1. Lesson four: Hong Kong: Asia’s world city

2. What is life like in Hong Kong? How do people live, work and play?
You will:
see a set of pictures that will introduce you to the lifestyles of people living in Hong Kong
This will help you to:
find out more about the people of Hong Kong and how they live, work and play
learn key vocabulary: lifestyle, work, leisure, and wealth.
compare life in Hong Kong to London and/or the United Kingdom

3. Hong Kong is home to many people with many different cultural backgrounds
People of different country backgrounds live in Hong Kong. Most people are ethnically Chinese, but there are people from western continents of North America, Europe and Australasia, the Indian sub-continent and other parts of the world. People come to work in Hong Kong from all over the world. After a number of years of living and working in Hong Kong, you may be entitled to permanent residency which allows you to stay in Hong Kong. There are families living in the city long term who are from the UK and India, amongst other countries. They think of Hong Kong as their home alongside Chinese families. These people who have migrated to live in Hong Kong are called ‘expats’.
Is the UK also multicultural?
Ross Burrough ©

4. Some Hong Kong people are wealthier than others
Hong Kong, like many cities has a mixture of wealthy and less wealthy people. Elderly people are often less wealthy as there is no old age pension, unless you have saved money for old age yourself. Less wealthy people tend to carry on working because of this. Families look after their elderly relatives. This lady is selling her son’s seafood by the ferry pier and laughing and talking to people as they come by.
Do elderly people in the UK have pensions?
Ross Burrough ©

5. What can you tell from the pictures about the lives of wealthier people?
Wealthier people live in tall luxury apartment blocks like the two pictured. These two buildings are nicknamed the ‘chopsticks’ because they are so thin and tall. Only 5% of people living in Hong Kong own cars and these tend to be the wealthier people as it is very expensive to park and there are not many places you can park. Taxis work out cheaper. People who live in these luxury apartments tend to work in international business and banks.
Ross Burrough ©

6. What can you tell from these pictures about the lives of people with less wealth?
People who have less wealth work until they are very old. Often they work in very poorly paid jobs and make a living selling things they find or catch from the sea.

7. Many people live in apartments with shops below
Why do people have to dry their washing on the balcony? How easy is it to shop in Hong Kong?
Much of Hong Kong is tower blocks of small apartments where people live and shops are on the ground, first and second floors usually. This is because the city is so densely population (a large number of people living in a small space).

8. Many people choose to live in homes with a sea view if they can afford it
This is Discovery Bay. Many wealthier people live here and take the ferry to their offices, this community has no cars.
Define bay: a body of water partly enclosed by land but with a wide mouth, with access to the sea.

9. In this fishing village people live in homes on stilts over the water
This is Tai O. This is a traditional Hong Kong fishing village. The houses are built on stilts and are very small. There are not many of these places left anymore.

10. How do most people earn a living in Hong Kong?
Banks
Business
Offices
Factories
This area of Hong Kong is called Central. In the picture you can see some of the famous banks of Hong Kong. Money is lent to people to build factories or start businesses. Did you know that one of the most famous banks in the UK started out in Asia? Can you find out what HSBC means?

11. Some people also work in fishing and farming
Fishing is common in Hong Kong. People make a living by selling their catch on boats. There is not much farmland in Hong Kong; it is mostly vegetables, salad and flowers that are grown. Can you guess what might be growing in the picture?

12. Building and repairs
Even the biggest, tallest buildings use bamboo scaffolding for repairs. Is this similar or different to scaffolding in London or the UK? It is a spectacular sight seeing the men put up bamboo scaffolding on a modern building of 80 stories high.

13. Film and entertainment
Hong Kong is the ‘Hollywood of China’. It is a famous for film making and so you see camera crews occasionally. There are shows every night in the city – classical music, Cantonese opera and stage shows.

14. Transport and tourism
How many different kinds of jobs does the pictures suggest?
Tram and bus driver
Shop assistant
Market stall holder
Advertising agent
Photographer

15. What do people do in their leisure time?
Children enjoying playing after school. In the city, there is little space for sports fields and so people play sports that don’t need a lot of space such as basketball and badminton. There are swimming pools and sports centres.

16. What are these people doing during the weekend?
Hong Kong has mountains and well-marked hikes outside the city centre.
In summer it is very hot, but in the winter it is perfect for walking, hiking, and camping.

17. What kind of place and weather is good for flying kites?
Key questions:
What makes a good kite flying place?
What have these two spaces for kite flying got in common? Hint…away from trees.
Kite flying needs wind but not too much wind. Hong Kong children enjoy flying kites where wind blows through the buildings and on the hills.

18. Hong Kong festivals
There are many traditional festivals in Hong Kong.

19. Would you like to join in a parade and have a go at a lion dance?
Watch a Lion dance in Hong Kong
The lion dance is a feature common to nearly all festivals.

20. Why is it called dragon boat racing?
Summer festivals
Why is it called dragon boat racing?
Dragon boat racing is a summer festival usually in June. The drums beat, the paddlers paddle their oars in time to the drum. Click the link to go to YouTube and watch a dragon boat race.
Watch a dragon boat race

21. What do you know about the religion which is pictured here?
What do you notice from this picture?
These pictures are taken at the ‘Big Buddha’ and therefore show Buddhism which is one of three major religions that Hong Kong people follow. These are Taoism, the most common and Christianity. There are also smaller minorities who follow Islam and Sikhism.

22. Can you find out which festival people are celebrating with peach blossom?
This could be a homework.
Chinese New Year takes place in January or February. People celebrate the passing of the new year. There are many traditions. The peach or apricot blossom is one. The kumquat tree in full fruit is another. Can you find a picture of a kumquat tree?
There are twelve animals of the Chinese Zodiac. To add a cultural dimension to a geography unit, you could ask the children to find out which animal they were born under. For most classes, this will be two animals, one before January/February date of Chinese New Year and one after. It is easy to look it up by entering in your birthday.

23. Main activity
Think about the similarities and differences between Hong Kong and the place that you live.
Complete the activity and compare
Homes and lifestyle
Jobs and work
Play and leisure
Culture and other aspects

24. Plenary Fast facts about the people living in Hong Kong.
What have you learned about daily life in Hong Kong?
Why do you think Hong Kong is called ‘Asia’s World City’?
Are cities around the world becoming more similar nowadays than they used to be?