Page 26 - Mediterraneo e dintorni - nr 15

honG KonG the most
visited meGaLoPoLis
in the worLd
t is the most “western” megalo-
Ipolis in Asia but, proudly, China,
despite the turbulence of the square
in recent months. It is Hong Kong,
the most visited city in the world.
Not by westerners. To give it this
primacy is Asian tourism. And to
think that only 30% of the Chine-
se population is allowed to travel.
Westerners are there, even many
Italians, but only for work. Being
a Western tourist here is a rarity
and this thing astonished us, like so
many others on this journey on the
other side of the world where “I di-
dn’t write even half of the things I
saw!” (Marco Polo, il Milione).
Seven million inhabitants, in pro-
portion to its small territory, make
it the city with the highest densi-
ty on the planet. In the absence of
space, it has grown in height in its
incredible skyscrapers that draw
a phantasmagoric skyline and fu-
turistic elevated that multiply the
chaos. Take a ride on DingDing, the
famous two-story tram that crosses
the metropolis from 1904, and look
for a place on the top floor to observe
expanses of smoky lanes where the
most unthinkable street foods are
cooked; very loud butchers and fish-
un’ora di traghetto, tappa sicura- metà Ottocento, poi per un perio- mongers at the foot of skyscrapers,
mente consigliata) Hong Kong è do venne occupata dal Giappone some of them ultra modern and si-
gned by the most illustrious archi-
una delle due Regioni Ammini- per ritornare al controllo inglese stars of the planet, others from the
strative Speciali della Repubblica terminato nel 1997 con il passag- facades to the limits of the decrepit,
Popolare Cinese, quindi non ser- gio definitivo alla Cina. markets, street art interventions.
ve il visto, entri solo con il passa- Tra i luoghi del passato colonia- By DingDing we went to Cau-
porto. Risultato della sua storia le ridati a nuova luce con una seway Bay, the undisputed hub of
shopping, to Central (the elegant
politica di area contesa e sempre a splendida riconversione cul- district surrounded by the green of
metà tra Oriente ed Occidente: fu turale segnaliamo la Vecchia HK Park, where skyscrapers stand
colonia dell’Impero Britannico a Stazione di Polizia (costruita

Mediterraneo e dintorni - 24