Hong Kong 04 Wal

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-Welcome to a new series of 04Wal.

-This special programme

-comes to you from Hong Kong.

-We'll visit The Peninsula, one of

-the Far East's most plush hotels.

-This building combines the romance

-of yesteryear with modern design.

-A landscape architect

-called Sion Edwards...

-..will show us examples of his work

-and we're also invited to his home.

-First stop, the flat Beks Walters

-shares with Rhodri and Ela.

-Their flat is outside the centre

-of Hong Kong, on the south coast...

-..in a town called Stanley.

-What are the main differences

-between living here and Cardiff?

-Well, obviously,

-the weather's quite different!

-It's sunny here all the year round,

-more or less.

-It's autumn now and it's lovely -

-not too hot.

-I have a busy social life,

-just as I did in Cardiff.

-Many people who live here are

-separated from their close families.

-Your friends

-then become your surrogate family.

-Hong Kong attracts young people

-from foreign lands.

-It's busy

-and there's a real buzz here.

-If you like New York,

-you'll love Hong Kong.

-It's like being in Spain!

-You're 100 yards from the sea

-and you live on the roof.

-Yes, we eat out here.

-We have Sunday brunch here.

-You have lots of lovely plants here.

-You must choose plants carefully

-because the weather varies so much.

-We have typhoons in the summer -

-lots of rain and lots of sunshine.

-This flat is 1500 square feet.

-It's quite big, for Hong Kong.

-We needed a spacious home because

-Ela was used to having space.

-What have you done

-with all the stuff you left behind?

-I rented out my house in Cardiff, so

-the bulky furniture is still there.

-Things like sofas, the dining tables

-and the beds are still there.

-I also shipped lots of things

-over here.

-Paint turned out to be

-extremely important.

-I scoured the streets here for weeks

-before we moved in...

-..in search of yellow paint.

-I couldn't find any, so I had

-this yellow paint shipped over.

-Almost every flat over here is white

-and I wanted an element of colour.

-This is quite a large room,

-so the colour added warmth to it.

-It made it feel much more homely.

-We wanted to have

-pieces of Welsh art in our home.

-Our house is very eclectic.

-There's a red dragon

-on the television.

-There are Welsh things everywhere,

-especially in Ela's room.

-It's a very open room.

-Yes, it feels very spacious.

-Flats can feel claustrophobic

-but that isn't the case here.

-This room in north facing...

-..but the light that does come in

-reflects off this shiny floor.

-Yes, we're very lucky

-to have these wooden floors.

-You often see quality wooden floors

-in the flats of Hong Kong.

-You watch television over there

-and you eat over here.

-Yes, that's right.

-This dining set comes from Macau...

-..a small country

-an hour away on the hovercraft.

-It has a Portuguese feel

-because it was a Portuguese colony.

-It's back in Chinese hands but

-the Portuguese influence remains.

-This is the master bedroom.

-Several pieces in here

-suggest we're in Hong Kong.

-This bed comes from China.

-The wooden cabinets with

-the brass handles come from Macau.

-There's a small corner

-of Wales here!

-This is a picture

-of Y Parog, Newport.

-This is a picture of Mwnt,

-which is dear to Beks and Rhodri.

-The wooden floor is beautiful.

-These lovely curtains

-mask the wardrobes.

-Is furniture

-easy to come by in Hong Kong?

-Yes, it's readily available

-but everything is expensive here.

-There are several antique shops

-on Hollywood Road.

-My favourite shop

-is called Shambala.

-I bought that sideboard from there.

-I love it!

-It's an early 20th century piece

-from the Shanxi Province.

-There are

-some modern pieces here, too.

-We don't have many modern pieces...

-..but we have bought some

-modern pieces with a Chinese twist.

-They include

-that enormous, silver beanbag.

-I bought it in a shop called G-O-D,

-or Goods of Desire.

-There are four G-O-D shops

-in Hong Kong...

-..and I can't go there without

-spending a couple of hundred!

-They're great shops.

-Beks and I left the flat...

-..and we went on a shopping spree

-in central Hong Kong.

-First stop, 'Shambala' -

-a huge furniture warehouse.

-They sell goods from China

-and the rest of Asia.

-Have you bought

-a lot of furniture here?

-Yes, quite a lot.

-The small desks and the bookcase

-came from Shambala.

-Everything in here

-is quite expensive.

-Yes, it's quite an expensive shop.

-They offer

-a wide selection of pieces...

-..and it's not as expensive

-as the antique shops in town.

-This shape of box

-is very common in China.

-It curves downwards in the middle.

-That isn't an old one

-because it costs 35.

-The writing inside the box

-makes it look old.

-They're rich colours, aren't they?

-They're rich colours, aren't they?

-

-Yes - it's lovely.

-A thing of beauty is a joy for ever!

-You're not wrong.

-We moved on from antiques to focus

-on some 21st century furniture.

-G-O-D offers a modern interpretation

-of Hong Kong culture.

-This shop

-is called 'Goods of Desire'...

-..and it's in stark contrast to

-the antique shops we just visited.

-Yes, the shop was designed

-by a man called Douglas...

-..and he wanted to prove you can

-create contemporary pieces...

-..that also have a strong,

-Chinese flavour.

-He wanted to do for Hong Kong

-what Conran has done for London.

-I think he's achieved his goal.

-I'll buy

-these Double Happiness candles.

-They'd be perfect for our bedroom.

-A very traditional, Chinese symbol.

-Living on the South Side makes us

-feel we're on a permanent holiday!

-It's a seaside town

-and it makes us feel really good.

-Working in Hong Kong

-is very exciting.

-It's more exciting than Britain.

-Things tend to move faster here.

-Is this a long-term move?

-Will you stay in Hong Kong?

-Work is going extremely well for me

-and Beks is just finding her feet.

-We plan to stay here

-for the next three or four years...

-..with a little bit of luck.

-What then? Back to Llandysul?

-What then? Back to Llandysul?

-

-Yes, apparently so!

-What then? Back to Llandysul?

-We're looking at a farm there

-at the moment.

-I'll milk the cows

-every Sunday morning!

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-04Wal has taken you to see houses

-in all four corners of the world.

-The Peninsula is a hotel...

-..but it's a temporary home

-for thousands of visitors each year.

-Down, tiger!

-In a place where land is

-so expensive and in such demand...

-..it's incredible to see

-such an enormous lobby.

-The Peninsula was built at a time...

-..when it took four months

-to travel across the world.

-You needed a sit-down

-by the time you got here!

-The Kadoorie brothers

-built The Peninsula in 1928.

-The 1920s were exciting times for

-the expats who lived in Hong Hong.

-The First World War had ended and

-the British Empire was still intact.

-The well-heeled would gather here to

-dance the Charleston and drink tea.

-Tourists now drink tea

-in this splendid lobby...

-..eat in the restaurants

-and choose from over 300 bedrooms.

-HE CHUCKLES

-Oh! Dear me!

-This is the bedroom.

-Oh, I say!

-Comfortable furniture

-and a television.

-This bed is like a football pitch!

-You won't fall out of it, no matter

-how much you toss and turn!

-Wow!

-Acres of marble and

-a jacuzzi bigger than the harbour!

-If you don't want everyone

-to see your assets...

-Isn't that amazing?

-When you're bored with

-your palatial room...

-..you can eat in one of

-the hotel's seven restaurants.

-Failing that,

-you could opt for a cup of tea.

-Even that's complicated.

-They sell

-25 different kinds of tea here!

-Eeny, meeny, miny, mo.

-It smells like soap

-but doesn't taste like soap!

-Very nice!

-The Felix restaurant,

-on the top floor...

-..is in contrast to the colonial

-atmosphere of the rest of the hotel.

-It's a clean, sleek, modern design.

-It's very contemporary...

-..and it's organic, in shape.

-The typical Philippe Starck

-idiosyncratic touches are evident.

-Faces on the chairs, for example.

-That's all from The Peninsula.

-It sums up Hong Kong, in a nutshell.

-A mixture of the colonial

-and the modern.

-Sion Edwards lives a short distance

-from the centre of Hong Kong...

-..close to the new airport.

-He lives somewhere up there,

-in that nest of flats.

-When did you

-move to Hong Kong, Sion?

-About 14 years ago.

-What brought you here?

-I was living in New Zealand

-for three years.

-I won a scholarship

-to study landscape architecture...

-..at the university.

-I stopped off in Hong Kong,

-on my way back to London.

-Someone suggested

-I could find work in Hong Kong...

-..so I came here for a week

-and I'm still here, 14 years later!

-Obviously, you've taken to life

-in a tower block, like this.

-Was it a shock to the system?

-Yes, it was a shock to the system

-when I first moved here.

-You must adapt and get used

-to living in fairly small rooms.

-There's very little

-storage space here.

-You must find a place to put

-furniture you only use occasionally.

-You only need some things

-for a few days at a time.

-You must adjust before you can

-live in a flat such as this.

-It's completely different

-from living in a house.

-Your life revolves around

-the work you do in Hong Kong.

-Most people only use their flats

-as a place to sleep.

-They don't use them

-as a place to relax...

-..and they don't host

-dinner parties in their flats.

-You use your flat in a different way

-here - compared to Britain.

-Sion is a landscape architect...

-..and he's designed some of

-Hong Kong's most ambitious projects.

-This includes

-the International Finance Centre.

-This is

-Hong Kong's tallest building...

-..and you were part of the team

-that worked on this tower.

-I started working on the project of

-designing and reclaiming the land...

-..along the coast

-of Hong Kong Island 14 years ago.

-Hong Kong has developed

-through the reclamation of land...

-..as there's so little land

-between the sea and the mountains.

-As you look across the city...

-..you can see the towers

-competing against each other.

-It's a Hong Kong tradition.

-We're on the terrace

-at the Finance Centre.

-Sion chose the materials and

-designed the fountains and seats.

-In Tung Chung Crescent,

-where Sion lives...

-..he designed the landscape

-surrounding the development.

-Are the blocks of flats

-in which you live fully occupied?

-Yes, although it took

-a couple of years to fill them.

-A couple of thousand people

-live here.

-It's built in a crescent shape...

-..and it's a development that has

-won the admiration of local people.

-There's limited room...

-..so you must utilise the space

-as efficiently as possible.

-I take it, this is where you dine

-when you invite your friends round.

-Yes, we invite people round

-for dinner, from time to time.

-It's a striking table.

-It's a striking table.

-

-This is an office desk.

-It was designed by Norman Foster,

-or Lord Foster as he is now known.

-It was designed by an architect and

-I like it because it's quite open.

-You can see its supports

-and that appeals to me.

-These are 1960s chairs.

-They were designed by

-an American called Charles Eames.

-I like the fact

-that these are very light...

-..compared with the heavy chairs

-we have over here.

-These are leather chairs.

-They have two legs.

-The rear leg is like a steel fin.

-These chairs were designed

-by Philippe Starck of Paris.

-It's almost like a museum,

-or an art gallery!

-It isn't supposed to be

-like a museum!

-We use everything.

-I've tried to collect pieces

-that are of interest to me...

-..especially

-from a design perspective.

-What about the works of art,

-on the walls?

-I collect works of art, when I'm

-on my travels around the world.

-This comes from New Zealand.

-A lot comes from New Zealand.

-Art is cheaper there than here!

-You sit in this area

-to relax, obviously.

-Yes, we sit here

-to relax and watch television.

-The television is one of the

-most important things in the room!

-It's a plasma screen television,

-so it's only 50mm thick.

-Its design

-makes it a sculpture, almost...

-..and it goes well

-with the rest of the room.

-This rug is very striking.

-Yes, you're right.

-What wonderful colours!

-This is the work of Richard Killeen,

-an artist from New Zealand.

-He's developed

-quite a surreal style...

-..and he uses the shapes of insects

-in his work.

-You have a wonderful view from here.

-Yes, we look out at Sunset Peak and

-Lantau Peak, behind the building.

-We have lots of typhoons

-in the summer...

-..and you can see waterfalls

-cascading down the mountain.

-This is the spare bedroom,

-which is used as a dressing room.

-The bathroom is neat and tidy.

-This is the only bedroom

-that's used as a bedroom.

-The bed is plain and simple.

-This is the only souvenir of Wales

-in this flat.

-It came from Melin Tregwynt.

-He sleeps under a bit of Wales

-every night...

-..and the light shade

-is a brass mosquito net.

-It diffuses the light

-in a very interesting fashion.

-That's it -

-plain, simple and efficient.

-I moved to Tung Chung because

-I wanted to move out of the city.

-I lived in the city

-for seven or eight years...

-..and, in effect,

-I've moved to the countryside!

-A country cottage!

-Yes, this flat

-is my country cottage.

-Are you hoping to move

-to another country, when you retire?

-Yes, it would be hard

-to retire in Hong Kong.

-It's too expensive.

-I'd prefer to move away from here

-when I retire.

-I may move back to Wales,

-or I may go back to New Zealand.

-S4C subtitles by

-Eirlys A Jones