Causeway Bay in Hong Kong
12 June 2019 | Author/Destination: Asia / Asien | Rubric: General, Shopping Reading Time: 9 minutes Causeway Bay is a heavily built-up area of Hong Kong, located on Hong Kong Island, and covering parts of Wan Chai District. The Cantonese name is also romanised as Tung Lo Wan as in Tung Lo Wan Road. The rent in the shopping areas of Causeway Bay was ranked as the world’s most expensive for the second year in a row, after overtaking New York City’s Fifth Avenue in 2012. Causeway Bay borders the Eastern District. Causeway Bay includes Tsing Fung Street, Causeway Bay market, the Victoria Park, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, Jardine’s Noonday Gun, the Police Officers Club, Queen’s College and the Hong Kong Central Library. The western border of Causeway Bay is considered to be marked by Canal Road, which separates it from the Wan Chai area. read more…The European Union: Real Estate and Demography
25 May 2019 | Author/Destination: Knut Wingsch | Rubric: General, Architecture, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union, Living, Working, Building Reading Time: 467 minutes(Latest update: 22 August 2022) First, there is not THE real estate market – not national and certainly not international. In fact, the market situation is very fragmented due to the general conditions, in other words, many individual markets, collectively referred to as “the market”. Metropolitan Area A faces different challenges than Metropolitan Area B and Metropolitan Area C can not even understand what A and B are talking about. Where there is comparability, is the housing situation in the “affordable segment” in urban centers in all western EU states, the US and Canada. This is where the call for the state, which should intervene regulatively, quickly becomes louder. In free market economies, however, this is on the one hand not wanted and therefore on the other hand, only limited possible. That’s pretty okay, because the market is inherently profit-oriented and that’s just what it will stay, otherwise investment incentives for new construction would sooner or later be completely absent. The “rental price brake” (Mietpreisbremse) exemplifies the problem. At the same time, more and more social housing is being let out of the rental price brake without replacement investment being made. In the following, single aspects are examined in more detail using the example of Germany, whereby the scenarios also apply to other western countries such as the EU states, the US, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, but also, e.g., to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul in South Korea, Tel Aviv in Israel and other emerging metropolitan regions around the world. read more…
Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge in China
1 April 2019 | Author/Destination: Asia / Asien | Rubric: General, Architecture, House of the Month Reading Time: 13 minutes The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB) is a 55-kilometre (34 mi) bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest fixed link on earth. The HZMB spans the Lingding and Jiuzhou channels, connecting Hong Kong, Macau, and Zhuhai—three major cities on the Pearl River Delta. The HZMB was designed to last for 120 years and built with a cost of 126.9 billion yuan (US$ 18.77 billion). The cost of constructing the Main Bridge was estimated at 51.1 billion yuan (US$ 7.56 billion) funded by bank loans and shared among the governments of mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau. Originally set to be opened to traffic in late 2016, the structure was completed on 6 February 2018< and journalists were subsequently given rides over the bridge. On 24 October 2018, the HZMB was opened to the public. read more…Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong
22 February 2019 | Author/Destination: Asia / Asien | Rubric: General Reading Time: 12 minutes Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the mainland to the north. The harbour’s deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on the South China Sea were instrumental in Hong Kong’s establishment as a British colony and its subsequent development as a trading centre. The harbour is a major tourist attraction of Hong Kong. Lying in the middle of the territory’s dense urban region, the harbour is the site of annual fireworks displays and its promenades are used as gathering places for tourists and residents. read more…The Hong Kong Jockey Club
7 November 2015 | Author/Destination: Asia / Asien | Rubric: General Reading Time: 8 minutes The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong. Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a horse racing operator and Hong Kong’s largest community benefactor, operating as a non-for-profit organisation. It was granted Royal Charter and renamed to “The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club” in 1959. The name of the institution was reverted to its original name in 1996 due to the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong in 1997. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. Membership in this club is very strict, limited to the moneyed social elite. In the past, this club was reserved for only “old money” families; but currently there are increasing numbers of “newly rich” members. Similar to other elite clubs, Jockey Club membership applicants often must wait for years if not decades to be accepted. What makes it especially difficult to join is that this club does not allow memberships to be bought and sold in the secondary market. The joining membership fee is HK$400,000, with HK$1,800 monthly subscriptions. In addition, every applicant needs the endorsement of two of the only 200 voting members and the support of three other members. read more…Hong Kong Island in the southern part of Hong Kong
20 April 2013 | Author/Destination: Asia / Asien | Rubric: General Reading Time: 6 minutes Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,300,000 and its population density is 16,390/km². The island had a population of 3,000 inhabitants scattered in a dozen fishing villages when it was occupied by the United Kingdom in the First Opium War in 1842, and the City of Victoria was then established on the island by the British Force in honour of Queen Victoria. The Central area on the island is the historical, political and economic centre of Hong Kong. The northern coast of the island forms the southern shore of the Victoria Harbour, which is largely responsible for the development of Hong Kong due to its deep waters favoured by large trade ships. read more…The city of Hong Kong
27 June 2012 | Author/Destination: Asia / Asien | Rubric: General Reading Time: 44 minutes Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions (SARs) of the People’s Republic of China, the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China’s south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of 1,104 km2 (426 sq mi) and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong’s population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong’s Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province. read more…Country overview
9 November 2011 | Author/Destination: Around the World / Rund um die Welt | Rubric: General Reading Time: 5 minutesIn addition to the regular search function, a country overview is available here. Click on the country name to see all currently available blog entries. read more…