Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Winners 2020 | Page 14

Winning Entries
Fiction – Group 5
WINNER
Marketplace
Canadian International School of Hong Kong, Chou, Renee – 16
Silicon Valley of the East. The next economic powerhouse of Asia; a concentration of
talent, business, and technological development. That was the dream.
“Do you have any preferences in what language I use?”
“English would be nice. We’ve been living abroad and I’m afraid Mei Mei here wouldn’t
be able to understand.” My dad clapped his hands on my back.
“Understood, follow me.”
Ng Tze Ying, Holly Ng. Our tour guide introduced herself. Holly is fine. She was
professionally dressed, pin striped suit with rounded black heels, and spoke diplomatically
but impassively.
She led us down a marble-tiled hallway. Panels of tinted glass gazed over the southern
city of the new region. From the ground sprouted towering pillars of architectural marvels,
each one more impressive than the previous. The concrete jungle spread across every inch of
the flat land, spilling onto the ocean when there was no more land to build upon. Rows upon
rows of light flickered to life across the landscape, and the bright orange of the dusk sun bled
into the boat-filled sea ports.
“This building is known to have the best views in Hong Kong,” Holly said. “Right in front
of us we have our Victoria Harbour, right across is Kowloon, and right behind is Admiralty.”
We passed the underside of what seemed to be an elevated railway, the glass tunnel
weaved under the rumbles of the tram above. “That will become this region’s newest tram
program. It has routes in the city but also routes across the sea to the mainland and Macau.”
Holly said. The program would encourage cross-district travelling within the Greater Bay
Area, she explained to us.
“If I may ask, what will become of that?” My mother pointed to crescent-shaped land.
The sandy ground flattened by road rollers, lazily rolling across.
“Ah, that would become our newest shipping port. We’ve reclaimed land to
accommodate for the predicted growth of import and export rates in the next ten years.”
“Mei Mei, do you know that Ba Ba’s shipping line is considering to switch to operating
solely on this port after it opens?” My father said, “Ba Ba will treat you with a nice present
when that happens. Something nice, like a necklace or a watch. How does Tiffany sound?”
“Dad!”
“Okay, okay, Ba Ba will stay quiet,” he said with a chuckle, “and what about the new
residential areas promised, I heard they were building a new public park?”
“Yes, that would platformed between the peak and mid-level, the high-levels. The park
would be exclusive to the high-levels residents.” Holly said.
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