After mixing in Hong Kong for three years, the plain truth is this: Hong Kong is a walled-in city—those outside want to get in, and those inside want to get out.
Broke records—on two days in August alone, the total number of people entering and leaving all Hong Kong ports combined was nearly 2.7 million. How terrifying is that kind of crowd flow?
The line to buy a camera at Mong Kok’s City of Star (Interspace City) stretches out for miles. On Canton Road, outside the LV store, people were still standing—some twenty-odd of them—under a heat wave nearly 37 degrees Celsius, with nowhere to put your foot under the beach umbrellas in Sai Kung.
Hong Kong media are in a celebratory mood: consumers are “voting with their feet”—Hong Kong is still fragrant.
On my way home from work, passing by the Central–Mid-Levels footbridge, I stopped to smoke a cigarette and suddenly remembered an old saying by Qian Zhongshu: in the city, people want to get out; outside the city, people want to get in.
This is way too specific to live in Hong Kong.
Last month I went to Tsim Sha Tsui to run errands. On Guangdong Road, a mainland girl held up her phone and live-streamed, talking to the camera: “Hong Kong is freedom— even the air is sweet.”
A local uncle beside me pushed a shopping cart and muttered, “Traffic again. I’m going north to eat a bowl of noodles—it’s cheaper than being here.”
Two groups pass each other without looking. Neither pays attention to the other.
I’ve been here for three and a half years myself, and I’m still not a permanent resident. Renewing the permit feels like the college entrance exam—before and after, the rent is like a life-or-death summons, and the bank statements arrive every two weeks.
For a period of time I ran into some setbacks. I really felt like I was about to starve to death. Still, I had to force myself to shoot content and run the community. When friends asked why I didn’t leave, I said, “I’m leaving— but if I leave, what about the effort from the first 3 years? What about the Hong Kong circle I just built connections with?”
Sometimes they complain with their mouths, but their feet are determined to come here.
Earlier I shared about a friend I knew. After grinding it out for seven years, the very day he finally got permanent residency, he immediately booked a high-speed train ticket back to Shenzhen. He said Hong Kong is just the size of a palm—only a few industries can make big money. For newcomers trying to climb up, everything is controlled by locals. But the moment the certification was in his hands, he actually felt a sense of relief.
The number of Hong Kong people going north is sometimes even higher than those going south. On holiday, the queue at the border heading north is even longer than the one heading south. They go to Shenzhen to eat a bowl of noodles and buy some daily necessities, then come back and tell you, “Hong Kong is still more convenient.” Convenient my ass.
For a while, I also wanted to get out. When the thought got unbearable, I stared at flight tickets for half a day. But once it came time to actually book, I put my phone down again. The identity card held me back; debts were chasing me; and the content still had to be produced, the circle still had to be maintained. People in a walled city are the best at finding reasons to stay.
People outside squeeze their way in, thinking Hong Kong is here, and it’s paradise.
People in Hong Kong’s city also do calculations every day. They think this place is a walled city— the world’s most expensive place for housing.
In the past few days, tourists have jammed the malls and beaches. I walked by—seeing them line up to buy bags, take photos, and do selfies, I suddenly found it kind of ridiculous. In their eyes, Hong Kong is a display window; under my feet, Hong Kong is a stack of bills.
The walls won’t collapse, and people still keep moving nonstop. Do you know which year it is—this is the Nth time the Bitcoin Asia Conference has been held in Hong Kong this year?
Back when you were really into going to conferences, will you still come?
I used to be in Hong Kong, one of the four Asian tigers. Watching the global crowd surge in, then looking at Hong Kong’s local crypto industry, hesitating and stalling, made me feel both amused and annoyed—like, what’s the point?
At this Hong Kong get-together with old friends, I could also meet some new ones— that’s enough for me!