Hong Kong World's Busiest Cities

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

..and more of us are moving in.

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

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

It's bonkers!

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

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

-Yep.

These are places bursting with life.

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

HORN BLARES

All right, mate. Ooh.

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

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

This time, we're in Hong Kong,

a city driven skywards by trade and money.

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

uncovering the incredible story of how huge economic freedom

has created a city of contrasts.

Historian Dan Snow reveals how a former British colony

is adapting to life in China's embrace.

This is like nowhere else I've ever seen.

It's the heart of the most economically dynamic region

on planet Earth.

Journalist Ade Adepitan gets carried away

at the city's most popular night out.

Mr Cool! Come on!

Argh!

No devil's going to come near me!

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

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

Go away! Be banished! WOMAN SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

They've gone.

Join us for the adventure of a lifetime,

in the world's busiest cities.

Hong Kong Harbour...

..one of the busiest ports in the world.

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

Today, the OOCL New York is arriving from Singapore.

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

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

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

through these crowded waters.

The ships can carry anything from cars and clothes

to furniture and frozen foods.

Ships like these are the engines that drive global trade.

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

but that skyline keeps catching my attention.

-Isn't it incredible?

-It goes on forever, it goes on forever.

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

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

and that allowed traders from round the world

to keep their ships safe there,

sheltered from typhoons, bad weather,

and exploit the trade of China.

Do you know what this reeks of, Dan?

Fish?

-And money.

-Yeah.

This is the freest economy on earth,

and it's fuelled by trade and finance.

It's why nearly seven and a half million people

cram themselves into Hong Kong's tiny geographical footprint.

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

less than 200 years ago.

Time here is money.

Harbour pilot Sammy Chiu

has guided hundreds of these massive ships into dock.

The cranes at the terminal are ready and waiting.

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

Well, that's the most difficult part,

because it's pinpoint navigation.

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

It can carry nearly 6,000 containers.

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

We are moving centimetres by centimetres.

-Wow.

-Because the ship is so large,

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

How long to unload this ship

and load it back up again with another cargo?

Well, as usual, it takes about ten hours.

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

-this ship will be heading back out to sea?

-Exactly.

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

work together.

Bow hard to starboard.

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

-Stop bow.

-Stop bow.

..taking only 15 minutes.

This is what you call parking.

-Precision parking.

-This is precision parking.

Yeah, it's good, yeah.

HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE

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

to discover the intricate web of daily miracles

that keep this place on track.

Nestled on the coast of south-east China,

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

The city spreads out across Hong Kong Island, Kowloon,

the New Territories

and more than 260 islands.

A cathedral of capitalism on Communist shores.

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

While Dan and Ade head off on their own journeys,

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

joining the crowds on the way to work.

It's Monday morning rush hour.

It's hot, it's humid,

and one of the most densely populated places on earth

is on the move.

Ooh, excuse me.

There are around 42,000 people per square mile

on Hong Kong Island alone.

It's a global financial hub

with people flocking to it from all over the world.

There are offices, apartment blocks, a transport system,

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

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

This is the world's most vertical city.

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

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

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

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

It's still alive!

Oh, look at that!

Oh, it's like a lychee in there.

Oh, that is divine.

Mm!

Tastes like a lychee, a little bit more sour.

I think this is my new most favourite fruit.

This is a city where China meets the West.

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

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

This is a bit...

unusual.

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

Let's find out what's going on.

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

Many big cities have street traders,

but I've never seen anything like this.

Hello. How are you?

Right, better find out what this is.

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

These women can help you get rid of bad luck,

or wish bad luck on others.

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

So, what IS this?

So, do I have villains around me?

Do I have bad energy?

Apparently, devil beating is very popular with commuters,

and it costs £5.

This is unbelievable.

I'm about to have some kind of religious ritual

under a flyover with buses driving past.

-OK, here we go.

-OK, OK...

Keep going?

Come on, then. Come on!

I don't know about beating the devil,

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

After a thorough beating,

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

Go away! Be banished!

They've gone.

Whoo! I feel free. I feel lighter.

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

but in Hong Kong,

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

-DAN:

-While Anita experiences the unique Hong Kong rush hour,

I'm at the port, spending my day

discovering how this place makes its money.

Nine terminals handle an amazing 20 million containers a year.

It's like a different world up here.

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

below us, just a sea of containers,

and these are the building blocks of globalisation.

These are things that carry all the goods

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

all the way from Asian ports to our European ports.

Hong Kong's strategic location in the South China Sea

has long made it an important gateway for trade.

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

porcelain and tea.

They funded their trade with sales of opium.

When the Chinese emperor banned the drug,

the British went to war - and won.

Hong Kong was the prize,

becoming a vibrant outpost of the British Empire.

Now trade is worth nearly £760 billion a year.

I'm usually pretty good with heights,

but there's only a tiny bit of metal

between me and a very, very big drop.

Don't look down.

Crane operators work against the clock to unload each ship.

Every container carries a unique code.

Each of these containers

weighs around about 20 tonnes, give or take,

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

A computer system identifies the most efficient order

for loading and unloading, matching container to truck.

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

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

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

He's very precise.

It's like performing keyhole surgery.

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

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

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

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

Accessing all the trade of China, boxing it up,

and then shipping it abroad.

This place is still doing the job

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

-ADE:

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

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

I'm starting my journey in the central district.

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

The property prices here just make you shake your head.

They're eye-watering!

Look at this one here.

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

As I'm wrapping my head around these figures,

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

What I was trying to understand is,

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

-Yeah.

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

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

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

part of the lift that you're using,

part of the windowsill that...

-Everything's been calculated.

-You can't live on the windowsill.

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

you can't sit on a windowsill.

So this is what you can enjoy, the net.

This is the most expensive real estate in the world.

In Hong Kong, homes cost 18 times more

than an average family's income.

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

With space at a premium,

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

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

where the Leung family have a two-bedroom flat.

-Ken.

-Nice to meet you, Ken.

They share their home with four other relatives,

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

Wow!

It really looks like something futuristic

that should be on Mars or on the moon.

They've installed sleeping pods in the front room,

effectively giving them two extra bedrooms.

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

-On the lower deck. Yeah.

-Yeah, on the lower.

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

-I like it.

-Yeah?

Yeah, I enjoy sleep here.

Just like...in the spaceship.

-Yes!

-THEY LAUGH

The pods cost just over £1,000,

much cheaper than renting or buying more space.

-It's quite firm.

-Yes.

Oh, yes.

-The light is really relaxing, actually...

-Yes.

-Yes.

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

because I can sit up.

How difficult is it for a family

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

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

you save all the money.

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

It's very, very expensive.

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

and you can lock it here.

-How do you pull it up?

-Yes...

-I'm stuck! Help!

Goodnight!

THEY LAUGH

The Leungs are lucky.

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

The poorer you are, the less space you have.

So, I'm just about to meet a guy

who lives in what they call a cage community here -

and he lives here because property's so expensive,

this is all he can afford.

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

At first, there seems nothing unusual about this building.

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

that I realise just how small his home is.

Wow. Now, I wasn't expecting that.

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

but there's actually two doors here.

Can we come in?

This used to be just an ordinary flat,

but a private landlord has illegally divided it into bed spaces

that are no larger than a cupboard.

Nice to meet you.

-Bob Marley...

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

Ade, Ade.

Alan has lived here for three years.

He says 11 people live in this corridor alone,

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

Tell me about where you live.

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

Just in this space?

And your kitchen? Where do you go for that?

So, where do you go for food then?

Alan works as a dishwasher.

He pays £180 a month to live here.

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

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

this was the only place he could afford.

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

It's so small.

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

in this small space.

More than two million people already live in public housing

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

Is this normal here in Hong Kong?

Alan's case might seem extreme,

but over 200,000 people

are estimated to live in places like this.

This space here is someone else's living quarters.

It's incredible.

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

for a day, let alone years.

It shocks me to see Alan's living situation.

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

there's also inequality.

Hong Kong's runaway capitalism

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

but this success comes at a price.

Hong Kong is a city where money matters.

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

despite what the costs might be.

It has its own stock exchange, its own currency,

and one of the highest concentrations

of banking institutions in the world.

And there's one bank that's more intertwined

with the history of this place than any other.

HSBC is a banking name known around the world -

but few people realise what the initials stand for.

This is the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation,

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

-Wow.

-Welcome.

-Thank you very much.

-We're going to go round here.

Helen Swinnerton is the head of archives here at HSBC,

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

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

-Is this what Hong Kong used to look like?

-It is.

-This is the 1860s.

-Oh, magic.

These are some of the very first

photographs of Hong Kong,

when it was first established

by the British as a free port,

where people of any nationality could come and trade.

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

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

It was a really busy, bustling harbour,

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

Banking business would go via head offices in London.

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

It would have taken over 50 days

for that mail to reach London from Hong Kong.

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

that would be run by Hong Kong merchants.

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

from Europe, India and China.

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

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

to build the colony, to build infrastructure -

-the whole thing's developing hand in hand.

-Absolutely.

As Hong Kong became richer,

it wasn't just merchants who flocked here.

This is HSBC's very first customer ledger.

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

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

-There's an engineer here.

-Engineer.

You've got here "Architect"...

Hong Kong is being built and run by these people.

So, it's not just for wealthy merchants -

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

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

Yeah, absolutely.

An economy sets up around the trade.

-ADE:

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

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

I'm headed across town to Happy Valley Racecourse.

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

It was first introduced by colonial Brits.

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

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

Hi Ade, I'm Cake.

Cake? As in cake?

-Yeah, a piece of cake.

-Is it an unusual name?

It is just my nickname!

-Yeah.

-It's a cool name.

-Thank you!

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

Racing specialist Cake Wong

is here to help people place their bets.

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

Er... Yeah!

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

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

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

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

-Yeah.

As the horses are paraded in the paddock,

the punters select their favourites.

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

What do you look for in a horse?

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

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

-What is it?

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

Some horses, really muscular.

The horses can be worth millions,

and the jockeys are treated like superstars.

Jockey is important.

You know Joao Moreira?

He's the Brazilian?

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

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

Number 5 is quite good.

Yeah, number 5 looks good...

-Yeah.

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

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

He's walking peaceful.

What is your number 5 called?

Great Joy.

And the jockey of number 5 is Joao.

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

You weren't even going by the horse!

-It's cos it's Joao.

-No!

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

He had a purple mask.

That's cool.

Number 10 is called Mr Cool.

-Mr Cool?

-Yeah.

-Boom!

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

Yeah.

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

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

who own the racecourse.

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

I notice your entrance fee

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

What is it? 85p or something?

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

It's just a completely different model

to the way that racing works in the UK.

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

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

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

Gambling is banned in mainland China,

but the level of autonomy agreed in the handover

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

but also a hugely profitable enterprise.

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

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

So, it's about £21 billion.

Wow.

Wow!

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

As a night out, Happy Valley seems to embody

the very spirit of Hong Kong.

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

Oh, and, of course, racing.

Come on, Mr Cool!

Mr Cool is in the lead!

-Yeah!

-Yes!

Where's Great Joy? Great sadness.

-COMMENTATOR:

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

-looking for this elusive victory...

-Yes! Go on, son!

Inside the final 200.

Mr Cool the leader,

but Amazing Feeling now looks to draw alongside...

Hold on, son!

-Mr Cool and Amazing Feeling...

-Mr Cool!

Come on!

Mr Cool, Amazing Feeling, up to the line.

Going to be tight...

Argh!

It's so close!

-Yeah!

-It's so close!

-Came second.

-Yeah! Second.

-Yes!

-That's not bad!

-Yeah!

I used my intuition.

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

One athlete to another - I know.

So, you know the excitement?

-Yeah.

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

It would have been even more exciting

-if I'd put money on the horse.

-Yeah. Yeah!

As we explore this city by night and by day,

we're discovering that Hong Kong

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

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

to find out how economic freedoms

have made this a truly international city.

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

Chungking Mansions - and it's open all hours.

Lovely to meet you, Gordon.

-Good to meet you, Anita.

-Good to see you.

My guide is Professor Gordon Mathews,

an American anthropologist who has studied this place for years.

What is this place, Chungking Mansions?

This is a building in the middle of downtown Hong Kong

that is basically the centre of Indians, Pakistanis,

Africans, south-east Asians, in Hong Kong.

It's the most international building in Hong Kong

and maybe on the planet.

Chungking Mansions was built in 1961.

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

guesthouses and, downstairs, a thriving shopping arcade.

Look at that!

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

than I've seen on the entire trip.

That's because this is Chungking Mansions!

Chungking Mansions has always opened its doors to everyone,

earning it a notorious reputation in the past -

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

Today, people from more than a hundred countries

work, shop and stay here.

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

Yes. Yes, this is exactly globalisation in action -

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

-No.

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

this is the globalisation of individual, ambitious entrepreneurs

just trying to make a better life for themselves.

This is what I call low-end globalisation.

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

Like many other cities,

Hong Kong has always been a haven for migrants.

Sat Sri Akal, Uncle-ji.

THEY SPEAK PUNJABI

I find a Punjabi shop owner

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

What is Chungking Mansions?

SHE SPEAKS PUNJABI

Yes.

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

Is there a big Indian community here?

Yeah, we have about...

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

to curry and computer parts -

and its proximity to mainland China

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

And this is where you can get basically anything

that's made in China.

"Made in China"...

"Made in China."

Go. "Made in China."

It's a real melting pot.

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

-Yes.

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

-with all the skyscrapers...

-Yes.

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

-Yes -

and one more here.

He might want to talk.

Nelson, you know more languages than anybody else.

-Hello, Nelson. How are you?

-Hello. Acha.

Anita. Pleased to meet you. Acha.

Salam Alaikum.

SHE SPEAKS URDU

My goodness, you speak Urdu.

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

Nelson was born in Hong Kong in 1947,

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

Around 10,000 people come here every day,

and Nelson has something for everyone.

Have you got anything with Bruce Lee on it?

I'm a big, big Bruce Lee fan.

-There we go.

-Oh, that's very cool!

And it's all made in China.

You were born in England, right?

I was born in England, yes.

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

-She loves Cliff Richard!

-This my idol.

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

-Cliff Richard, right.

-Yeah, come on.

-18 years old.

# Crying, talking

# Sleeping, walking

-BOTH:

-# Living doll! #

Bravo! Bravo.

Nelson is just one of hundreds of traders here.

It's like a city within a city.

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

is on the make.

-Nobody comes to Hong Kong to retire or relax.

-Yeah.

They have come here to make something of their lives.

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

This is legitimate business.

-They're hustling.

-Yeah, they're hustling -

-and hustling in...

-In a positive...

-..the best sense of the word.

-In the best sense. Absolutely.

-Yeah.

In the bright neon of a Hong Kong night,

Chungking Mansions is a beacon of opportunity

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

-DAN:

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

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

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

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

Too many to count.

We were just travelling around,

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

Well, a kind of huge gathering of homeless people,

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

and actually, these people are all in domestic service.

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

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

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

so they come here into this public space,

and hang out with their friends.

This is one of Hong Kong's main thoroughfares,

but today it's turned into a makeshift village

built with cardboard and tents.

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

Hah!

Because it's our holiday.

Every Sunday, it's our holiday.

And have you anywhere else to go?

No.

Sometimes we go to church in the morning

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

because tonight, we go back to our...

-You go back to work?

-Yeah, to work.

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

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

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

they come here to be together and share stories.

I think this gives you an impression

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

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

in the flats of the people they work for,

or they just have to sleep on the kitchen floor.

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

onto the pavements, public spaces.

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

looking after other people's children

while hardly ever seeing their own.

When was the last time you saw your children?

-One year.

-One year?

-Yeah. Every year, we go home.

You go once a year?

Is it very sad being away from your children?

Yeah, of course. Very lonely -

but we have to, we need to work.

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

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

they literally have nowhere else to go.

I've got mixed feelings about it, really.

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

just gathering together and having a laugh,

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

through the week, and away from home -

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

these guys have, particularly when you factor in

that some of them, many of them,

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

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

These women are paid only about £400 a month,

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

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

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

Hong Kong's wealth attracts workers from everywhere.

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

Poon Subash is from Nepal.

In a city of more than 300 skyscrapers,

the International Commerce Centre,

ICC, is the tallest, at 490 metres.

Poon is one of its ten window cleaners.

The cradles may be hi-tech,

but cleaning is still done the old-fashioned way.

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

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

The window cleaners work full-time,

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

It takes them two months to complete,

then they start all over again.

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

Like Poon, most are children or grandchildren

of the famous Gurkha Brigade,

who helped guard the border to Communist China

before the 1997 handover.

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

Metal and glass skyscrapers dominate the skyline

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

..but propping up all this modernity,

I've noticed another ancient tradition -

scaffolding made from bamboo.

On my last day in this gravity-defying city,

I'm going to find out how it builds tall

by blending the old and the new.

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

whose team is hard at work on a new school.

This is Master... Master On.

-Master...

-On.

-Master On.

-O-N, On.

Pleased to meet you.

-This is Wong.

-Hello.

-W-O-N-G, Wong.

-A young man.

-How old are you?

-27.

And how about you, Master On,

how many years have you been working in construction?

Ha-ha-ha! More than...

More than 30 years, I think.

-More than 30 years?

-He's now reached the age of 64.

So, he's teaching the young guys.

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

where are the screws?

The screws, to keep the bamboo together.

-What do you mean by that?

-I mean, how is it staying together?

It's a PE, PP co-polymer.

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

-Polymer.

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

Francis says he invented this plastic polymer

to replace the traditional bamboo skin,

which would cut the scaffolders' hands.

So you've got it...?

Master On shows me the ingenious principle

that holds the scaffolding together.

One, two, three. Go!

-OK.

-Mm-hm.

It takes just a few twists.

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

-I mean...

-Yeah. Yeah, OK.

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

-No, no, no, no.

-It's a matter of friction.

-Friction.

You push it this way...

Push it this way.

-Ah, ah.

-That's amazing.

And that's it.

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

is held together.

Bamboo is cheap, flexible and sustainable -

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

with nearly 2,000 bamboo scaffolders

working on even the tallest of buildings.

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

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

Central, er, Plaza.

Un...believable.

The wind there is very strong!

SHE LAUGHS

I want to give it a go.

Right, I'm going to try this.

Oh...

HE SPEAKS CANTONESE

Yes.

OK. Yes, master.

You understand Cantonese now?!

Yeah, I do.

Basically what I understood was,

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

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

Together - and then pull it this way.

-All right. Good?

-Good.

-Have I passed?

-Yeah, pass.

Can I join the team?

Pass, pass. Yeah.

-And jump on it...

-Very good!

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

Ooh!

Not THAT good.

-ADE:

-As Hong Kong's building boom continues,

space here is in even shorter supply -

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

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

to see how life has sprung up between the cracks.

Amongst Hong Kong's forest of ultramodern skyscrapers,

I find a hidden world.

Here the streets are heaving with vendors and market stalls,

little businesses squeezed into the smallest of spaces.

Trade at this shoe shining stall is brisk.

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

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

He's been here for 17 years.

Hey, hello, how are you?

Tell me about your customers -

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

For Ming, shoe shining has provided a respectable living -

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

Yeah...

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

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

But this is part of the culture of Hong Kong,

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

it'll be like Hong Kong is losing something.

Yeah, maybe, maybe.

As I wend my way through these alleyways

it's like travelling through time.

Moments away from the main streets, yet worlds apart.

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

They are traditional hot food hawkers

licensed by the local government.

Whoa, it's alive!

It doesn't get any fresher than this.

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

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

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

or even a year.

Today, there are just 23 dai pai dongs left.

Thank you.

It is all really, really flavoursome -

and I think what adds to the authenticity

and just makes it feel so genuine is the location.

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

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

As night falls, it starts to rain...

Hong Kong style...

THUNDER RUMBLES

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

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

Hello!

Agh! I'm stuck.

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

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

can you do one for me?

-Yes, OK.

-Yeah?

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

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

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

while people walk through his shop.

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

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

When he died three years ago, Mark took over.

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

so Mark learnt in an unconventional way.

-YouTube?

-Yep.

-Wow!

How many mistakes did you make on people's hair

before you got it right?

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

Long on the sides!

-And bald...!

-You want to try?

ADE LAUGHS

The thought of these early customers' funny haircuts

is just too much.

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

-DAN:

-Hong Kong is a city that defies expectations.

Where traders in back lanes hustle for business

next to soaring skyscrapers.

But beneath the vibrant exterior

there's an undercurrent of huge political change.

All right, here we go.

Cool.

Since the handover in 1997,

China has been wrapping Hong Kong in its embrace.

As I near the end of my time here,

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

Hong Kong sits at the mouth

of what's known as the Pearl River Delta,

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

Real estate analyst Marcus Chan

wants to show me how this city of islands

is being linked ever more closely to mainland China.

Right now, the whole greater Pearl River Delta region

has a population of about 68 million people.

That's more than the UK.

-More than that.

-Wow.

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

the population will probably be about 80 million people.

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

neighbouring Macau and nine mainland Chinese megacities,

that have grown massively in the last few decades.

The Chinese government wants to integrate these,

making it the biggest megalopolis in the world.

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

This is the new bridge,

linking Hong Kong to neighbouring Macau and mainland China.

It will be the longest sea bridge in the world.

Whoa!

That bridge to Macau -

I can't even see Macau in the distance.

How long is that bridge going to be?

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

This bridge is very important from a tourism development angle,

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

Macau is the largest gaming city in the world.

In terms of gaming revenue,

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

What? Six times bigger than Vegas already?

That's it.

It's the whole world in one Delta.

Exactly.

It's only from up here in the sky

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

The industry, the commerce, the people living here -

this is like nowhere else I've ever seen,

it's the heart of the most economically dynamic region

on planet Earth.

It's extraordinary.

But some Hong Kongers worry

about China's strengthening control over Hong Kong.

When the British left in 1997,

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

Now, Hong Kong people are to run Hong Kong.

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

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

but these rights are only guaranteed until 2047,

and for some, they're already under threat.

-Nathan, hi.

-Hi, Dan.

-How are you doing? Nice to meet you.

-I'm good, how are you?

-What a beautiful day.

-Yeah, it's gorgeous.

At 23, Nathan Law is an activist

and one of Hong Kong's youngest politicians.

We're still in a very unjust and undemocratic system

that we still cannot vote for our Chief Executive.

Nathan tells me in 1997 the Chinese government promised Hong Kong

free leadership elections,

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

while a pro-Chinese committee chooses the leader.

It really affects the way we perceive ourselves

whether we could change the society,

because we couldn't even change the government.

Like many of his generation,

Nathan is concerned about losing free speech.

In 2015, five booksellers were detained by China

for selling politically sensitive material.

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

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

in Hong Kong - because not only are we losing

our fundamental human rights, but the Beijing government

is actually not implementing what they have promised.

Tensions have run high for years,

and in 2014 Hong Kong came to a standstill

when protesters calling for democracy

occupied its streets for nearly three months.

Nathan was prosecuted, along with 17 others.

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

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

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

will I be in prison,

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

Who knows?

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

if we don't fight now,

the possibility of getting that bright future

is getting lower and lower.

-ADE:

-Sometime after this interview,

Nathan was jailed once again.

The uncertainty over Hong Kong's future continues.

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

of its traditions.

I don't know where I'm going,

I'm just getting swept along in the chaos.

For the end of my journey,

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

In a city so connected to the ocean,

people here have been celebrating this festival

on a grand scale for centuries.

Can I just...

Oh, wow! That's heavy.

It's heavy.

Go, go, go!

Nearly got him in trouble.

Everyone is taking part.

You know what? This place is bonkers.

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

there's things going on all over the place.

Whoa!

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

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

-What's your name again?

-Eddie.

-Eddie?

-Yeah.

-Ade.

I'm Ade, you're Eddie.

Well, the Hong Kong people themselves,

they really enjoy living in Hong Kong.

They like to live with their whole freedom.

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

that provide the framework to us,

and they work hard to build their own city themselves.

So you see yourself as Chinese, or Hong Kong?

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

so we are also being known as Hong Kongese.

Hong Kong is a city of contrasts.

This is where tradition meets modernity,

where capitalism meets communism,

where rich meets poor.

We've seen the skyscrapers...

and the back lanes.

The commerce...and the costs.

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

but this is a city founded on opportunity,

and its people still seem determined for a better future.

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

All these colourful houses

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

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

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

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

You are going to be perfectly safe.

..uncovering the systems and traditions...

HORN BLARES

All right, mate.

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