Hong Kong

A special administrative region of China with its own legal system, currency and political system, and — like Macau — strong ties to the mainland alongside a separate identity.

Harry visits it as the last of three cities within an hour of each other, each shaped by a different power: Macau by Portugal, Shenzhen by China, and this one by Britain.

How it got British

• After the Opium War, Britain took Hong Kong Island, then Kowloon — the mainland side, where Harry stays — for its natural harbour.
• Like Macau under the Portuguese, it became the gateway to China for trade, in the British case.
• It has since become one of the world’s leading financial centres, on free trade, low tax and easy company formation.

What it’s like now

• Extremely dense, with two full skylines facing each other across the harbour.
• Extreme wealth alongside people priced out of the city. Harry says the rent is among the highest in the world and flags on camera that he isn’t certain it’s the highest — he puts it alongside New York and London.
• Cantonese identity is strong and distinct — in the food, the traditions and how people describe themselves.
• It feels far more Western than the mainland. Google, Facebook and Instagram all work; far more people speak English.
• The airport is among the best-connected in the world, which is why the bridge to Macau exists.
• Terrible weather is a real risk — Harry’s harbour view was completely obscured for his whole stay.

The Rosewood

Rated the number one hotel in the world, in Kowloon, facing the island. Rosewood is a Hong Kong company, which Harry thinks is why this is their flagship. What a standard room — not a suite — contains:

• Two showers, a marble bathroom he rates the best part of the room, and a freestanding bath.
• Octagonal everything — table, sink, cups, lights — because eight is the lucky number in Chinese culture.
• A full set of charging cables in every connector, which is the detail he singles out as the one every hotel should copy.
• A welcome gift of champagne, caviar and salmon; free coffee, paid minibar.
• A soft bed, which he prefers, and a simple air conditioning control, which he cares about more than most reviewers.

His verdict is that he can see why it’s rated where it is, and that he hadn’t seen enough of the competition to confirm it.

Harry’s tips

• Do all three cities. His closing recommendation: Macau, Shenzhen and Hong Kong are within an hour of each other, have three different systems and languages, and are worth doing together rather than separately.
• Use Hong Kong as the exit if you came into the mainland on a transit visa — see use a transit visa.
• You can transit to Macau without entering Hong Kong at all, from the airport.

Source

• I Went to One of the Wealthiest and Most Advanced Cities — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T263hFcMBoA