Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Non-Fiction 2020complete | Page 63

also reminding us that it’s time for us to leave Hong Kong and head on to the neighboring city—
Shenzhen….
Shenzhen had a huge difference to Hong Kong and Macau, it was much more drier and the way people
behaved was different too. Shenzhen people seemed more careless off their looks, except for the women,
and spoke with a slight accent which made sometimes made it hard to understand what they were talking
about. Thinking back, the people who live in Hong Kong seemed to be more polite and had more bright,
bold ideas with their architecture designs, as you could clearly tell from the unique skyscrapers that towered
over the rest of the city, unlike Shenzhen, who seemed to have used the traditional architecture style on
their buildings which made it look duller, and some Shenzhen citizens had a bad manner and appeared to be
moody most times.
Next to the train station was a local market, and the noises that made the city seem busier seemed to all be
coming from that one entrance, so Karen and I decided to go in and check it out. Stepping into the
marketplace, a scent of vegetables mixed with meat and flowers hit my nose, which wasn’t the most pleasant
smell to be honest, and we were surrounded by a swarm of people in a few seconds, and the sound of them
chattering engulfed me. I struggled to push out of the crowd, but luckily Karen was able to get free before
me which meant that she was able to help me out.
Gasping for breath, I finally saw a clear view of the structure. The building had a tall roof which was made
out of glass, and sunlight shone through giving the market a natural lighting. Instead of shops, there was
stands of all kinds, forming a grid-like shape which also cleared a straight pathway to the stands which
benefited the citizens. Well, although at first the Shenzhen citizen seemed careless, they turned out to be
pretty smart in some ways. We strolled around for a bit, until the market seemed to get a bit bored for us,
and that’s when we decided to walk around the city.
In the city there was a lot of trees and wild flowers growing around, and it made Shenzhen looked like a
large garden, which was similar to Macau, even though some areas were deserted in Macau, nevertheless,
the ecosystems were very alike in Macau and Shenzhen. Shenzhen had a lot of tall buildings that seemed to
reach up in to the sky, and by the coastline of Shenzhen there was a massive river with a bridge outstretched
on it to connect to areas. It was getting late, and the sunset was reflected onto the river, which shone an
orange light onto the buildings next to it. Me and Karen decided to stay next to the river to watch the
sunset, and it made it seem like that the sun was falling into the river, and the splashes were the rising stars in
the night sky. The noises in the city seemed to be quieting down, and the whole city was asleep…
“The Greater Bay Area is a new area connecting Macau, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and many other areas. It is
a project to encourage people learn about other culture and from that, developing their own ideas that
would benefit their city and themselves. I have travelled to three of those countries personally, and it was a
brilliant experience, and I would recommend all of you to travel through those countries, since you would
also have priorities from your ID Card. It will be a great experience for all of you....”, I started to get lost in
the memories I had when I travelled to Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and my voice trailed away. I stood there,
frozen for a couple of seconds, then suddenly realizing that I stopped in the middle of my speech for my
students. I wanted to carry on speaking, but I was lost for words.
The trip I made when I was small had so many memories, from the slightest movement to the prettiest
views, so that the feelings and thoughts I had could not be put into words and sentences to speak out. But
what I do know is that one small change can make a big difference to one’s life, just like how my life
changed forever when the Greater Bay project was launched.