Beyond the Highrise

Government building transformed into luxe hotel

The distinctive sweeping arches of The Murray, Hong Kong’s newest five-star hotel, on Cotton Tree Drive, Central

An old 1960s government high-rise on Cotton Tree Drive has metamorphosed into a five-star hotel, a welcome addition to Hong Kong’s luxury hotel scene. Sitting snug between the Peak Tram terminal, Hong Kong Park and the Cheung Kong Centre, The Murray is wonderfully located in the heart of the city. The views over the park, St John’s Cathedral and across Victoria Harbour to ICC from its 336 guest rooms are some of the best in town.

The distinctive white building with its huge ground-floor archways was originally designed by Architectural Services Department worker Ron Philips in 1969 for the then-colonial government. The brief was to come up with an office block to accommodate the Public Works Department. But Philips designed a 27-storey building so innovative that modern-day buildings struggle to compete with its environmental features.

To reduce air conditioning costs, Philips designed the building with its windows sheltered by concrete ‘fins’ positioned at 90 degrees to the panes to avoid direct sunlight hitting the glass. This passive design was considered innovative enough to win the Certificate of Merit of the Energy Efficient Building Award in 1994. In 1969, it was well ahead of its time and as Foster + Partners, the lead architect on today’s redesign, has pointed out, the modern day glass high-rises that sit shimmering in the Asian sun today don’t seem to have been quite as design-savvy.

Philips in now in his 90s and living in Britain, but he was invited by Foster + Partners to consult on the Murray’s conversion and last December he flew out to Hong Kong for the official opening of the hotel. The building and site had been bought from the government in 2011 by developer Wharf Holdings for $4.4 billion, with a further $3.4 billion spent on the redevelopment. Although the sale of government land to a private party was controversial at the time, The Murray is part of the Conserving Central project which aims to preserve what’s left of Central’s historic heart. This has ensured a sympathetic re-design and subsequent new lease of life. Heritage constraints meant the height of the building could not be altered and original features such as the sweeping archways and clever vehicle ramps that feed off from busy Cotton Tree Drive had to be left in place.

The re-design beautifully ‘opens up’ the building with floor-to-ceiling glass at the lower levels and multiple entry points. The concrete car park has been replaced with gardens and outdoor spaces – the dining room spills out onto a terraced area shaded by a 139-year-old listed Rainbow Shower Tree, which is the centrepiece of the gardens.

The distinctive arches were installed by Philips to solve the problem of steep inclines limiting access to the car park. But as it transpired, the archways not only made the base of the building more accessible for vehicles back in the ’60s, today they provide fantastic shade and rain protection, enabling a superb outdoor venue that is protected from the elements. The hotel is next month welcoming a car exhibition to the space which will be known as The Arches.

The Murray boasts a modern, sleek cocktail bar which will no doubt become a welcome watering hole with workers from the neighbouring central business district – the cocktail menu is named The Tape and features tipples including ‘Opening Bell’ and ‘Nifty Fifty’ as a nod to its locale.

The afternoon tea was delicious – the perfectly warmed and fresh scones were a highlight – and located close to top tourist sites St John’s Cathedral and the Peak tram station. As a stop-off for foot-sore site-seers it couldn’t be better placed. In June a rooftop bar and restaurant is due to be opened.

Popinjays-TheMurray,HongKong — Popinjays rooftop bar and restaurant which opens in June

The guest rooms are, as you would expect of such a high spec re-design, top notch, with free-standing bathtubs, spacious living areas and superb views over the historic heart of Central. Indeed I’m looking forward to many happy moments in this fabulous new addition to Central’s hotel scene.

*The hotel has only received a soft opening so far – most of the hotel restaurants are open but only when reserved in advance. They will be fully available next month, niccolohotels.com

Open air gallery wows Hong Kongers

A little boy stands transfixed by Gimhongsok’s *Bearlike Construction* at the Harbour Arts Sculpture Park, which opened today

The Harbour Arts Sculpture Park opened to the public today on Hong Kong’s Harbourfront. Featuring work from nineteen heavy hitting international and local artists, including Great Britain’s Tracey Emin and Antony Gormley, Japan’s Yayoi Kusama and Hong Kong’s Kacey Wong, the ‘museum without walls’ runs for six weeks until April 11.

“There is a real ‘can do’ spirits in Hong Kong,” commented co-curator Tim Marlow at the official media launch. “I hope this (event) plays some role in the continuous momentum that cements Hong Kong’s international status as a growing art centre.”

This is the first event of its kind in Hong Kong, with pieces from 19 local and international artists displayed along the Harbourfront in Admiralty. Asked about his favourite pieces, Marlow said he was moved by Tracey Emin’s piece which is also a memorial to her personal friend Sir David Tang, who died last year.

“But what I’m most excited about is the location. What a privilege to be able to invite international artists to site their sculptures in one of the most exciting urban locations in the world,” he said. “The natural beauty of the harbour and the immense architecture of the buildings make it a really fertile location.”

The sculpture park is accompanied by the Jockey Club Arts Education Programme, a series of free workshops, educational activities, guided tours and a public art symposium. The aim is to encourage discussion of art in the city and create a culturally vibrant Hong Kong, as well as enhancing the accessibility of art in the SAR. By lunchtime on the day following the launch, it would seem this noble aim had already been achieved, with lots of excited children running around on the grass, touching the installations and having their pictures taken with the artwork by eager parents.

Visitors can also take part in a Harbour Arts Sculpture Park Photo Competition sponsored by ICBC (Asia) to capture ‘the most beautiful scene of the park’. Entry is via an app and website to be launched next week.

Harbour Arts Sculpture Park is located at Harbourfront, Admiralty, it’s free-of-charge and runs until April 11.

Happy New Year discounts on luxe holidays

Scott Dunn - Gili Lankanfushi -Crusoe Residence — Save 30% on holidays to Gili Lankanfushi, Maldives, until Oct 31, 2018

International curated tour operator Scott Dunn is offering New Year discounts on holidays to the Maldives, Phuket, Cambodia, Oman and Europe throughout 2018.

Scott Dunn recently entered the Hong Kong travel market after acquiring Asia-based travel specialist Country Holidays last December. Scott Dunn has existing operations in London, Singapore and San Diego.

Scott Dunn was founded in 1986 and offers tailor-made holidays to over 100 worldwide destinations. “We look forward to rapidly capitalising on our combined position as the largest luxury tailor-made travel business in Asia and continuing to offer our guests 24/7 service over the phone,” said Scott Dunn chief executive officer Simon Russell.

Scott Dunn courts the family market with its Explorers kids clubs at selected resorts across the Mediterranean, the Alps and the Maldives, for children aged four months to 11 years. It recently launched Crew for the 11+ age bracket at properties in Greece and Croatia, offering a flexible 18-hour programme of water and land-based activities split over six days for parent-weary teens, scottdunn.com

Food, fun and inspiring stories to celebrate International Women’s Day

Event co-organiser Mawgan Batt

March 8 is International Women’s Day (IWD) and to mark the date, local entrepreneurs Mawgan Batt, Emma Pike and Lori Granito have put together a networking event for Hong Kong’s business-savvy ladies.

“We’re hoping it will be a low-key, fun and interesting event, bringing together like-minded women and celebrating female successes in Hong Kong,” said Batt.

“The theme of this year’s IWD is Press for Progress and we’ve asked our three speakers to use this theme to share experiences of bringing about change in their personal and professional lives.”

No strangers to professional lives themselves, the trio are all business owners. Pike is the founder of online butcher Farmer’s Market, as well as being involved in a number of other businesses. “The path to success isn’t linear,” she says. “But connecting with other entrepreneurs is always beneficial as it gives new perspectives and ideas.”

Emma-Pike-57-Edit-Edit-Edit — Emma Pike, founder of online butcher Farmers Market

Granito is founder of women’s ‘leadership and success’ coaching company, Legendary Coaching. “I set it up in 2015 after I was asked to coach a few people to do TEDx talks. I’ve now transitioned from my previous career in catering to full time coaching. I’ve been mentoring women entrepreneurs for over 20 years.” Granito reckons one of the most important challenges for women in business is to keep moving forward. “Even when the path to success is not as clearly laid out as it could be.”

Legendary Coaching founder Lori Granito

Batt founded online media company The HK HUB in 2012, which she sold at the end of 2015. She now runs marketing and communications company Bespoke Consulting, advising small businesses on marketing and strategy. “Running my own business has been a rollercoaster ride and I’ve learnt a tremendous amount along the way,” she said.

The event’s speakers include Nicole Denholder, founder of crowdfunding portal for women Next Chapter; filmmaker Joanna Bowers who directed documentary The Helper; and Bowie Lam, advocator for the rights of female sex workers and founder of Teens Key, which campaigns for sexual and reproductive health rights for young women.

“We want guests to make some great new connections, to be inspired by the stories they hear and to take away some goals for the future,” said Batt. “Networking events can be tough, sometimes awkward, but we’ve all found that women-only events tend to be less intimidating and can help create lasting relationships that are important both socially and in the work environment.”

Dress is smart-casual with a pocket full of business cards.

6.30-8.30pm, Corner Kitchen Cafe, 226 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, $250/person including free-flow food and drink – tickets are not-for-profit and monies will be donated to Teens Key, farmersmarket.com.hk/products/international-womens-day-network-event-pressforprogress.

Holiday luxe – at mates rates

Relaxation in Bohol, Philippines, is just a click away

As expats we all have ‘that’ friend, or friends, with a villa in Bali or a farmhouse in France, a ski chalet in Japan or an apartment in a funky European capital. Or maybe we own a holiday house ourselves.

But what happens to these properties when they’re not being used? Home owners could opt for short-term holiday rentals, but with it comes myriad issues such as cleaning, maintenance and just being constantly available to answer queries. Or there’s long-term rental, but that means you never get to use it. Or just leave it empty, which is often not ideal but the best case scenario.

So former Hong Konger Thomas Bennett and colleague Jorge Munoz claim to have come up with a solution. Stay One Degree is a social network for luxury holiday home rentals. The online platform connects homeowners and friends and mutual connections from around the world.

Bennett says the idea sprang from their own rental experiences, which frequently left them frustrated and disappointed with uninspiring homes at over-inflated prices. Meanwhile, beautiful homes within their social network lay empty.

Word spread, and today Stay One Degree has a plethora of villas, townhouses, apartments and ski chalets on its books in over 40 countries. Prices start at a very friendly ‘mates rates’ of $1,000/night.

All properties are hand-picked by the team, based on ‘outstanding locations and unique elements’. Think cliff-top infinity pools in Bali to villas with vineyards in Tuscany. The social network allows members to grow connections and relationships so owners have the option of renting to like-minded guests of not much more than ‘one degree’ of connection, or to a wider pool of clients.

“We’re finding that owners who would never have considered renting out their holiday homes are now choosing to do so on this exclusive basis,” says Munoz. “Members therefore have access to special homes impossible to find anywhere else.”

Party time with the golden girls

Easter Fair 1970 — Those were the days – Ladies Circle members pictured in 1970

Join the glitziest date on the calendar this month as Hong Kong’s Ladies Circle celebrates its half-century. President Fiona Bulmer explains how they’ve stood the test of time

When Fiona Bulmer arrived in Hong Kong twelve years ago, she was looking to make a few friends.

“I worked to start with and then broke off from my career for the children. So from working full-time in Central, I was now living in the ‘‘burbs’ of Pok Fu Lam with two babies and I really needed to reach out to create a social network. And then I discovered Ladies Circle, which was kind of a turning point for me.”

Ladies Circle arrived in Hong Kong from the UK in 1968, which makes this year its golden anniversary. Bulmer now presides over the group as president, a role she took up with trepidation a couple of years ago.

“I went from popping in to a meeting just to see what it was all about, and then suddenly I was treasurer – my fault for admitting I was an ex-accountant! – and the next thing I knew I was being voted in as president,” says Bulmer. “This was a huge step for me but I really feel I’ve grown with the role and am very proud about what we’re achieving as an organisation.”

Originally set up in the UK in the 1930s as a charitable organisation for the wives of Round Table members, Ladies Circle now has a global network of over 10,000 members in 37 countries. The Round Table was also founded in the UK, in 1927, and still has a Hong Kong branch.

The initial Circle met on England’s south coast in the seaside town of Bournemouth in 1932. It was predominantly a social group, but word spread and by the late 1930s eight more Circles had been formed up and down the UK. The group struggled during World War 2, but held together despite the odds and in 1947 went international with new groups in Denmark and Northern Ireland.

In the 1960s, it arrived in Hong Kong courtesy of Jeanne Allingham, who became the Circle’s first Hong Kong president. “The idea came from a Round Tabler and his wife who were new to Hong Kong and had been members in the UK,” she tells me from her current home in the UK. “Initially we met in each others homes before moving to the Hong Kong Club. Each month we had to haggle over the price of the meal. We had some interesting speakers, but our main aim was to support the Round Table whenever called upon.”

She recalls that the main event of the year was the Easter Fair, held on the cricket ground at Hong Kong Cricket Club. “We worked towards that event all year round, begging for ingredients from local suppliers to bake cakes and so on. We supported various charities, including Ebenezer Home for the Blind, Little Sisters of the Poor, Sandy Bay Children’s Convalescent Home and the Round Table Village Scheme on Cheung Chau Island.”

Current Ladies Circle president Fiona Bulmer photographed at Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents Club, January 2018

Membership grew to the point that a second Circle was set up in Kowloon, although that soon folded. The meeting format today remains similar to that of the early days, with a monthly dinner (these days held at the Aberdeen Boat Club) to which after-dinner speakers are often invited, as well as charity work throughout the year and other social events, including historical walks, craft workshops and food tours.

The Circle’s motto is ‘Friendship and Service’ and the group’s focus charity is the Hong Kong Children and Youth Services Small Groups Homes, which provides foster care for children in Hong Kong. “And we’re very inclusive,” adds Bulmer. “We welcome everyone with open arms, this is not a ‘Brit expat’ association by any means. We’re a friendly bunch.”

Last Christmas, the Circle wrapped and filled an impressive 439 boxes for local charity Box of Hope. “Each year we try and better the previous year,” says Bulmer. “It’s become a major operation, my apartment was rammed with boxes.” The boxes are all baby-related and the craftier members of the Circle spend the year knitting baby hats for them. And for the last 30 years, the Circle has also supported the Hong Kong Charity Pedal Car Grand Prix organised by the Hong Kong Round Table and held in Victoria Park every autumn.

easter fair 1986 — Manning the cake stall at the annual Easter Fair, Hong Kong Cricket Club, 1986

But the highlight of this year is of course the celebratory black tie Gala Dinner which is being held in the glorious confines of the Renaissance Harbour View Hotel, overlooking Victoria Harbour. Members past and present will be attending, including first president Jeanne Allingham, who will be making the journey from the UK. This will be the first time she has returned to Hong Kong since 1977. “My three sons were born at the Matilda hospital,” she says. “My eldest, Christopher, has been back twice since and has tried to prepare me for the many changes.”

After a three-course free-flow dinner, guest speaker and local historian Jason Wordie will be giving an insight into the Hong Kong of 50 years ago, after which guests will be able to let their hair down at the disco.

“It’s going to be such a special night for us,” says Bulmer. “Ladies Circle has meant so much to me over the years. It’s a very special organisation.”

The Gala Dinner takes place 7pm, March 8, Renaissance Harbour View Hotel, Wan Chai. To book individual tickets at $1,400/person, or a table of ten, please contact community@ladiescirclehk.com or go to ladiescirclehk.com. For membership enquiries, email secretary@ladiescirclehk.com.

Hong Kong in the swinging ’60s

Construction of Plover Cove reservoir, New Territories, mid-1960s

The 1960s were a major turning point in Hong Kong’s history thanks to its booming economy. This was a decade of change but also of disturbances.

Riots were triggered in 1966 over a steep rise in the price of a Star Ferry ticket and the violence continued into 1967 when internal conflict within the Chinese Communist Party resulted in the Cultural Revolution. Rumours spread that China was planning to take over the colony and political tensions soared. The riots ended in December 1967 when the Chinese premier ordered leftist groups in Hong Kong to stop the violence.

There were serious droughts during the decade too, as water supply struggled to support the exploding population. A number of reservoirs were completed at this time, including Shek Pik, Lantau (1963) and Plover Cover, New Territories (1968).

In 1967 the Colony Outline Plan was issued detailing strategies to house a million people in low-cost, high-rise public housing. Slowly but surely, Hong Kong was becoming the booming city we know today.

Doggy derring dos

Hong Kong author Sarah Brennan reveals her latest Calendar Tale

138B9657 — Sarah Brennan launches Desmond Dog this month in time for Chinese New Year

It’s the turn of the 19th century and the brave and noble Desmond Dog is the hero of Hong Kong, a little fishing village where Aberdeen lies today. Meanwhile, the South China Sea is being terrorised by the notorious pirate queen Ching Shih and her Red Flags. One fine morning, the Red Flags sail into Hong Kong harbour. Desmond fiercely defends the villagers, but is captured and tied to the mast…

This is the thrilling plotline to Desmond Dog, author Sarah Brennan’s eleventh and latest Calendar Tale, which has just been launched in time for Chinese New Year. She says the story has been a long time coming.

“The first day I moved into my first office in Tin Wan, I looked out of the window and saw a village dog barking on the deck of a fishing boat which was leaving Aberdeen Harbour. That, I said to myself, is my character for the Year of the Dog. And I’ve always loved the true story of Ching Shih and her Red Flags. So putting the two nautical characters together seemed a perfect combination.”

The historical angle to all of Brennan’s Calendar Tales is fascinating. Little by little, she builds up her readers’ Chinese historical knowledge-base. Personally I had no idea, for example, about Aberdeen being little Hong Kong.

“I knew about the pirate queen Ching Shih after writing about her in a series for the Young Post a few years ago,” admits Brennan. “But I didn’t know that Hong Kong was in fact the fishing village where Aberdeen is today, nor that the Brits had mistakenly taken the name of that little village as the name for the whole island! That came up during research for the book – and surprises like this are just one of the reasons I love writing about Chinese history for kids.”

She says the book took about two weeks to research and write, given that the rough story idea had been developed some years ago. “Once I’ve done my research, I always plan my story page by page first before writing the first draft. Then comes the difficult bit which is the editing, so that the rhyming verse sounds natural and unforced. This time it took me a full 19 edits.

“For the research I use the internet of course, referring as much as possible to original sources, but I also have some fantastic books about Chinese history in my own home library to which I regularly refer. In particular I would recommend Ann Paludan’s comprehensive Chronicle of the Chinese Emperors, published by Thames and Hudson.

“As a child myself, I adored Dr Seuss and Enid Blyton and couldn’t get enough of their books. After that, I remember falling in love with series like Anne of Green Gables and The Chronicles of Avonlea, Swallows and Amazons, What Katy Did, Little Women and Little House on the Prairie. And Australian classics like Blinky Bill, Seven Little Australians, and Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. When I look at them today, they still hold up as beautifully written, absorbing stories for kids, and my own girls fell in love with them just as I did at similar ages.”

Desmond holding anchor — Desmond is the hero of Brennan’s eleventh Calendar Tale. Next year the pig takes over…

Brennan now has just one Calendar Tale left to complete the series, which is of course for the Year of the Pig in 2019. “While I can tell you it will be dedicated to my beloved husband, who is a perfect Pig in the nicest possible way, you’d have to torture me to find out the rest,” she smiles enigmatically.

All of the Calendar Tales are available from Bookazine and other English bookshops in Hong Kong and online at chinesecalendartales.com.

Sheltered lives

It’s 1944 and Connie Granger’s home and family have just been raized to the ground during a bombing raid over Coventry. Trying to piece her shattered life back together, Connie finds work as a ‘lumberjill’ for the Women’s Timber Corps amongst the forests of South West England. Author Sarah Franklin explains how she balanced research with family life and why Britain’s woodlands mean so much to her

Sarah Franklin at her desk. Her follow-up novel will also be set in the Forest of Dean

I’ve got two small-ish kids and a day job so this book got written everywhere – at music practice, at football practice, in bed at midnight. There wasn’t much rhythm and it was massively scrappy but it was what worked for me and our lives. The hardest part was endlessly wrestling with the idea of the book in my head and what was actually coming out on paper.

I was inspired to write Shelter following a controversial government proposal in 2010 to sell off Britain’s woodlands. I grew up in the Forest of Dean and it was inconceivable that this land, in my eyes entirely entwined with the people who lived and worked there, could ever be sold. It seemed as weird as trying to sell off the coast, or the air. I wrote about it for national newspaper The Guardian but it still niggled and I wanted to fictionalise my concerns. I wanted to write about what it felt like to have the very foundations of the place you live in entirely turned upside down by the decisions of bureaucrats working for what they would see as ‘the greater good’. It’s such a brilliant, strange, unique place – much of my family still lives there.

The Forest of Dean saw huge change during World War 2. There was enormous demand for wood at this time, for replacing ships’ masts, as pit props so that the much needed domestic coal production could happen safely and to ensure homes could be rebuilt quickly after the blitzes of London and Coventry. And all this wood being felled meant that the character of the Forest of Dean, and other forests like it, was being completely changed. Timber production still happens all across the UK – in fact, we can’t produce as much as we need. Lumberjills still exist, too, though I don’t think they use hand-saws like Connie had to any more.

It was really important to me that Connie came from Coventry rather than London. We hear so much about the London Blitz that readers would have with preconceived notions. Plus, from Coventry, it just seemed a more natural route that she’d end up in Gloucestershire. (Coventry is an industrial city in the British Midlands. It was bombed continuously during the war, the worst raid destroying thousands of homes and damaging two thirds of the city’s buildings in one night).

When I’m not writing, I work as an academic at Oxford Brookes University, so research is something I’m comfortable with and enjoy. I was helped enormously by both the Imperial War Museum, which has brilliant oral histories of the Women’s Timber Corps and Italian Prisoners of War, and by the Dean Heritage Museum in the Forest of Dean. The curator at the latter was kind enough to pass on to me two self-published memoirs about real-life prisoners in the camp in the heart of the Forest – I tried really hard to make sure that everything was based in fact. Years ago I’d done an O-level History project about the Home Front in the Second World War and collected questionnaires from lots of people who’d lived in the Forest of Dean during the war. These recollections were hugely helpful as well.

Inspiration came from the novels of Lissa Evans, who I adore. She writes books that are funny and poignant all at once, just spot on. I also kept thinking of Goodnight, Mr Tom, which I read as a kid and still absolutely love. Anthony Doerr wrote the best book about unusual aspects of the Second World War that I think anyone will ever write.

I’m working on my second novel right now. It’s set in the Forest of Dean again, but is contemporary rather than historical and has completely different characters in it.

Shelter is available now with free shipping from bookdepository.com.

French artist hits the decks with chocolate records

IMG_4720.HEIC — Artist Dr Julia Drouhin with her playable chocolate records at Harbour City

French artist Dr Julia Drouhin arrived in Hong Kong this week with her stash of playable chocolate records. Not only are the records sweet tasting, they produce an amazingly sweet sound, too. Dr Drouhin spent this morning’s media launch alternating between Canto Pop, The Beatles, Chinese opera and Abba.

The exhibition, The Sound of Chocolate, is part of this month’s wider chocolate festival hosted by Harbour City in TST.

Each chocolate record lasted for about four or five plays before the diamond tip of the record player began to scratch the grooves. The audience of local photographers and journalists was then able to tuck in.

According to Drouhin, there’s nothing new about chocolate ‘vinyl’. German companies were distributing the very same to children 100 years ago as part of a public relations initiative to promote their products.

Back in her Tasmanian home, Drouhin has perfected the art of creating the records using pinkysil silicon which she pours into a frame over the original vinyl record and then leaves to set. The resulting silicon mould is then carefully peeled away.

“The silicon is also great for giving your vinyl a really good clean – all the dust motes hiding in the grooves come away when you peel away the silicon,” says Drouhin.

Melted chocolate is then poured into the mould and the whole contraption placed in a fridge overnight. “The chocolate must be dark, milk chocolate doesn’t work because it contains too much sugar. This effects the smoothness of the chocolate and gives a rougher finish which of course means the sound quality is comprised.”

Once set, the chocolate carefully prised out of the silicone and can then be spun on a turntable.

Drouhin has exhibited all over the world but this is the first time she has used her chocolate to play Canto Pop.

She says chocolate is only good for 45” singles, although she says ice works very well with 33” long players (ice of course is harder to play as the environment must be below freezing – chocolate merely requires a room set to around 18 degrees).

Drouhin’s chocolate records will be on display as part of Harbour City’s The Sound of Chocolate Art Exhibition which runs until Feb 25. There will be daily live playings every 20 minutes between noon and 8pm, Gallery by the Harbour, Shop 207, 2/F, Ocean Centre, Harbour City, TST. For full details about this exhibition as well as the wider Harbour City Chocolate Trail 2018, see harbourcity.com.

A green initiative to keep Hong Kong’s beaches clean

Clean and green – Hong Kong just the way we like it

On a blue sky day, Hong Kong is nothing short of spectacular. But if a typhoon blows in, or a dodgy tide, so does a whole heap of rubbish and its beaches end up trashed. And it’s not just Hong Kong that is bearing the brunt of our obsession with throwaway plastic – there has been a marked and noticeable increase in the amount of rubbish strewn washing up on beaches all over South East Asia during the last couple of years.

With this in mind, two Clearwater Bay mums have launched The Green 52, an environmental blog aimed at encouraging followers to make lasting changes to their everyday lives to help reduce environmental impact.

Every Monday a green challenge will be posted on the blog and on Wednesday it will be explained how to achieve the challenge in Hong Kong.

“We will not preach, we will not make people feel guilty, rather we want to provide weekly, practical and manageable ideas on how to become more environmentally-friendly,” said co-founder Zoe Stevenson.

The pair, both British expats and Clearwater Bay residents, have five children under nine years between them and say the initiative was sparked by the worrying change in the environment that their kids are growing up in. “We are both lucky enough to live near the beach but over the past six years the amount of plastic washing ashore has increased dramatically,” explained fellow founder Laura Tyson. “It’s now easier for our children to collect bottle tops than shells.”

“We don’t expect people to do all the challenges, although that of course would be fabulous,” said Stevenson.

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