The Dragon and the Pearl

Hong Kong is not all it seems. Behind the frenetic streets trammelled by shoppers and smartly-dressed businessmen, there lies another intricate and intimate Oriental world steeped in Chinese culture and tradition, mythology and religion. This book looks at an alternative Hong Kong.

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Hong Kong - the Pearl of the Orient nestling under the belly of the Dragon of China - is not all it seems. Behind the frenetic streets trammelled by shop-till-you-drop bargain-hunters and smartly-dressed businessmen, glitzy stores frequented by millionaires' wives, Rolls Royce-driving taipans and golden glass-coated skyscrapers, there lies another intricate and intimate Oriental world steeped in Chinese culture and tradition, mythology and religion. This book takes readers through the crowded tenements and food stalls, bleak mountainsides and narrow alleyways inhabited by coolies, girlie-bar owners, shopkeepers, fortune-tellers, beggars, fishermen, Buddhist monks, old Kuomintang soldiers, snake vendors and ghosts. It looks at the Hong Kong that is hidden just behind the facade of multi-national corporations, never more than a few steps from the tourist traps.