So The first thing I smelt when we stepped off the bus in Hong Kong was chips - I haven't smelt, let alone seen anyone eating chips whilst I've been in the Mainland! The kinds of food available in Hong Kong is one of the many major differences between there and the mainland. The food was much more heavily western influenced than the mainland - KFC, McDonald's and Pizza Hut is about as Western as they readily get here, whereas Hong Kong had just about every western chain going and a lot of restaurants had a western inspired chinese section on the menu. Saying that the restaurants here in the Mainland could have that but I wouldn't have a clue because everything is in Chinese!
That was definitely a welcome difference on our little holiday - knowing what we were ordering and being able to read the signs (even though I'm still enjoying the food lottery). Most people in Hong Kong also speak English - the national languages in Home Kong are Chinese and English - life was very easy for the last few days! The minute we crossed the border back into mainland China no one could speak a word of English (no word of a lie). It was funny though because our almost habitual attempts to speak mandarin were completely wasted because they didn't seem to have a clue - this is supposed to be their national language now. The south of China (where I am) is cantonese speaking country but everyone can also understand and talk mandarin - but then they have been using it longer than they have in Hong Kong.
I'd forgotten, before we went to Hong Kong, that none of the signs here in the Mainland are actually in English, only Pinyin (which is the romanisation of Chinese characters) and even then that's only mostly the road signs - tourist information maps are a no go and to males matters harder they aren't even orientated the right way! If you're lucky, public announcements come in English!
The cost of living is much much higher in Hong Kong than it is in the Mainland - something I didn't expect to such a degree. The average meal price would be about 60hkd (about 55rmb) whereas the average meal price in Foshan is about 15rmb - so not such a teachering salary budget friendly place! I think the cost of living is closer to the cost of the UK than Mainland China - but still slightly cheaper if you are going on holiday there, most things would seem like a bargain. Except alcohol (that stuff is pricey) I payed 60hkd for a glass of wine! I haven't had wine since I arrived here though so it was money well spent.
People in Hong Kong have a much more western body shape than their mainland neighbours aka they are a bit fatter. This is by no means saying that Hong Kongers are fat because they aren't, but I think it's definitely got a lot to do with the easy access to fast food (we walked past a kiosk purely selling chips and what looked like a million different topping choices).
The Chinese population of Hong Kong also look different to the population of the mainland, in the same way that British people look subtly different to continental Europeans. But we did learn at the history museum that Hong Kongers are decended from the Your people and the majority of Chinese are decended from the Han people in the north.
Religion is legal and embraced in Hong Kong, whereas preaching, or even education for that matter, of any religion is illegal in the Mainland. I hadn't realised this difference until we passed an outdoor sermon at the Occupy Central protest - I genuinely had a nervous look around for the police.
Protesting is also something that wouldn't and couldn't happen on the mainland - that alone shows you how different the culture is in Hong Kong.
Cars also drive on the left there, here in the Mainland they drive on the right.
People queue in an orderly fashion for things is Hong Kong - Tom and I regularly had to reign in our new chinese style of queuing habit a.k.a ignore the end of the line and stand wherever the hell you want.
Queuing on the right side of underground escalators was great it means you can actually get past inside of someone causing a back log because they just fancied stopping half way up next to an old man. I did hear that they were promoting that habit on the underground in shenzhen yesterday but not surprisingly that was ignored.
Spitting does not happen in Hong Kong - its seen a revolting (which it is) whereas everyone spits everywhere I'm the mainland; this includes hotel foyers, corridors, carpets, indoors outdoors - whenever the mood takes them!
Western toilets (with toilet roll and soap) are everywhere here - definitely a pleasant surprise as I braced myself to use the ones in the shopping mall the day we arrived!
The prevalence of western toilets could be due to the sheer numbers of westerners in Hong Kong - I saw more non-chinese people in the first hour in Hong Kong than I have in the entire time I've been in the Mainland (Beijing included). It's funny though, you don't feel particularly unique when there's so many other people that look similar to you and no one is stopping and staring or trying to take a sneaky picture (a women in Foshan nearly crashed her car the other day because she was so shocked to see me crossing the road!)
I genuinely never thought that within 500m (between border controls) there could be so much difference within one country! I would have expected more obvious differences between Beijing and Guangdong due to the distance but mind is slightly blown by the differences between Hong Kong and Shenzhen - the unfluence of British Colonisation is very evident everywhere.
It's not only a case on one country, two systems but a case of one country, two cultures.
G x
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