City Between Worlds : My Hong Kong takes the reader to the metropolitan city of Hong Kong, exploring its colonial past and uncertain future. In this uniquely sized tome Lee travels through the bustling city, highlighting events that occurred and recalling buildings and landmarks that have since been demolished or relocated. In eight detailed and informative chapters, Lee discusses the structure of the city as it is today compared to its past, Hong Kong’s colonial past, and the values and lifestyles of the Hong Kongese. Lee, a long term Hong Kong resident born in Mainland China explores the city from a unique perspective as he provides a view that is neither native, an expat, nor a colonist but a combination of the three; this, in a way,
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A poignant point that Lee explains is the concept of a generic city which was formulated by Rem Koolhaas (3). These generic cities are near warmer climates, skyscrapers abound, and feature “[an] airport, hotels, and shopping malls” (3). Another feature of these “generic cities” is that “history is meaningless” and “the past has become too small to be inhabited and shared by those alive” (3). By these definitions alone, it seems as though Hong Kong would fit and as such Lee postulates that Hong Kong is the model city on which this definition was created in his prologue (3). However, I believe that Lee has provided evidence that the Hong Kongese may have unconsciously recognized this phenomenon and are attempting to preserve what little historical hallmarks are left. Lee states in chapter eight titled “City and Country” that “[e]ach government project of urban renewal in Hong Kong has been challenged with a spontaneous outpouring of popular protest” (272). As Lee speculates this surge in conservation could just be nostalgia driven. Whatever the intentions are behind preserving the historical features of Hong Kong, it seems like it is something that will help Hong Kong preserve a unique identity as city versus the looming threat of becoming a fully generic
A poignant point that Lee explains is the concept of a generic city which was formulated by Rem Koolhaas (3). These generic cities are near warmer climates, skyscrapers abound, and feature “[an] airport, hotels, and shopping malls” (3). Another feature of these “generic cities” is that “history is meaningless” and “the past has become too small to be inhabited and shared by those alive” (3). By these definitions alone, it seems as though Hong Kong would fit and as such Lee postulates that Hong Kong is the model city on which this definition was created in his prologue (3). However, I believe that Lee has provided evidence that the Hong Kongese may have unconsciously recognized this phenomenon and are attempting to preserve what little historical hallmarks are left. Lee states in chapter eight titled “City and Country” that “[e]ach government project of urban renewal in Hong Kong has been challenged with a spontaneous outpouring of popular protest” (272). As Lee speculates this surge in conservation could just be nostalgia driven. Whatever the intentions are behind preserving the historical features of Hong Kong, it seems like it is something that will help Hong Kong preserve a unique identity as city versus the looming threat of becoming a fully generic