Hong Kong: fashion walk, urban grunge

Posted by Chris Wray on Mar 8, 2011 in architecture and urban spaces, commentary |

The first thing that strikes you about Hong Kong is a city of stark contrasts. Gleaming skyscrapers adjacent to squalid tenements; Maserati’s weaving around ramshackle bicycles; the super-rich living along side poverty-stricken residents. Hong Kong’s income gap is the most pronounced in all of Asia, with the middle class only making up about 7% of the population. Sights like the one below are quite common. This mid-rise building complex consists of government subsidized apartments directly above trendy clothing shops replete in shiny chrome, glass and marble walls. It was an odd sensation to experience the Madison Avenue feel when strolling along Hong Kong’s Fashion Walk, while at the same time you see the crumbling, urban decay of the apartments above. Despite this dichotomy, Hong Kong is a remarkably harmonious place and I found the people to be friendly and outgoing. Stay tuned for more of my travel photo diary. Next stop: the famous Victoria Peak and harbor skyline.

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6 Comments

Toad Hollow Photography
Mar 8, 2011 at 10:35 am

Good Lord, Chris, this took my breath away! What an incredible shot. At first glance I thought it was 2 different images due to the massive contrast in the upper and lower portions! I was surprised upon closer scrutiny to see it is indeed one image, one building. I love this image, what a great capture!!


 
Chris
Mar 8, 2011 at 10:42 am

Yes, it’s one image, but I processed the grunge and gleam using different OnOne PhotoTool filters to accentuate the difference. In the end, what you see here is very much like what I experienced in real life.


 
Jim Denham
Mar 8, 2011 at 1:02 pm

Great story telling image Chris! Looking forward to more!


 
Mike Olbinski
Mar 8, 2011 at 7:04 pm

Amazing contrast!


 
Mark Garbowski
Mar 9, 2011 at 5:55 am

I’m with Toad. I thought this was 2 separate images, and I further thought that the apartment building was abandoned and barely hanging on pending demolition. Amazing catch.


 
Viveca Koh
Mar 29, 2011 at 8:35 am

Like Toad I thought it was two separate photographs. It’s a fascinating insight into the way people live, work and exist in HK, which is obviously a city of great contrasts.


 

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