Summary of Key Points
This article reflects the author's personal observations from Africa, where land is vast and population sparse, to Hong Kong, which is highly densely populated. By comparing the living spaces in these two places, it highlights the pressures faced by ordinary residents in Hong Kong, where every inch of land is valued immensely. Issues such as overcrowded housing (known as “cage homes” and “sliced-off apartments”) are considered the norm, and a 20-square-meter apartment is considered a “luxury home.” The article also explores the impact of colonial heritage on Hong Kong's spatial segregation and cultural psyche (for example, the historical division between Upper Ring and Central, as well as some places that deliberately reject Chinese culture). It discusses the city’s focus on efficiency, which manifests in cold service attitudes and the perceived luxury of emotional labor. Additionally, it analyzes structural inequalities that lead to low birth rates and a younger generation's rejection of the traditional path of “working, buying a house, and having children” (as illustrated by the story of tour guide Jasmine). The article ultimately points out a stark contrast: despite Hong Kong’s material wealth as an international city, the quality of life for its ordinary residents is poor.
1. Space in Hong Kong: The squeezed “survival grid”
The author, having returned from Africa, feels that Hong Kong’s architecture is like being compressed between two forces—houses are narrow and tall, growing upwards like rainforest plants competing for sunlight. From the windows of hotels, one can see only stacked buildings, blocking any view into the distance.
- The reality of cage homes and sliced-off apartments: Cage homes are simply beds enclosed by wire mesh, costing 2,000 Hong Kong dollars per month, and may even accommodate both men and women. The wire mesh serves as both a clothes rack and a lock (to prevent theft), but they look like prisons. Sliced-off apartments are more common; a 20-30-square-meter space is considered luxurious because Hong Kong measures area in “feet” (10 feet ≈ 1 square meter), making such an apartment cost several million Hong Kong dollars, which is equivalent to decades of an ordinary person’s income.
- The compression of space: Only 7% of Hong Kong’s land is used for residential purposes, so community gardens are incorporated into the buildings. Traveling relies entirely on elevators, which are twice as fast as those in mainland China. Exiting a hotel elevator directly leads to a noisy neighborhood, without the gradual transition from private to public space found in Shenzhen.
2. Colonial heritage: Invisible segregation and a sense of cultural superiority
Both Hong Kong and Africa were colonized, but the traces of colonization are more concealed in Hong Kong:
- Historical spatial segregation: In the past, Upper Ring was a Chinese area, while Central was for foreigners, with Duck Bus Lane as the dividing line. Chinese people could work in Central during the day but had to return to Upper Ring at night; this was similar to South Africa’s racial segregation, though it wasn’t based on skin color.
- **Cultural “de-Sinicization”: Some Western-style restaurants in Central don’t have Chinese menus, and staff don’t speak Chinese. The author wonders why this is the case in a Chinese-dominated area. AI suggests that it reflects a sense of class, where avoiding Chinese language signifies a superior status. This is a cultural legacy of colonization, using an all-English environment to demonstrate one’s superiority over ordinary Chinese people.
3. Efficiency as the ultimate truth: Emotions and comfort are considered “unnecessary costs”
Life in Hong Kong revolves around the concept that “time is money,” even emotions are seen as luxuries:
- The truth about service attitudes: The cold demeanor of elderly people in tea houses is not intentional; it’s due to the high demands of emotional labor, which requires time and energy. The small seats in restaurants are designed for quick departures, as turnover rates are more important than customer satisfaction (which affects rent payments).
- Lack of personal space: The author finds that trying to chat with strangers feels like a disruption to efficiency. Although there is no shortage of people in Hong Kong, everyone feels isolated due to the pressures of survival, leaving non-essential activities aside.
4. Structural deadlocks: Inherent difficulties that cannot be overcome
The problems in Hong Kong are not about individual lack of effort but about social structural injustices:
- Low birth rates: Only 23% of people are willing to have children. In an environment with high density and high costs, even living space is limited, making it difficult to raise children. Without the ability to immigrate or move abroad, where does the next generation’s future lie?
- Jasmine’s story: A local Hong Konger, she was raised by her parents with high expectations (enrolling in extracurricular classes and aiming to become a CEO), but the cramped conditions in Hong Kong made her lose hope of buying a house. After traveling, she realized that overcrowded housing is a social issue, not a sign of personal laziness. She now works as a tour guide to expose more people to the reality.
- The younger generation’s departure: Both the author and Jasmine reject the traditional path of working, buying a house, and having children. The fear of social decline becomes absurd in an environment where there is no space for family life; without the possibility of having children, what is there to worry about declining social status?
5. The contrast between wealth and poverty: Having money does not equal a good quality of life
Hong Kong is a shopping paradise with stunning skyscrapers and abundant resources, but the quality of life for ordinary residents is poor:
- Material wealth vs. quality of life: Wealthy villas on Mount Tai Shan are rare; most people live in small spaces, commute by subway, and can only walk their dogs in commercial streets. The author concludes, “No matter how impressive the buildings are, thinking about the cramped living conditions makes it impossible to say that people here live well.”
- A tense social atmosphere: Hong Kong follows an extreme form of capitalism but lacks the natural resources and colonial wealth of Western countries. It maintains its status as an international city, yet divides its residents into two groups: those who invest efficiently above and those who lead stressful lives below. Everyone feels like they are on a clock, unable to stop.
This article avoids using technical jargon but vividly portrays Hong Kong’s challenges—space constraints, the remnants of colonization, and the tyranny of efficiency, all contributing to a lack of warmth in people’s lives despite the city’s prosperity. It doesn’t aim to criticize Hong Kong but to highlight that a city’s success should not be measured solely by its GDP and skyscrapers; it also depends on whether ordinary residents have space to breathe freely.