Whoever entering Chung King Mansions will immediately sense its cultural vibrancy. Early in the 1960s, they were intended to serve Indian and Pakistani community in Tsim Sha Tsui, in which many of them were veterans of British Army, but continued to work in Hong Kong as policemen or security guards. Because of the low rent, many investors soon spotted the opportunity of opening hostels here. As the hostelling service prospered in Chung King Mansions, it attracted the Mansions with visitors from different parts of the world, especially backpacker and budget travelers from western countries, also traders from South Asia and Africa.
Currently with approximately 10,000 visitors every day, Chung King Mansions are home to a fixed population of 5,000. They do not only bring commercial interest to the owners of Chung King Mansion (Most of them are Hong Kong people) and contribute to the development of local tourism, but also provide job opportunities and living space for ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, meanwhile helping to facilitate small-scale trading businesses, everything from secondhand mobile phones to old clothing, among developing countries. Other than buying goods for reselling in home countries, many of those coming from African countries like Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) and Dhaka have overstayed their visas in order to make quick money as restaurant workers or peddlers of counterfeit watches and bags in Chungking Mansions. Gordon Mathews, professor of anthropology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who conducted field research in Chungking Mansions, speculated that 20% of the mobile phones now in use in sub-Saharan Africa have passed through Chungking Mansions. |
It's the most globalised place in HK. This building is anonymously important in global trade. But it is not for the global trade of rich corporations like Samsung or Sony. Instead it is a global trade of individual traders, who might carry several hundreds of phones back to their home countries.
On the other hand, it is common for locals feeling alienated in Chungking Mansions. For Hong Kong people, other than those who live or work there, most of them keep themselves away from Chung King Mansions because of its notorious reputation. From the 1980s to 1990s, because of residents of different race and high crime rate, Chung King Mansions were once regarded as “the havens for foreign criminals”. After their owner’s corporation launched a campaign in 1999 to improve the Mansions’ environment in terms of both appearance and security, more and more locals are willing to visit there for authentic Indian restaurants and ingredients for cooking Indian cuisine. Dreamland for fortune seekers from developing countries, best deal for travelers and Indian paradise for local food lovers……. Although Chungking Mansions are only tiny marks on the map of Tsim Sha Tsui, they are places where everyone can have their desire fulfilled. |
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