여행을 할수만 있다면, 홍콩은 평생에 최소한 한번쯤은 가볼만한, 그리고 구경한번 해 보라고 추천해주고 싶은, 사람사는 냄새나는, 세계의 날고 긴다하는 사람들이, 장사를 하는 사람들이, 패션을 즐기는 사람들이, 식도락가들이, 중국의 공산당 정부의 산하이면서, 서구자유민주주의가 법으로 보장된 도시국가로, 세계에서 가장 큰 은행들 100개중에서 71개가 이곳에 지점을 개설한, 세계사람들의 사랑을 받는곳이다.
항공여행전문업체 Skytrax는 홍콩공항이 1998년 영업을 시작한 이래, 최고(ranked Hong Kong’s international airport among the best in the world)라고 주저없이 설명하면서, 공항터미널은 긴여행을 마치고 나오자마자 신선한 공기를 마실수 있는 공간으로 여전히 남아 있는 곳이다,라고 극찬한다. 홍콩을 자주 방문하는 여행객들은 공항 이민국에서 eChannel 사용에 등록해두면, 입국 수속을 단 2분만에 마칠수 있는 시스템을 이용, 바로 입국수속이 끝난다.
수속을 마치고 공항을 나오자마자 공항급행버쓰가 홍콩섬까지 승객을 싣고 단 24분만에 홍콩도심지에 도착하는데, Bus Fare는 90홍콩달러($12US)로 택시를 이용할시의 1/3밖에 안된다.
Octopus Card를 이용하면 수시로, 비싸지않고 믿을수있는 MTR지하철을 맘껏 이용할수 있는데, 이카드는 필요시 재충전하여 사용하는 교통카드다. 또한 택시도 불편없이 항상이용할수 있다. 택시는 처음 1.5킬로미터달린후부터 택시미터가 작동하기 시작하는데, 즉 기본요금이 22홍콩달러($2.80 US)이고 그다음부터는 미터기가 작동하는데로 요금이 누적된다.
홍콩에는 전세계적으로 유명한 100대 은행중, 71곳이 홍콩에 지점을 두고 영업중에있다(71 of the world’s 100 largest banks operate out of there). 홍콩은 전세계의 장사를 하기위해 여행을 하는 사람들로 부터 최고의 인기를 얻고있다. 2016년도 1/4분기에만 314,000명이 넘는 비즈니스 여행객들이 모여 회의, 박람회, 정기모임등을 하기위해 모여 들었었다고 한다.
여행을 즐기는 사람들은 꼭 한번씩 방문해 보기를 권한다. 음식값도 무척 저렴했었던 것으로 기억하고, 영어와 중국어가 공용돼고 있는, 편리한 곳이다. 시내뻐스는 영국식으로 Double Deck뻐스로, 그자체로 시내관광여행을 하는셈이 된다.
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170215-is-this-asias-best-stopover-city
항공여행전문업체 Skytrax는 홍콩공항이 1998년 영업을 시작한 이래, 최고(ranked Hong Kong’s international airport among the best in the world)라고 주저없이 설명하면서, 공항터미널은 긴여행을 마치고 나오자마자 신선한 공기를 마실수 있는 공간으로 여전히 남아 있는 곳이다,라고 극찬한다. 홍콩을 자주 방문하는 여행객들은 공항 이민국에서 eChannel 사용에 등록해두면, 입국 수속을 단 2분만에 마칠수 있는 시스템을 이용, 바로 입국수속이 끝난다.
수속을 마치고 공항을 나오자마자 공항급행버쓰가 홍콩섬까지 승객을 싣고 단 24분만에 홍콩도심지에 도착하는데, Bus Fare는 90홍콩달러($12US)로 택시를 이용할시의 1/3밖에 안된다.
Octopus Card를 이용하면 수시로, 비싸지않고 믿을수있는 MTR지하철을 맘껏 이용할수 있는데, 이카드는 필요시 재충전하여 사용하는 교통카드다. 또한 택시도 불편없이 항상이용할수 있다. 택시는 처음 1.5킬로미터달린후부터 택시미터가 작동하기 시작하는데, 즉 기본요금이 22홍콩달러($2.80 US)이고 그다음부터는 미터기가 작동하는데로 요금이 누적된다.
홍콩에는 전세계적으로 유명한 100대 은행중, 71곳이 홍콩에 지점을 두고 영업중에있다(71 of the world’s 100 largest banks operate out of there). 홍콩은 전세계의 장사를 하기위해 여행을 하는 사람들로 부터 최고의 인기를 얻고있다. 2016년도 1/4분기에만 314,000명이 넘는 비즈니스 여행객들이 모여 회의, 박람회, 정기모임등을 하기위해 모여 들었었다고 한다.
여행을 즐기는 사람들은 꼭 한번씩 방문해 보기를 권한다. 음식값도 무척 저렴했었던 것으로 기억하고, 영어와 중국어가 공용돼고 있는, 편리한 곳이다. 시내뻐스는 영국식으로 Double Deck뻐스로, 그자체로 시내관광여행을 하는셈이 된다.
Hong Kong doesn’t need much introduction as a business hub. Trading has always been this city’s lifeblood, from its days as a British-controlled free port to its growth as a global financial hub.
Hong Kong benefits from a strategic location between Japan, China and southeast Asia, which has made it a global travel hub, with just over 70 million air passengers in 2016.
With one of the world’s highest concentrations of banking institutions (71 of the world’s 100 largest banks operate out of there) Hong Kong attracts business travellers from all over the world. In the first quarter of 2016, some 314,000 visitors to the territory came for meetings, conventions and exhibitions.
While banking is still a big part of the city, business travellers of a different stripe are being drawn to an emerging industry in the SAR: the art market.
With Art Basel and other fairs, along with auction houses and an expanding roster of blue-chip art galleries, Hong Kong accounts for a growing chunk of the world’s art market and those who travel to scour it. Based on the value of its auction sales, it is the third-largest art market in the world, after London and New York.
“Money talks,” says Hong Kong-based management consultant Daryl Chan, and if people in Hong Kong can find a business opportunity in something, they will take advantage of it. The ingredients behind the art boom are the same ones that made Hong Kong a global commercial centre in the first place.
“It’s the practicalities of doing business here which makes it easy,” says Chan. Low taxes, easy business registration, a pool of international talent and strong rule of law draw companies to Hong Kong, whether they are in the business of selling paintings or software.
Getting in and around
Air travel consultancy Skytrax has consistently ranked Hong Kong’s international airport among the best in the world since it opened in 1998, and the Lord Norman Foster-designed terminal remains a breath of fresh air after a long flight. Frequent visitors can sign up to use the Immigration Department’s eChannel, which cuts time spent at passport control to just a couple of minutes. Once you’re past customs, the Airport Express whisks you to Hong Kong Island in 24 minutes for HK$90 ($12) – about a third of the price of a taxi.
Once you’re in town, a rechargeable Octopus card gives you access to the frequent, reliable and inexpensive MTR subway system. Taxis are also affordable, with a HK$22 ($2.80) flagfall that includes 1.5km of travel before the meter starts ticking upwards.
Cultural considerations
Before setting foot in Hong Kong, remember you’re going to a Special Administrative Region of China – not mainland China itself. Hong Kong’s British colonial legacy has left it with a different language, currency, legal system and culture than mainland China
While English is prevalent and Mandarin is increasingly common in the business world, Cantonese is Hong Kong’s lingua franca. Ng goiis probably the most useful word you can learn: it can be used to mean “please,” “excuse me” and “thank you” in different contexts.
While Hong Kong is distinct, there is plenty of cultural overlap with the mainland, especially when it comes to the concept of saving face. The worst thing you can do is make your partner or client feel belittled. Concessions, even symbolic ones, are essential to maintaining a good relationship that saves everyone face.
Food is another place where foreign visitors risk a misstep. Business dinners at Chinese restaurants usually involve shared dishes. Courtesy is paramount: make sure to fill your dining companion’s cups with tea or water before filling your own, and don’t take the last piece of food on a dish. Never stick your chopsticks upright in a bowl of rice as this resembles the joss sticks used at a funeral.
Money matters
A surging property market has made Hong Kong one of the most expensive cities in the world, so if you stick to the main business districts, expect eye-watering prices for everything from a cup of coffee to a steak dinner – a report by business-to-business sourcing service Expert Market pegs the average daily cost of a business trip at US$523, compared to $478 in Singapore and $442 in New York.
Many places accept Visa and MasterCard, but not often American Express, and many smaller businesses are cash-only. Automatic teller machines are plentiful around the city, including those for major international institutions like HSBC and Citibank.
Tipping is not customary, though many diners do leave a token gratuity at upscale restaurants. In many restaurants and bars, a 10% service charge is automatically added to the bill.
Where to stay
Hong Kong’s hotel scene was once dominated by big-name brands with opulent but somewhat stodgy interiors, but the industry has been shaken up by punchier new boutique offerings in the past few years.
"The old iconic hotels are updating their interiors and overall offerings because of new independent players in town fighting for the tourist dollar,” says architect JJ Acuna, design principal of JJA/Bespoke Architecture.
Most business travellers stick to the main commercial districts of Central and Wan Chai, where a stable of opulent five-star properties like the Mandarin Oriental, Four Seasons and Grand Hyatt compete with sleek newcomers such as Upper House and Mira Moon.
High rents are increasingly pushing Hong Kong businesses further afield, though, which means an entirely new crop of neighbourhoods now appeal to business visitors. In Quarry Bay, Hotel East is close to the office towers of Taikoo Place and the up-and-coming business district of Kowloon East, while the Ritz-Carlton and W Hotel, located above an Airport Express station, are convenient options for both the International Commerce Centre and Central.
Dining alone
Hong Kong has always been a paradise for food lovers, with acclaimed restaurants at all price points – the 2017 Michelin guide includes 61 starred restaurants, among them famous dim sum chain Tim Ho Wan, where a hearty meal for one costs no more than HK$100 ($13).
The average Hong Kong apartment is just 40 sq m (431 sq ft) in size, so restaurants are packed every night with groups of friends and solo diners alike. There is an abundance of quick and casual neighbourhood restaurants, which serve satisfying bowls of wonton noodles or dishes of Cantonese roast meat and rice for less than HK$45. Try Kau Kee’s curry brisket noodles in Central or, a short walk from there, Yat Lok’s barbecued pork.
In recent years, Hong Kong has seen a boom in casual, yet refined, restaurants helmed by ambitious chefs. At Fish School, David Lai—who trained under famed French chef Alain Ducasse—delivers modern dishes made with local seafood, while up-and-comer May Chow offers a cosmopolitan take on Shanghainese flavours at buzzing gastropub Second Draft.
Off the clock
Business travellers to Hong Kong have always been spoilt for choice when it comes to off-hour activities, whether that means hitting the beach, drinking in one of the city’s many bar districts, hitting the trails in the 440sq km of protected country parks – or some combination of all three.
But Hong Kong’s culture boom has added even more diversions to the mix. International galleries like White Cube, Gagosian and Ben Brown Fine Arts regularly bring big-name artists to town, while local non-profit institutions like Para Site and Spring Workshop are havens for thought-provoking exhibitions.
They will soon be joined by some big new players. Tai Kwun, a contemporary art centre housed in a 19th Century prison compound, will open later this year with 15,000sq m of exhibition space in mysterious black boxes designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron.
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170215-is-this-asias-best-stopover-city
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