Press Club Brussels Europe #WeLoveBrussels | Page 33

So at the beginning of August 1970, when I first
visited Hong Kong as part of a larger Asian trip, one
of the must see sites was a little park in the New
Territories, at the border of this Terra Incognita.
From a luscious tropical hill, we could spy on a few
fishermen’s huts, past a No Man’s Land that filled us
with disquiet. We could make out a few figures, Red
Guards or farmers, with a large plain criss-crossed
by rivers and streams. And behind the plain, a
small mountain range. A quiet landscape, too idyllic, even, considering the country’s isolated and
isolationist reputation. Photo, drinks, discussion,
and back to Hong Kong. I was a bit disappointed
however, because it was obvious that we would
not be able to see the whole of China from there. It
remained an abstract concept.
I had forgotten about that hill in my many
subsequent trips to Hong Kong. Until a day in
2008, when I met Huang Gao Qiang, secretary of
Shenzhen’s municipal government, during a lunch
in the city. I had arrived there by crossing the
Hong Kong - China border like a VIP, in a vintage
Mercedes with flags on its fenders. Apart from
the border check there is a lane exchange with a
bridge, as Hong Kong drives on the left and China
drives on the right. It’s a very quick process, but
looking back after crossing the bridge I could see
the hills of Hong Kong as seen from China. Probably including the one I had been on to take that

picture. I told the story to Huang Gao Qiang and
his interpreter: it made him smile, this era that
must have seemed so remote to him.
So I decided that I had to find this hill. In 2012,
in one of those empty weekends between two
connecting flights, I told my partner Francesca
that we would have to go find this little hanging
garden. We took the metro from Kowloon on a line
that I thought went in the right direction, and we
got to the border. We had to turn around, no way
of getting through without a visa, so we returned
to the previous station, Sheung Shui.
Outside Hong Kong there are small towns that
look like Dutch or Belgian suburbs: cycle tracks,
restaurants, public parks and.... a taxi rank. Lucky
day - the first in line speaks English. But in order
to explain my story I need more than just words...
Jin Lian Huo is of the right age and has the guile
of the Hong Kong Chinese. His brother in law
is a border policeman. In 10 minutes he takes
us to the border and takes a small road where
a barrier miraculously lifts. A small stretch of
mountain road, a 180 degree turn and we get to
a car park: my 1970 viewing spot. Nothing has
changed. Same drinks stall. Same plants, same
view. Except that in front, instead of the plain
and the fishermen’s huts, there is now Shenzhen,
2 million inhabitants. It’s another photo. n

33