Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Non-Fiction 2020complete | Page 62

The Greater Bay Area
Harrow International School Beijing, Cai, Dora - 12
The Greater Bay Area
“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’ve been living in Macau since I was born, and it was depressing. Across the horizon you could see all of
the luxurious hotels and tourists coming in, but I couldn’t meet them. I’ve never had the opportunities to
experience their life. I grew up in an old compound filled with Walnut trees and people who lived there
worked in hotels. I went to a local school with my friends that was poorly constructed, and we rarely learn
anything new. My name is Mag, and my dream was to become a teacher to educate children like me. I am
good friends with Karen who lives next door to me. Her family also works in a hotel and she has an older
brother, Ken, who cleans up the dishes in a restaurant.
One day I was having dinner with my family and the new flashed up on the TV with a message that I knew
would change my life forever— Macau was going to be a part of the Greater Bay Area with Hong Kong
and China. I’ve always wondered what if would be like to live in those places, and experience a different life
out over there. I have also heard storied of the food in Hong Kong compared to Macau and the houses that
people live in. My teacher told me that Hong Kong was previously owned by Britain but was given back to
China in 1997, and Macau, the country that I am from, was given back to China by Portugal in 1999.
Knowing that I have the chance to travel to these countries, a feeling of happiness consumed me.
The TV reported said that people who live in these three area would have special privileges compared to
tourists, and we would be given a new Greater Bay Area ID card, which would give you access to free
transportation between the three areas by boat, bus as train. We would also have priorities for certain
activities ranging from theme-parks, free hotel stays and free food on special celebration days. I immediately
contacted Karen about this idea, and we began to plan our trip to these two places. A few years later, when
everything was official, we made out first trip to Hong Kong….
We arrived at Hong Kong by the train, skipping the queue because we were residents from one of the places
in the Greater Bay Area. Walking out of the train station, I was amazed by the different architecture in the
area and the different smell of food attracted me to try it. I peeked over the counter and saw a yellow
substance which everyone seemed to be eating, so me and Karen decided to try it out.
It was called ‘egg cake’ and it was soft, sweet and chewy, which I’ve never had the taste of before in Macau.
Later on I went on a bus with Karen that took us to the beach in Hong Kong. The sun was shinning onto
the water that reflected the light onto the ships passing by in the horizon, it was a beautiful view. The sand
was soft and hot, and it burned my feet when I stepped on it, unlike the beaches in Macau, where stepping
onto the sand felt like standing barefoot on needles. The wind blew softly onto my cheeks, stinging them
and a fresh smell of salt keeps hitting my nose. We stayed there for about an hour or two, before returning
to the train station.
When we returned to the train station, Karen realized how hungry she was (which was quite obvious
because of her rumbling stomach) so she decided to try out a fast food shop called ‘Mc Donald’s’. Because
she had the special ID Card, she was able to skip the queue and get a 20% off offer, which was a really good
deal, and she got some fries. Out of the window, the sky was getting darker and the moon was waking up,