Everyday, more than 10,000 people are estimated to enter and exit the famous 17-storey building, mostly African and South Asian faces, and everyone out there is to make money: whether it is to offer you a hotel room or to entice you to eat at their restaurant.
Gordon Mathews, an anthropology professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, stayed there for four years as part of his research. He likens Chungking to “a world hub of low-end globalisation,” because traders from developing countries come here to buy goods in demand back home. These deals are often illicit and based on trust, and it’s estimated that at one point, as much as 20% of mobile phones in use in sub-Saharan Africa has been bought from Chungking Mansions.
Despite Chungking’s notorious reputation, don’t worry — it’s actually quite safe. There are around 330 CCTV cameras installed in the building that covers 70% of its public space, so it’s worth a trek to visit Hong Kong’s home grown “little United Nations.”
Source: BBC
Photo: Corekimern12, Wikimedia Commons
