Hong Kong World's Busiest Cities


Hong Kong

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More than half of us now live in cities...

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..and more of us are moving in.

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By 2050, two thirds of the planet will be city dwellers.

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There's people going this way, people going that way.

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It's bonkers!

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We're exploring four iconic cities in all four corners of the world.

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-There's cycle rickshaws coming the wrong way towards us.

-Yep.

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These are places bursting with life.

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Crowded, chaotic and complicated, they're also under pressure.

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HORN BLARES

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All right, mate. Ooh.

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We're going behind the scenes to uncover the hidden systems

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and armies of people running some of the greatest cities on earth.

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This time, we're in Hong Kong,

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a city driven skywards by trade and money.

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We're going to show you how this city works,

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uncovering the incredible story of how huge economic freedom

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has created a city of contrasts.

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Historian Dan Snow reveals how a former British colony

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is adapting to life in China's embrace.

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This is like nowhere else I've ever seen.

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It's the heart of the most economically dynamic region

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on planet Earth.

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Journalist Ade Adepitan gets carried away

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at the city's most popular night out.

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Mr Cool! Come on!

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Argh!

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No devil's going to come near me!

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I'm Anita Rani, and in a city rich with traditions,

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I find out how to banish bad spirits on the daily commute.

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Go away! Be banished! WOMAN SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

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They've gone.

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Join us for the adventure of a lifetime,

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in the world's busiest cities.

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Hong Kong Harbour...

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..one of the busiest ports in the world.

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More than 1,000 vessels pass through here each day.

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Today, the OOCL New York is arriving from Singapore.

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Every cargo ship coming to Hong Kong has to take a pilot on board.

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This is the pilot's vessel, and this is how they get on.

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The harbour pilot's job is to safely navigate these huge cargo vessels

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through these crowded waters.

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The ships can carry anything from cars and clothes

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to furniture and frozen foods.

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Ships like these are the engines that drive global trade.

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This is some way to travel, on these beasts of the sea -

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but that skyline keeps catching my attention.

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-Isn't it incredible?

-It goes on forever, it goes on forever.

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First and foremost, this place is a port, let's not forget that -

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that's one of the best deepwater harbours on earth,

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and that allowed traders from round the world

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to keep their ships safe there,

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sheltered from typhoons, bad weather,

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and exploit the trade of China.

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Do you know what this reeks of, Dan?

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Fish?

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-And money.

-Yeah.

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This is the freest economy on earth,

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and it's fuelled by trade and finance.

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It's why nearly seven and a half million people

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cram themselves into Hong Kong's tiny geographical footprint.

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Not bad for a place that was just a small fishing village

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less than 200 years ago.

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Time here is money.

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Harbour pilot Sammy Chiu

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has guided hundreds of these massive ships into dock.

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The cranes at the terminal are ready and waiting.

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And how is this going to get into that spot there?

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Well, that's the most difficult part,

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because it's pinpoint navigation.

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The ship is the size of two football pitches laid end to end.

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It can carry nearly 6,000 containers.

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Manoeuvring it is a high-stakes game, and there's no room for error.

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We are moving centimetres by centimetres.

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-Wow.

-Because the ship is so large,

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the momentum can cause huge damage if the approach is inappropriate.

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How long to unload this ship

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and load it back up again with another cargo?

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Well, as usual, it takes about ten hours.

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You're telling me that by the end of today,

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-this ship will be heading back out to sea?

-Exactly.

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Two tug boats, the ship's captain and harbour pilot Bruce Lee

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work together.

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Bow hard to starboard.

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It's an astonishing feat of skill and experience...

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-Stop bow.

-Stop bow.

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..taking only 15 minutes.

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This is what you call parking.

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-Precision parking.

-This is precision parking.

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Yeah, it's good, yeah.

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HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

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We're here to find out what really makes Hong Kong tick,

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to discover the intricate web of daily miracles

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that keep this place on track.

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Nestled on the coast of south-east China,

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Hong Kong is a former British colony handed back to China in 1997.

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The city spreads out across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon,

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the New Territories

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and more than 260 islands.

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A cathedral of capitalism on Communist shores.

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We're splitting up to get under the skin of this iconic city.

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While Dan and Ade head off on their own journeys,

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I'm starting my week like a true Hong Konger -

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joining the crowds on the way to work.

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It's Monday morning rush hour.

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It's hot, it's humid,

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and one of the most densely populated places on earth

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is on the move.

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Ooh, excuse me.

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There are around 42,000 people per square mile

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on Hong Kong Island alone.

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It's a global financial hub

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with people flocking to it from all over the world.

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There are offices, apartment blocks, a transport system,

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temples, and over seven million people all crammed into one place -

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and the only way to make it all fit is by building up.

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This is the world's most vertical city.

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There are more skyscrapers here than anywhere else on the planet.

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It might look like a gleaming modern metropolis, but at street level,

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Hong Kong has a decidedly different flavour, even at rush hour.

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Some of the freshest seafood I've seen anywhere in the world.

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It's still alive!

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Oh, look at that!

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Oh, it's like a lychee in there.

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Oh, that is divine.

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Mm!

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Tastes like a lychee, a little bit more sour.

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I think this is my new most favourite fruit.

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This is a city where China meets the West.

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150 years of British rule couldn't erode ancient traditions.

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It makes for a commute like nowhere else in the world.

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This is a bit...

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unusual.

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I'm surrounded by women who are just whacking slippers on stones.

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Let's find out what's going on.

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I'm underneath one of the busiest flyovers on Hong Kong Island.

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Many big cities have street traders,

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but I've never seen anything like this.

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Hello. How are you?

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Right, better find out what this is.

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Wong Ling is what's known as a devil beater.

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These women can help you get rid of bad luck,

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or wish bad luck on others.

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It's an ancient Chinese folk ritual involving paper effigies and shoes.

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So, what IS this?

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So, do I have villains around me?

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Do I have bad energy?

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Apparently, devil beating is very popular with commuters,

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and it costs £5.

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This is unbelievable.

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I'm about to have some kind of religious ritual

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under a flyover with buses driving past.

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-OK, here we go.

-OK, OK...

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Keep going?

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Come on, then. Come on!

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I don't know about beating the devil,

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but it's certainly good for getting your aggression out.

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After a thorough beating,

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the effigy is burnt inside a paper tiger to keep the demons away.

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Go away! Be banished!

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They've gone.

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Whoo! I feel free. I feel lighter.

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In any other city, this underpass would be just another thoroughfare -

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but in Hong Kong,

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traditions have to be packed into the smallest and busiest of spaces.

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-DAN:

-While Anita experiences the unique Hong Kong rush hour,

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I'm at the port, spending my day

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discovering how this place makes its money.

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Nine terminals handle an amazing 20 million containers a year.

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It's like a different world up here.

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Below us - well, we're on these super tall cranes -

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below us, just a sea of containers,

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and these are the building blocks of globalisation.

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These are things that carry all the goods

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that we eat, and use, and wear, and play with,

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all the way from Asian ports to our European ports.

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Hong Kong's strategic location in the South China Sea

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has long made it an important gateway for trade.

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In the 19th century, the British sailed here in search of silk,

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porcelain and tea.

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They funded their trade with sales of opium.

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When the Chinese emperor banned the drug,

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the British went to war - and won.

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Hong Kong was the prize,

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becoming a vibrant outpost of the British Empire.

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Now trade is worth nearly £760 billion a year.

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I'm usually pretty good with heights,

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but there's only a tiny bit of metal

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between me and a very, very big drop.

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Don't look down.

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Crane operators work against the clock to unload each ship.

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Every container carries a unique code.

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Each of these containers

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weighs around about 20 tonnes, give or take,

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and he's just hurling them round like they're made of Styrofoam.

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A computer system identifies the most efficient order

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for loading and unloading, matching container to truck.

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This computer's telling him which one to get...

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Some 300 million tonnes of goods pass through this port every year...

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..half of it on its way in or out of mainland China.

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He's very precise.

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It's like performing keyhole surgery.

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There's a whole line of trucks waiting to get all the containers.

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This goes on 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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This is what this city is about, and has been about

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since the moment it was taken and developed by the British.

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Accessing all the trade of China, boxing it up,

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and then shipping it abroad.

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This place is still doing the job

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that that first British settlement in Hong Kong did over 150 years ago.

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-ADE:

-Hemmed in by a staggeringly busy harbour and mighty mountains,

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it's easy to see why space here is limited.

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I'm starting my journey in the central district.

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I want to understand how people live in such a crowded city.

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The property prices here just make you shake your head.

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They're eye-watering!

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Look at this one here.

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It's an apartment, and it's about £2.5 million.

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As I'm wrapping my head around these figures,

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a local who says he's a property developer stops for a chat.

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What I was trying to understand is,

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-you've got the gross square footage...

-Yeah.

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..and then the net. So, the net is just the liveable space.

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It's where you live. It's where you live.

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The gross is part of the lobby that you're using,

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part of the lift that you're using,

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part of the windowsill that...

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-Everything's been calculated.

-You can't live on the windowsill.

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You can't sit - unless you're a bird,

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you can't sit on a windowsill.

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So this is what you can enjoy, the net.

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This is the most expensive real estate in the world.

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In Hong Kong, homes cost 18 times more

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than an average family's income.

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Rents are more than twice the amount you'd pay in the UK.

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With space at a premium,

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most Hong Kongers live on top of each other in tiny flats.

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I've come to the Tai Wai area in the city's New Territories,

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where the Leung family have a two-bedroom flat.

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-Ken.

-Nice to meet you, Ken.

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They share their home with four other relatives,

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and it's forced them to look for an ingenious solution.

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Wow!

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It really looks like something futuristic

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that should be on Mars or on the moon.

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They've installed sleeping pods in the front room,

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effectively giving them two extra bedrooms.

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My uncle is on the upper deck and my parents, they're sleeping in there.

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-On the lower deck. Yeah.

-Yeah, on the lower.

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So what is it like to sleep in that at night?

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-I like it.

-Yeah?

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Yeah, I enjoy sleep here.

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Just like...in the spaceship.

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-Yes!

-THEY LAUGH

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The pods cost just over £1,000,

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much cheaper than renting or buying more space.

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-It's quite firm.

-Yes.

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Oh, yes.

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-The light is really relaxing, actually...

-Yes.

-Yes.

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..and it feels a bit more spacious than I thought,

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because I can sit up.

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How difficult is it for a family

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to be able to afford to buy a house in Hong Kong?

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Let's say one daughter, brother and mother go outside to work,

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you save all the money.

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After 20 years, you may... Maybe you can buy a house.

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It's very, very expensive.

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Pull down the curtain, and, like, closing the door,

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and you can lock it here.

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-How do you pull it up?

-Yes...

-I'm stuck! Help!

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Goodnight!

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THEY LAUGH

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The Leungs are lucky.

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Hong Kong has one of the world's highest wealth gaps.

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The poorer you are, the less space you have.

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So, I'm just about to meet a guy

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who lives in what they call a cage community here -

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and he lives here because property's so expensive,

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this is all he can afford.

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I just want to find out what life's like for him.

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At first, there seems nothing unusual about this building.

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It's only when I get to Alan's door

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that I realise just how small his home is.

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Wow. Now, I wasn't expecting that.

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I was expecting to open the door to go into one place -

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but there's actually two doors here.

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Can we come in?

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This used to be just an ordinary flat,

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but a private landlord has illegally divided it into bed spaces

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that are no larger than a cupboard.

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Nice to meet you.

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-Bob Marley...

-I am Bob Marley! No, Ade, Ade, Ade.

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Ade, Ade.

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Alan has lived here for three years.

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He says 11 people live in this corridor alone,

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and there's another one just like it next door.

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Tell me about where you live.

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Is it this space, or...all of this bit here?

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Just in this space?

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And your kitchen? Where do you go for that?

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So, where do you go for food then?

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Alan works as a dishwasher.

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He pays £180 a month to live here.

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To rent a room in this area would cost nearly three times as much.

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He used to live with relatives, but after they passed away

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this was the only place he could afford.

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So, you've got about six foot of space, lengthwise.

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It's so small.

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I can't imagine what it must be like to live in...

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in this small space.

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More than two million people already live in public housing

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in Hong Kong, and the waiting list is four and a half years.

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Is this normal here in Hong Kong?

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Alan's case might seem extreme,

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but over 200,000 people

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are estimated to live in places like this.

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This space here is someone else's living quarters.

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It's incredible.

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I mean, I can't imagine staying here for...

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for a day, let alone years.

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It shocks me to see Alan's living situation.

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It's a reminder that where there's opportunity,

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there's also inequality.

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Hong Kong's runaway capitalism

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has made it one of the world's most prosperous cities,

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but this success comes at a price.

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Hong Kong is a city where money matters.

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It's why people are still drawn here hoping to make their fortunes,

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despite what the costs might be.

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It has its own stock exchange, its own currency,

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and one of the highest concentrations

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of banking institutions in the world.

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And there's one bank that's more intertwined

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with the history of this place than any other.

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HSBC is a banking name known around the world -

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but few people realise what the initials stand for.

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This is the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation,

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and it has its roots in the birth of this city.

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-Wow.

-Welcome.

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-Thank you very much.

-We're going to go round here.

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Helen Swinnerton is the head of archives here at HSBC,

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which opened its doors in Hong Kong more than 150 years ago.

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Let's look at this one first, to set the scene.

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-Is this what Hong Kong used to look like?

-It is.

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-This is the 1860s.

-Oh, magic.

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These are some of the very first

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photographs of Hong Kong,

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when it was first established

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by the British as a free port,

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where people of any nationality could come and trade.

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And with China's silk and tea trade at its doorstep,

0:22:030:22:06

goods and people were flowing in and out of the city.

0:22:060:22:09

It was a really busy, bustling harbour,

0:22:100:22:13

but it didn't have a bank at that time.

0:22:130:22:16

Banking business would go via head offices in London.

0:22:180:22:21

So you can imagine - correspondence, letters were by mail ship.

0:22:220:22:26

It would have taken over 50 days

0:22:260:22:29

for that mail to reach London from Hong Kong.

0:22:290:22:32

So, local traders felt the need to set up a bank

0:22:320:22:36

that would be run by Hong Kong merchants.

0:22:360:22:39

The bank's shareholders came from all over the world -

0:22:410:22:44

from Europe, India and China.

0:22:440:22:47

They had one thing in common - doing business in Hong Kong.

0:22:470:22:50

So, the bank is enabling all the people that come here to invest,

0:22:510:22:56

to build the colony, to build infrastructure -

0:22:560:22:59

-the whole thing's developing hand in hand.

-Absolutely.

0:22:590:23:02

As Hong Kong became richer,

0:23:030:23:05

it wasn't just merchants who flocked here.

0:23:050:23:07

This is HSBC's very first customer ledger.

0:23:080:23:11

They also, as well as listing the names, include the profession -

0:23:130:23:18

and here you can see "Merchant" is listed...

0:23:180:23:21

-There's an engineer here.

-Engineer.

0:23:210:23:23

You've got here "Architect"...

0:23:230:23:25

Hong Kong is being built and run by these people.

0:23:250:23:29

So, it's not just for wealthy merchants -

0:23:290:23:31

it's for all of the administrative folk who come out here

0:23:310:23:34

and take part in running and building this colony as well.

0:23:340:23:36

Yeah, absolutely.

0:23:360:23:38

An economy sets up around the trade.

0:23:380:23:40

-ADE:

-Hong Kong's economy has boomed over the decades,

0:23:460:23:49

but this city doesn't just work hard, it plays hard, as well.

0:23:490:23:55

I'm headed across town to Happy Valley Racecourse.

0:23:550:23:58

Horse racing is by far Hong Kong's biggest sport.

0:24:050:24:09

It was first introduced by colonial Brits.

0:24:220:24:25

Now, one single race can attract around £14 million,

0:24:250:24:29

making it one of the most lucrative racetracks in the world.

0:24:290:24:33

Hi Ade, I'm Cake.

0:24:370:24:38

Cake? As in cake?

0:24:380:24:40

-Yeah, a piece of cake.

-Is it an unusual name?

0:24:400:24:43

It is just my nickname!

0:24:430:24:45

-Yeah.

-It's a cool name.

-Thank you!

0:24:450:24:47

On a Wednesday night, this is the only place to be.

0:24:480:24:52

Racing specialist Cake Wong

0:24:520:24:55

is here to help people place their bets.

0:24:550:24:57

You don't want your customers to all be winning in the races, do you?

0:24:580:25:01

Er... Yeah!

0:25:010:25:03

Because if they're all winning, then you guys are losing.

0:25:030:25:05

Oh, no. If everyone was just winning, we would be happy,

0:25:050:25:09

because if they win, they're willing to bet more in the next race.

0:25:090:25:14

-Oh, OK. It's a long game.

-Yeah.

0:25:140:25:17

As the horses are paraded in the paddock,

0:25:170:25:20

the punters select their favourites.

0:25:200:25:22

People here are obsessed by luck, and love to gamble.

0:25:220:25:26

What do you look for in a horse?

0:25:270:25:29

Does it have, like, a look in his eye, a smile,

0:25:290:25:32

or are you looking at how strong its legs are...?

0:25:320:25:34

-What is it?

-Well, we have to look at its muscle, you know?

0:25:340:25:37

Some horses, really muscular.

0:25:370:25:39

The horses can be worth millions,

0:25:410:25:43

and the jockeys are treated like superstars.

0:25:430:25:47

Jockey is important.

0:25:470:25:48

You know Joao Moreira?

0:25:480:25:50

He's the Brazilian?

0:25:500:25:51

Yeah, yeah. He is now the best jockey in Hong Kong.

0:25:510:25:54

Can you see a horse here that you think is good?

0:25:560:25:59

Number 5 is quite good.

0:25:590:26:01

Yeah, number 5 looks good...

0:26:010:26:03

-Yeah.

-Looks like he's got good, strong power.

0:26:030:26:05

Yeah, and he's quite calm, you see?

0:26:050:26:08

He's walking peaceful.

0:26:080:26:10

What is your number 5 called?

0:26:100:26:12

Great Joy.

0:26:120:26:13

And the jockey of number 5 is Joao.

0:26:130:26:16

Oh, you see, you're going by the jockey!

0:26:160:26:18

You weren't even going by the horse!

0:26:180:26:19

-It's cos it's Joao.

-No!

0:26:190:26:21

As a racing newbie, I'm going with my gut.

0:26:220:26:25

He had a purple mask.

0:26:270:26:28

That's cool.

0:26:280:26:29

Number 10 is called Mr Cool.

0:26:290:26:31

-Mr Cool?

-Yeah.

-Boom!

0:26:310:26:34

That's who I'm betting on, Mr Cool.

0:26:340:26:36

Yeah.

0:26:360:26:37

While I wait for the races to start, I catch up with the boss here.

0:26:370:26:41

Tony Kelly is the head of the Hong Kong Jockey Club,

0:26:410:26:44

who own the racecourse.

0:26:440:26:46

They don't just run the races, they do everything.

0:26:460:26:49

I notice your entrance fee

0:26:490:26:51

to come in here is extremely modest, isn't it?

0:26:510:26:54

What is it? 85p or something?

0:26:540:26:56

It's about a pound, yeah, about a pound.

0:26:560:26:58

It's just a completely different model

0:26:580:27:00

to the way that racing works in the UK.

0:27:000:27:02

In the UK, they don't have the monopoly that we have here.

0:27:020:27:05

We do the betting, we put on the racing, we stable all of the horses.

0:27:050:27:09

Everywhere else in the world, it's a very different model to that.

0:27:090:27:12

Gambling is banned in mainland China,

0:27:130:27:16

but the level of autonomy agreed in the handover

0:27:160:27:19

allows Hong Kong to protect not only its way of life,

0:27:190:27:23

but also a hugely profitable enterprise.

0:27:230:27:27

If you want to bet, then you have to do it through the club -

0:27:270:27:30

and our turnover this year will be about 210 billion Hong Kong dollars.

0:27:300:27:34

So, it's about £21 billion.

0:27:340:27:36

Wow.

0:27:360:27:37

Wow!

0:27:370:27:38

Even at play, this is a city obsessed by money.

0:27:400:27:44

As a night out, Happy Valley seems to embody

0:27:440:27:47

the very spirit of Hong Kong.

0:27:470:27:49

It's a temple to freedom, pleasure, and cold, hard cash.

0:27:490:27:55

Oh, and, of course, racing.

0:27:550:27:56

Come on, Mr Cool!

0:27:590:28:00

Mr Cool is in the lead!

0:28:010:28:03

-Yeah!

-Yes!

0:28:030:28:05

Where's Great Joy? Great sadness.

0:28:050:28:08

-COMMENTATOR:

-Mr Cool leads, Amazing Feeling taking aim in second,

0:28:080:28:11

-looking for this elusive victory...

-Yes! Go on, son!

0:28:110:28:14

Inside the final 200.

0:28:140:28:15

Mr Cool the leader,

0:28:150:28:16

but Amazing Feeling now looks to draw alongside...

0:28:160:28:19

Hold on, son!

0:28:190:28:20

-Mr Cool and Amazing Feeling...

-Mr Cool!

0:28:200:28:22

Come on!

0:28:220:28:24

Mr Cool, Amazing Feeling, up to the line.

0:28:240:28:26

Going to be tight...

0:28:260:28:28

Argh!

0:28:280:28:29

It's so close!

0:28:290:28:31

-Yeah!

-It's so close!

0:28:310:28:33

-Came second.

-Yeah! Second.

-Yes!

0:28:330:28:37

-That's not bad!

-Yeah!

0:28:370:28:39

I used my intuition.

0:28:390:28:41

I saw the purple mask, I saw just how eager that horse was.

0:28:410:28:46

One athlete to another - I know.

0:28:460:28:49

So, you know the excitement?

0:28:490:28:50

-Yeah.

-That's why all the people enjoy this game.

0:28:500:28:53

It would have been even more exciting

0:28:530:28:55

-if I'd put money on the horse.

-Yeah. Yeah!

0:28:550:28:57

As we explore this city by night and by day,

0:29:000:29:03

we're discovering that Hong Kong

0:29:030:29:05

is a place that doesn't do things by halves.

0:29:050:29:08

I've headed to the Tsim Sha Tsui district of Kowloon,

0:29:090:29:13

to find out how economic freedoms

0:29:130:29:15

have made this a truly international city.

0:29:150:29:18

Hiding behind this modest exterior is a real Mecca of global trade -

0:29:190:29:24

Chungking Mansions - and it's open all hours.

0:29:240:29:28

Lovely to meet you, Gordon.

0:29:290:29:31

-Good to meet you, Anita.

-Good to see you.

0:29:310:29:33

My guide is Professor Gordon Mathews,

0:29:330:29:36

an American anthropologist who has studied this place for years.

0:29:360:29:40

What is this place, Chungking Mansions?

0:29:420:29:44

This is a building in the middle of downtown Hong Kong

0:29:440:29:48

that is basically the centre of Indians, Pakistanis,

0:29:480:29:52

Africans, south-east Asians, in Hong Kong.

0:29:520:29:55

It's the most international building in Hong Kong

0:29:550:29:58

and maybe on the planet.

0:29:580:29:59

Chungking Mansions was built in 1961.

0:30:020:30:05

Its 17 floors are jam-packed with a maze of residential flats,

0:30:060:30:10

guesthouses and, downstairs, a thriving shopping arcade.

0:30:100:30:15

Look at that!

0:30:150:30:16

I've seen more Indians in the first minute, 30 seconds of being here

0:30:160:30:19

than I've seen on the entire trip.

0:30:190:30:20

That's because this is Chungking Mansions!

0:30:200:30:22

Chungking Mansions has always opened its doors to everyone,

0:30:240:30:27

earning it a notorious reputation in the past -

0:30:270:30:30

but the mix of residents has turned it into a gold mine.

0:30:300:30:34

Today, people from more than a hundred countries

0:30:350:30:38

work, shop and stay here.

0:30:380:30:39

This is globalisation, really, in action, isn't it?

0:30:400:30:42

Yes. Yes, this is exactly globalisation in action -

0:30:420:30:46

-and it's not the globalisation of rich corporations...

-No.

0:30:460:30:48

..you know, with their multibillion-dollar budgets,

0:30:480:30:50

this is the globalisation of individual, ambitious entrepreneurs

0:30:500:30:53

just trying to make a better life for themselves.

0:30:530:30:55

This is what I call low-end globalisation.

0:30:550:30:58

It's the heart of globalisation in most of the world.

0:30:580:31:00

Like many other cities,

0:31:020:31:03

Hong Kong has always been a haven for migrants.

0:31:030:31:06

Sat Sri Akal, Uncle-ji.

0:31:070:31:09

THEY SPEAK PUNJABI

0:31:090:31:11

I find a Punjabi shop owner

0:31:120:31:14

who tells me Hong Kong has been his home for 55 years.

0:31:140:31:17

What is Chungking Mansions?

0:31:180:31:20

SHE SPEAKS PUNJABI

0:31:200:31:21

Yes.

0:31:250:31:26

It's called Little India. I'm in the right place, then!

0:31:300:31:34

Is there a big Indian community here?

0:31:340:31:35

Yeah, we have about...

0:31:350:31:37

You can buy anything, from mobile phones and laundry services,

0:31:430:31:47

to curry and computer parts -

0:31:470:31:50

and its proximity to mainland China

0:31:500:31:52

means there's never a shortage of things to sell.

0:31:520:31:54

And this is where you can get basically anything

0:31:570:31:59

that's made in China.

0:31:590:32:00

"Made in China"...

0:32:000:32:02

"Made in China."

0:32:020:32:04

Go. "Made in China."

0:32:040:32:05

It's a real melting pot.

0:32:080:32:10

It's sort of a little... a microcosm, really, isn't it...

0:32:120:32:15

-Yes.

-..within this huge metropolis that is so wealthy,

0:32:150:32:18

-with all the skyscrapers...

-Yes.

0:32:180:32:19

-..but here, you've got this other world that exists.

-Yes -

0:32:190:32:22

and one more here.

0:32:220:32:24

He might want to talk.

0:32:240:32:26

Nelson, you know more languages than anybody else.

0:32:260:32:28

-Hello, Nelson. How are you?

-Hello. Acha.

0:32:280:32:30

Anita. Pleased to meet you. Acha.

0:32:300:32:32

Salam Alaikum.

0:32:320:32:33

SHE SPEAKS URDU

0:32:330:32:35

My goodness, you speak Urdu.

0:32:350:32:37

I don't speak any Cantonese, I'm sorry.

0:32:370:32:38

Nelson was born in Hong Kong in 1947,

0:32:390:32:43

and he's worked in Chungking Mansions for more than 40 years.

0:32:430:32:47

Around 10,000 people come here every day,

0:32:470:32:50

and Nelson has something for everyone.

0:32:500:32:53

Have you got anything with Bruce Lee on it?

0:32:540:32:56

I'm a big, big Bruce Lee fan.

0:32:560:32:58

-There we go.

-Oh, that's very cool!

0:32:580:33:00

And it's all made in China.

0:33:010:33:03

You were born in England, right?

0:33:060:33:07

I was born in England, yes.

0:33:070:33:09

You know, maybe your mother like this guy, Cliff Richard.

0:33:090:33:11

-She loves Cliff Richard!

-This my idol.

0:33:110:33:13

Come on, you're going to have to sing me some Cliff Richard.

0:33:130:33:16

-Cliff Richard, right.

-Yeah, come on.

-18 years old.

0:33:160:33:19

# Crying, talking

0:33:190:33:21

# Sleeping, walking

0:33:210:33:22

-BOTH:

-# Living doll! #

0:33:220:33:25

Bravo! Bravo.

0:33:250:33:27

Nelson is just one of hundreds of traders here.

0:33:280:33:32

It's like a city within a city.

0:33:320:33:33

I'm just getting a sense that everybody here, Gordon,

0:33:340:33:37

is on the make.

0:33:370:33:38

-Nobody comes to Hong Kong to retire or relax.

-Yeah.

0:33:380:33:42

They have come here to make something of their lives.

0:33:420:33:45

Everybody here is on the make - but not in a negative sense.

0:33:450:33:48

This is legitimate business.

0:33:480:33:49

-They're hustling.

-Yeah, they're hustling -

0:33:490:33:51

-and hustling in...

-In a positive...

0:33:510:33:53

-..the best sense of the word.

-In the best sense. Absolutely.

-Yeah.

0:33:530:33:55

In the bright neon of a Hong Kong night,

0:33:560:33:59

Chungking Mansions is a beacon of opportunity

0:33:590:34:02

in a city that draws in thousands of migrants every year.

0:34:020:34:06

-DAN:

-Many people come to Hong Kong in search of a better life.

0:34:100:34:14

It's Sunday afternoon in the heart of Hong Kong Island.

0:34:170:34:20

And I can't believe what I'm seeing.

0:34:220:34:23

Everywhere you look, there are women sitting, chatting...

0:34:270:34:31

Too many to count.

0:34:310:34:32

We were just travelling around,

0:34:380:34:40

and we noticed what looked like a huge, er...

0:34:400:34:43

Well, a kind of huge gathering of homeless people,

0:34:430:34:46

but I've stopped and we've asked around,

0:34:460:34:48

and actually, these people are all in domestic service.

0:34:480:34:52

They're all housekeepers and cleaners for Hong Kong families.

0:34:520:34:55

And they're given one day off a week, Sunday,

0:34:550:34:57

and they haven't got anywhere else to go, really,

0:34:570:34:59

so they come here into this public space,

0:34:590:35:02

and hang out with their friends.

0:35:020:35:03

This is one of Hong Kong's main thoroughfares,

0:35:060:35:08

but today it's turned into a makeshift village

0:35:080:35:11

built with cardboard and tents.

0:35:110:35:12

Why are people here? Why are they building these little houses?

0:35:130:35:17

Hah!

0:35:170:35:18

Because it's our holiday.

0:35:180:35:20

Every Sunday, it's our holiday.

0:35:200:35:22

And have you anywhere else to go?

0:35:220:35:24

No.

0:35:240:35:25

Sometimes we go to church in the morning

0:35:250:35:27

and then, after that, we stay here until night,

0:35:270:35:31

because tonight, we go back to our...

0:35:310:35:34

-You go back to work?

-Yeah, to work.

0:35:340:35:36

There are more than 300,000 live-in domestic workers in Hong Kong.

0:35:360:35:42

That's 5% of the city's population.

0:35:420:35:45

Most come from the Philippines or Indonesia, and on their day off,

0:35:450:35:49

they come here to be together and share stories.

0:35:490:35:52

I think this gives you an impression

0:35:540:35:56

of how densely packed in the people of Hong Kong are.

0:35:560:35:59

A lot of these women have either tiny, tiny little living spaces

0:35:590:36:03

in the flats of the people they work for,

0:36:030:36:06

or they just have to sleep on the kitchen floor.

0:36:060:36:08

So, on their day off, they just have to spill over into...

0:36:080:36:12

onto the pavements, public spaces.

0:36:120:36:14

Like so many people, these women are in Hong Kong to earn money,

0:36:150:36:20

looking after other people's children

0:36:200:36:22

while hardly ever seeing their own.

0:36:220:36:24

When was the last time you saw your children?

0:36:250:36:27

-One year.

-One year?

-Yeah. Every year, we go home.

0:36:270:36:30

You go once a year?

0:36:300:36:32

Is it very sad being away from your children?

0:36:320:36:36

Yeah, of course. Very lonely -

0:36:360:36:38

but we have to, we need to work.

0:36:380:36:41

It's extraordinary, and it's unlike anything I've ever seen before.

0:36:420:36:46

In a city this crowded, with few big public spaces,

0:36:460:36:50

they literally have nowhere else to go.

0:36:500:36:52

I've got mixed feelings about it, really.

0:36:530:36:55

On the one hand, it's a testament to the spirit of people

0:36:550:36:58

just gathering together and having a laugh,

0:36:580:37:01

even though you're isolated from each other and your families

0:37:010:37:04

through the week, and away from home -

0:37:040:37:07

but on the other hand, it does seem like a very hard existence

0:37:070:37:10

these guys have, particularly when you factor in

0:37:100:37:12

that some of them, many of them,

0:37:120:37:13

have got pretty bad situations where they work and where they live.

0:37:130:37:17

For me, this is a reminder of the inequality here.

0:37:210:37:24

These women are paid only about £400 a month,

0:37:240:37:28

despite living in one of the richest cities in the world -

0:37:280:37:31

yet, without them, Hong Kong couldn't function.

0:37:310:37:34

They're a vital part of the system that keeps this city running.

0:37:340:37:38

Hong Kong's wealth attracts workers from everywhere.

0:37:410:37:45

All across the city, migrants help to fuel its growth.

0:37:450:37:49

Poon Subash is from Nepal.

0:37:510:37:53

In a city of more than 300 skyscrapers,

0:38:090:38:11

the International Commerce Centre,

0:38:110:38:14

ICC, is the tallest, at 490 metres.

0:38:140:38:19

Poon is one of its ten window cleaners.

0:38:200:38:22

The cradles may be hi-tech,

0:38:240:38:25

but cleaning is still done the old-fashioned way.

0:38:250:38:28

The ICC is one of the highest buildings on the planet,

0:38:510:38:55

and cleaning its windows is one of Hong Kong's toughest jobs.

0:38:550:38:58

The window cleaners work full-time,

0:39:000:39:02

washing 900 of its 50,000 glass panes a day.

0:39:020:39:06

It takes them two months to complete,

0:39:060:39:08

then they start all over again.

0:39:080:39:10

There are more than 20,000 Nepalese in Hong Kong.

0:39:310:39:35

Like Poon, most are children or grandchildren

0:39:350:39:38

of the famous Gurkha Brigade,

0:39:380:39:40

who helped guard the border to Communist China

0:39:400:39:42

before the 1997 handover.

0:39:420:39:45

Hong Kong is a city that lives and works at height.

0:40:110:40:15

Metal and glass skyscrapers dominate the skyline

0:40:160:40:19

and, every day, they're building more...

0:40:190:40:21

..but propping up all this modernity,

0:40:230:40:25

I've noticed another ancient tradition -

0:40:250:40:28

scaffolding made from bamboo.

0:40:280:40:31

On my last day in this gravity-defying city,

0:40:330:40:37

I'm going to find out how it builds tall

0:40:370:40:39

by blending the old and the new.

0:40:390:40:42

I've come to the New Territories to meet Dr Francis So,

0:40:440:40:47

whose team is hard at work on a new school.

0:40:470:40:50

This is Master... Master On.

0:40:520:40:54

-Master...

-On.

-Master On.

-O-N, On.

0:40:540:40:57

Pleased to meet you.

0:40:570:40:58

-This is Wong.

-Hello.

-W-O-N-G, Wong.

-A young man.

0:40:580:41:01

-How old are you?

-27.

0:41:010:41:03

And how about you, Master On,

0:41:030:41:04

how many years have you been working in construction?

0:41:040:41:07

Ha-ha-ha! More than...

0:41:070:41:08

More than 30 years, I think.

0:41:080:41:09

-More than 30 years?

-He's now reached the age of 64.

0:41:090:41:12

So, he's teaching the young guys.

0:41:120:41:14

Francis, I've got to ask you a really basic question -

0:41:140:41:17

where are the screws?

0:41:170:41:19

The screws, to keep the bamboo together.

0:41:190:41:22

-What do you mean by that?

-I mean, how is it staying together?

0:41:220:41:25

It's a PE, PP co-polymer.

0:41:250:41:28

OK... Ah, OK, some kind of polymer.

0:41:280:41:30

-Polymer.

-Yeah, I see. That's very strong.

0:41:300:41:32

Francis says he invented this plastic polymer

0:41:320:41:35

to replace the traditional bamboo skin,

0:41:350:41:37

which would cut the scaffolders' hands.

0:41:370:41:39

So you've got it...?

0:41:410:41:43

Master On shows me the ingenious principle

0:41:430:41:45

that holds the scaffolding together.

0:41:450:41:48

One, two, three. Go!

0:41:480:41:49

-OK.

-Mm-hm.

0:41:490:41:50

It takes just a few twists.

0:41:500:41:52

That's it? And that's going to stay?

0:41:530:41:56

-I mean...

-Yeah. Yeah, OK.

0:41:560:41:57

-That's not going to fall, it's not going to move?

-No, no, no, no.

0:41:570:42:00

-It's a matter of friction.

-Friction.

0:42:000:42:02

You push it this way...

0:42:020:42:03

Push it this way.

0:42:030:42:04

-Ah, ah.

-That's amazing.

0:42:040:42:06

And that's it.

0:42:060:42:07

That's how, like, metres and metres and metres of bamboo

0:42:070:42:11

is held together.

0:42:110:42:12

Bamboo is cheap, flexible and sustainable -

0:42:130:42:17

and, in Hong Kong, it's still widely used,

0:42:170:42:20

with nearly 2,000 bamboo scaffolders

0:42:200:42:23

working on even the tallest of buildings.

0:42:230:42:25

Francis, what's the highest building you've made using bamboo?

0:42:260:42:30

The highest building we have done is in Central...

0:42:300:42:33

Central, er, Plaza.

0:42:330:42:35

Un...believable.

0:42:380:42:40

The wind there is very strong!

0:42:400:42:41

SHE LAUGHS

0:42:410:42:42

I want to give it a go.

0:42:440:42:45

Right, I'm going to try this.

0:42:460:42:48

Oh...

0:42:480:42:49

HE SPEAKS CANTONESE

0:42:490:42:50

Yes.

0:42:500:42:52

OK. Yes, master.

0:42:520:42:53

You understand Cantonese now?!

0:42:530:42:55

Yeah, I do.

0:42:550:42:56

Basically what I understood was,

0:42:560:42:57

"You're messing it up, do it properly."

0:42:570:42:59

What amazes me about this is that it's so incredibly simple.

0:43:000:43:05

Together - and then pull it this way.

0:43:050:43:06

-All right. Good?

-Good.

0:43:070:43:10

-Have I passed?

-Yeah, pass.

0:43:100:43:11

Can I join the team?

0:43:110:43:12

Pass, pass. Yeah.

0:43:120:43:14

-And jump on it...

-Very good!

0:43:140:43:16

Yeah, it's taking my weight - but I'm not a 50-storey building!

0:43:170:43:21

Ooh!

0:43:220:43:24

Not THAT good.

0:43:240:43:25

-ADE:

-As Hong Kong's building boom continues,

0:43:270:43:30

space here is in even shorter supply -

0:43:300:43:33

but there are still opportunities if you know where to look.

0:43:330:43:36

I'm exploring Hong Kong's back lanes and alleyways

0:43:380:43:42

to see how life has sprung up between the cracks.

0:43:420:43:45

Amongst Hong Kong's forest of ultramodern skyscrapers,

0:43:470:43:51

I find a hidden world.

0:43:510:43:53

Here the streets are heaving with vendors and market stalls,

0:43:560:44:00

little businesses squeezed into the smallest of spaces.

0:44:000:44:04

Trade at this shoe shining stall is brisk.

0:44:080:44:11

66-year-old Chung Wai Ming used to be a construction worker,

0:44:110:44:15

but as he got older, he needed a less physical job.

0:44:150:44:19

He's been here for 17 years.

0:44:190:44:21

Hey, hello, how are you?

0:44:210:44:24

Tell me about your customers -

0:44:240:44:25

who are the people that come to get their shoes shined here?

0:44:250:44:28

For Ming, shoe shining has provided a respectable living -

0:44:330:44:36

but he worries that he's part of a dying trade.

0:44:360:44:39

Yeah...

0:44:420:44:43

So do you think you're the last of the kind,

0:44:520:44:55

do you think after you're finished there will be no more?

0:44:550:44:59

But this is part of the culture of Hong Kong,

0:45:110:45:14

and if places like this disappear then it'll be quite sad,

0:45:140:45:19

it'll be like Hong Kong is losing something.

0:45:190:45:21

Yeah, maybe, maybe.

0:45:210:45:23

As I wend my way through these alleyways

0:45:250:45:28

it's like travelling through time.

0:45:280:45:30

Moments away from the main streets, yet worlds apart.

0:45:300:45:35

I've heard about food stalls called dai pai dongs.

0:45:380:45:42

They are traditional hot food hawkers

0:45:420:45:45

licensed by the local government.

0:45:450:45:47

Whoa, it's alive!

0:45:490:45:51

It doesn't get any fresher than this.

0:45:510:45:53

Lam Chi Shing has been cooking here since the '80s.

0:45:530:45:57

Back then, the city used to be full of dai pai dongs.

0:46:010:46:04

I couldn't make a hundred dishes in a month...

0:46:110:46:14

or even a year.

0:46:140:46:15

Today, there are just 23 dai pai dongs left.

0:46:420:46:46

Thank you.

0:46:470:46:48

It is all really, really flavoursome -

0:46:520:46:55

and I think what adds to the authenticity

0:46:550:46:58

and just makes it feel so genuine is the location.

0:46:580:47:01

I'm getting a privileged taste of the real Hong Kong.

0:47:040:47:08

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

0:47:080:47:09

As night falls, it starts to rain...

0:47:150:47:18

Hong Kong style...

0:47:180:47:19

THUNDER RUMBLES

0:47:210:47:23

..but my back lane adventure isn't over yet.

0:47:230:47:25

There's one more place I want to check out...

0:47:250:47:27

Hello!

0:47:290:47:30

Agh! I'm stuck.

0:47:300:47:32

..and it's the craziest space I've been to yet.

0:47:320:47:35

How are you? I hear you do a good cut-throat shave -

0:47:350:47:39

can you do one for me?

0:47:390:47:40

-Yes, OK.

-Yeah?

0:47:400:47:41

This tiny barber's shop isn't all it seems.

0:47:410:47:45

It's actually in a public alleyway between two shops.

0:47:450:47:49

27-year-old Mark Lau is used to cutting his clients' hair

0:47:500:47:53

while people walk through his shop.

0:47:530:47:55

Jeez, you're putting a lot on - I've only got a small beard.

0:48:000:48:03

Mark's dad started the business back in the '60s.

0:48:040:48:08

When he died three years ago, Mark took over.

0:48:090:48:13

Mark's dad didn't get the chance to pass on his skills,

0:48:140:48:18

so Mark learnt in an unconventional way.

0:48:180:48:21

-YouTube?

-Yep.

-Wow!

0:48:280:48:31

How many mistakes did you make on people's hair

0:48:320:48:34

before you got it right?

0:48:340:48:36

I'm not sure how to react to that...

0:48:380:48:41

Long on the sides!

0:49:050:49:07

-And bald...!

-You want to try?

0:49:070:49:10

ADE LAUGHS

0:49:100:49:11

The thought of these early customers' funny haircuts

0:49:110:49:14

is just too much.

0:49:140:49:15

Just stick to my beard, yeah? No hair today.

0:49:160:49:19

-DAN:

-Hong Kong is a city that defies expectations.

0:49:290:49:32

Where traders in back lanes hustle for business

0:49:320:49:35

next to soaring skyscrapers.

0:49:350:49:38

But beneath the vibrant exterior

0:49:400:49:42

there's an undercurrent of huge political change.

0:49:420:49:45

All right, here we go.

0:49:470:49:49

Cool.

0:49:490:49:50

Since the handover in 1997,

0:49:500:49:52

China has been wrapping Hong Kong in its embrace.

0:49:520:49:56

As I near the end of my time here,

0:49:560:49:58

I want to understand how this is shaping the city for the future.

0:49:580:50:01

Hong Kong sits at the mouth

0:50:030:50:04

of what's known as the Pearl River Delta,

0:50:040:50:06

an economic region that is expanding faster than anywhere else on earth.

0:50:060:50:10

Real estate analyst Marcus Chan

0:50:120:50:14

wants to show me how this city of islands

0:50:140:50:16

is being linked ever more closely to mainland China.

0:50:160:50:19

Right now, the whole greater Pearl River Delta region

0:50:200:50:23

has a population of about 68 million people.

0:50:230:50:26

That's more than the UK.

0:50:260:50:28

-More than that.

-Wow.

0:50:280:50:29

And in a few years' time, in and around 2020,

0:50:290:50:33

the population will probably be about 80 million people.

0:50:330:50:36

The Pearl River Delta region is made up of Hong Kong,

0:50:400:50:43

neighbouring Macau and nine mainland Chinese megacities,

0:50:430:50:48

that have grown massively in the last few decades.

0:50:480:50:50

The Chinese government wants to integrate these,

0:50:510:50:54

making it the biggest megalopolis in the world.

0:50:540:50:58

To do this, they've gone on a hugely ambitious building spree.

0:50:580:51:01

This is the new bridge,

0:51:040:51:05

linking Hong Kong to neighbouring Macau and mainland China.

0:51:050:51:09

It will be the longest sea bridge in the world.

0:51:090:51:11

Whoa!

0:51:130:51:14

That bridge to Macau -

0:51:190:51:21

I can't even see Macau in the distance.

0:51:210:51:23

How long is that bridge going to be?

0:51:240:51:27

In terms of travelling distance, that's over 50km.

0:51:270:51:31

This bridge is very important from a tourism development angle,

0:51:310:51:35

because it will help to link up Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai.

0:51:350:51:39

Macau is the largest gaming city in the world.

0:51:390:51:43

In terms of gaming revenue,

0:51:430:51:45

it's over six times of that in Las Vegas already.

0:51:450:51:48

What? Six times bigger than Vegas already?

0:51:480:51:51

That's it.

0:51:510:51:52

It's the whole world in one Delta.

0:51:520:51:54

Exactly.

0:51:540:51:56

It's only from up here in the sky

0:52:000:52:02

that you get a true sense of the scale of what's going on here.

0:52:020:52:04

The industry, the commerce, the people living here -

0:52:060:52:11

this is like nowhere else I've ever seen,

0:52:110:52:14

it's the heart of the most economically dynamic region

0:52:140:52:18

on planet Earth.

0:52:180:52:19

It's extraordinary.

0:52:190:52:21

But some Hong Kongers worry

0:52:250:52:27

about China's strengthening control over Hong Kong.

0:52:270:52:31

When the British left in 1997,

0:52:310:52:33

the city was guaranteed a high level of autonomy from China.

0:52:330:52:36

Now, Hong Kong people are to run Hong Kong.

0:52:400:52:44

Hong Kong has its own leader, called the Chief Executive,

0:52:470:52:49

a separate legal system, and rights such as free speech -

0:52:490:52:53

but these rights are only guaranteed until 2047,

0:52:530:52:57

and for some, they're already under threat.

0:52:570:52:59

-Nathan, hi.

-Hi, Dan.

0:53:000:53:02

-How are you doing? Nice to meet you.

-I'm good, how are you?

0:53:020:53:05

-What a beautiful day.

-Yeah, it's gorgeous.

0:53:050:53:07

At 23, Nathan Law is an activist

0:53:070:53:09

and one of Hong Kong's youngest politicians.

0:53:090:53:12

We're still in a very unjust and undemocratic system

0:53:140:53:18

that we still cannot vote for our Chief Executive.

0:53:180:53:22

Nathan tells me in 1997 the Chinese government promised Hong Kong

0:53:240:53:28

free leadership elections,

0:53:280:53:30

but today, only a handful of Hong Kongers get to vote,

0:53:300:53:34

while a pro-Chinese committee chooses the leader.

0:53:340:53:38

It really affects the way we perceive ourselves

0:53:380:53:41

whether we could change the society,

0:53:410:53:43

because we couldn't even change the government.

0:53:430:53:46

Like many of his generation,

0:53:480:53:50

Nathan is concerned about losing free speech.

0:53:500:53:53

In 2015, five booksellers were detained by China

0:53:530:53:57

for selling politically sensitive material.

0:53:570:54:01

For Nathan, it's only one example of the city's freedoms being eroded.

0:54:010:54:06

And that is the reason why there are lots of people fighting back

0:54:060:54:10

in Hong Kong - because not only are we losing

0:54:100:54:13

our fundamental human rights, but the Beijing government

0:54:130:54:17

is actually not implementing what they have promised.

0:54:170:54:21

Tensions have run high for years,

0:54:230:54:25

and in 2014 Hong Kong came to a standstill

0:54:250:54:28

when protesters calling for democracy

0:54:280:54:30

occupied its streets for nearly three months.

0:54:300:54:33

Nathan was prosecuted, along with 17 others.

0:54:350:54:38

So, 20 years' time, when you're old, like me...

0:54:430:54:49

..what do you think the government of Hong Kong will be?

0:54:500:54:53

So if you're asking me, like, where will I be 20 years later -

0:54:530:54:58

will I be in prison,

0:54:580:54:59

or will I be living in a free and democratic world...?

0:54:590:55:03

Who knows?

0:55:030:55:04

But, like, one thing I'm certain is, if we don't work hard now,

0:55:040:55:10

if we don't fight now,

0:55:100:55:12

the possibility of getting that bright future

0:55:120:55:15

is getting lower and lower.

0:55:150:55:16

-ADE:

-Sometime after this interview,

0:55:190:55:21

Nathan was jailed once again.

0:55:210:55:24

The uncertainty over Hong Kong's future continues.

0:55:240:55:28

Despite this, on the streets, you can see how proud people are

0:55:300:55:34

of its traditions.

0:55:340:55:36

I don't know where I'm going,

0:55:390:55:40

I'm just getting swept along in the chaos.

0:55:400:55:42

For the end of my journey,

0:55:440:55:46

I've come to the festival of Tin Hau, goddess of the sea.

0:55:460:55:51

In a city so connected to the ocean,

0:55:510:55:54

people here have been celebrating this festival

0:55:540:55:56

on a grand scale for centuries.

0:55:560:55:59

Can I just...

0:55:590:56:00

Oh, wow! That's heavy.

0:56:010:56:04

It's heavy.

0:56:040:56:06

Go, go, go!

0:56:060:56:07

Nearly got him in trouble.

0:56:090:56:10

Everyone is taking part.

0:56:140:56:16

You know what? This place is bonkers.

0:56:220:56:24

It's so spectacular, you don't know where to look -

0:56:240:56:28

there's things going on all over the place.

0:56:280:56:30

Whoa!

0:56:300:56:32

For me, the festival captures the essence of Hong Kong -

0:56:350:56:39

a city where regimes may change, but identity is important.

0:56:390:56:44

-What's your name again?

-Eddie.

0:56:490:56:50

-Eddie?

-Yeah.

-Ade.

0:56:500:56:52

I'm Ade, you're Eddie.

0:56:520:56:54

Well, the Hong Kong people themselves,

0:56:560:56:58

they really enjoy living in Hong Kong.

0:56:580:57:00

They like to live with their whole freedom.

0:57:000:57:02

They are happy, they work hard, they are thankful to the British,

0:57:020:57:05

that provide the framework to us,

0:57:050:57:07

and they work hard to build their own city themselves.

0:57:070:57:10

So you see yourself as Chinese, or Hong Kong?

0:57:100:57:13

Yeah - we are all Chinese, but because we are in Hong Kong,

0:57:130:57:17

so we are also being known as Hong Kongese.

0:57:170:57:20

Hong Kong is a city of contrasts.

0:57:230:57:26

This is where tradition meets modernity,

0:57:260:57:29

where capitalism meets communism,

0:57:290:57:31

where rich meets poor.

0:57:310:57:33

We've seen the skyscrapers...

0:57:350:57:37

and the back lanes.

0:57:370:57:40

The commerce...and the costs.

0:57:400:57:43

China might loom large in Hong Kong's past and present,

0:57:450:57:49

but this is a city founded on opportunity,

0:57:490:57:53

and its people still seem determined for a better future.

0:57:530:57:57

Next time, we're in Mexico City...

0:58:020:58:05

All these colourful houses

0:58:060:58:08

have been self-built, brick by brick, by the residents.

0:58:080:58:11

..exploring the epic sprawl surviving life on the edge...

0:58:120:58:17

I'm feeling more confident about Mexico City's tallest building.

0:58:170:58:20

I think even if there's an earthquake, we're going to be fine.

0:58:200:58:22

You are going to be perfectly safe.

0:58:220:58:25

..uncovering the systems and traditions...

0:58:250:58:27

HORN BLARES

0:58:270:58:29

All right, mate.

0:58:290:58:30

..that make this one of the world's busiest cities.

0:58:300:58:34

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