Home > Editorials > Asia > Bridging Differences
Bridging Differences
By Zhou Xiong, Guangzhou, China
At first glance, Hong Kong seems like any other Mainland Chinese city - restaurants serving traditional dim-sum, shops full of delicate embroidery and an array of ancient Buddhist temples. But when I traveled to Hong Kong for the first time last summer from my college in Guangzhou on the Mainland to intern at the Christian and Missionary Alliance Parent Child Services Center, I learned that initial impressions can be misleading.
I knew different dialects might be an issue but I never thought I'd have to speak a foreign language in order to communicate with people from my own country.
"Being Chinese doesn’t just mean that you can speak Chinese or follow a certain lifestyle, it means having an inner pride in the country’s culture." -Zhou Xiong
Not well versed in Cantonese (the native language in Hong Kong) I often turned to English in order to communicate with my co-workers. I could speak Mandarin with young children however, because they are required to learn this language in school.
The lifestyle in Hong Kong left me sleep-deprived, working incredibly long hours and grumbling about when we could finally break to eat. People are napless in Hong Kong getting just one-hour for a lunch break, whereas workers on the Mainland have a few hours for siesta starting at noon. Hong Kong residents also eat late - although they take time out for afternoon tea.
Other Hong Kong distinctions such as a special "seeing eye sound" (that helps the visually impaired cross the streets), a once-a-month No Plastic Bag Day (intended to raise public awareness about environmental concerns), and auto-sterilization units for hand-washing generously scattered throughout the city were interesting urban improvements. Such attention to such human-oriented services is rare on the Mainland.
There is no doubt that Hong Kong's 99 year history as a British colony has had a great impact on the westernization of this city. Foreign influence is pervasive especially amongst Hong Kong's youth who seem indistinguishable from their counterparts in the U.S or Japan in both appearance and behavior.
Nonetheless, a journey to Tai O, a fishing village on Lantau Island, made me feel at home. There, the past has been well preserved. People grow flowers in front of their houses, sing along with Cantonese opera on the radio and produce traditional shrimp sauce in huge barrels. When standing on the beach, looking across the sea I could see the Mainland on the horizon. A familiar smell suddenly washed over my heart. It wasn't until that moment that I understood that there is an unchangeable characteristic forever etched into the spirit of Hong Kong and that is a deep respect of tradition.
In facing a globalized world, Hong Kong sets a good example to the people on the Mainland with its open attitude towards the outside world - appreciating and assimilating the differences. Yet attempting to figure out what it actually means to be Chinese confuses Hong Kong residents and Mainlanders alike. Being Chinese doesn't just mean that you can speak Chinese or follow a certain lifestyle, it means having an inner pride in the country's culture. Only when we understand the importance of sticking to the essence of our tradition can we better understand our own culture, and, in the end, finally learn to become a global citizen without risking the loss of our identity.
*XIONG Zhou (Vivica), who attends Sun Yat-sen University in China, received a scholarship from the Lingnan Foundation to intern at the Christian & Missionary Alliance Parent Child Services Centre in Hong Kong.
