorite aspects of Hong Kong was moments such as these mixed into such a vast city. Amongst a city evolving at an exponential rate, there will always be moments of the analog. Cooks finishing their day as they did the day before and as they will do tomorrow. Prices and offerings displayed via a hand written sign taped to the facade of the store. A storefront illuminated by track lighting. I write these words from a perspective of admiration. A reason for going to the other side of the world is to simply walk by moments such as these. I live in a small city compared to the definition of what a city is in Asia and being there is literally being in another world for a person like me. I cannot wait for the day I get to return.

After a dinner of clay pot rice, we wandered around the side streets of Kowloon for a short while longer. Rain that had cleared around sunset returned stronger than before for the remainder of the night. Respite never came and with my wife’s patience with me wearing thin I tried my best to capture an evening in this part of the city. In this instance a poultry store/restaurant illuminates an otherwise dark and sleepy street corner.

A neon pawn shop sign dimly illuminates the facade of a building in Kowloon. Abstractly visualizing a bat holding a coin, they are a common element found throughout all areas of Hong Kong. Some utilizing LED lights but my favorite variations were those lit with neon.

While evenings of rain resulted in soaking shoes, socks, and pants combined with varying degrees of frustration. They also created memorable cinematic scenes with passersby finding shelter under their umbrellas and the lights of the city reflected off of the pavement.