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Photo credit: The Art of Mezame (for Marc Nair)
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FLYING GOOSE MOUNTAIN, HONG KONG
Introduced by David McKirdy
My photos are taken from Fei Ngo Shan (Flying Goose Mountain in English) The official English name is Kowloon Peak. This is the highest mountain in the range of hills that encircle the Kowloon Peninsula which gives it its name, as well as supposedly providing prosperity and protection. Kowloon or Gau Loong means “Nine Dragons” and according to the mythology, each mountain in this range contains the spirit of a dragon, if you count them there are only 8 with the 9th being the Emperor in Beijing, who rules over all beings in his realm - even mystical ones.
From the Summit of Fei Ngo Shan to the South you can observe the whole of Kowloon District and hear the dynamo hum of the city. However, from the North you see the sweep of the New Territories and the largely untouched countryside and Country Parks that occupy nearly 50% of our territory. This to me embodies the contradiction and contrast that is Hong Kong, with the cityscape existing right at the edge of nature. On the way up and down the road to the top are temples as well as simple shrines among the rocks. People hike, cycle or drive to the top and collect mountain water for its purity in order to make tea untainted by the chlorine used in our public water supply.
It really is a magical place with a better view than the much more famous Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island.
I have been visiting this spot, sometimes on my bicycle, since I was a lad. I hope this goes some way towards piquing your interest and giving you some insight and inspiration for my favourite place in Hong Kong.
Future of the City
The wind ripples and rolls
up the flanks of Fei Ngo Shan¹
carrying the dynamo hum of the city
perennially awake in the perpetual motion
of toil and trade, earnest endeavour.This tallest dragon of the Kowloon² Range
a sentinel, an integral part
of the Fung Shui that makes our world go round.
Wind and Water
elementally, my dear Foshan³.Buddhist blessings and Taoist talismans
are available here
from the temples and shrines
that occupy the Southern face.A celebration of duality
the dichotomy
of scattered spirituality
where cash is king
of vertical concrete towers
receding into the distance
surrounded by horizontal miles
of flora, fauna
nature in its pomp
punctuated by satellite towns
new villages and villas.
A developer's dream.The dragon's spine –
the line
separating the two –
for now.Something gained and something lost
Perhaps a price too high.
by David McKirdy
Footnotes
Fei Ngo Shan: Flying Goose Mountain (The English name is Kowloon Peak)
Kowloon: a transliteration of the Cantonese “Gau Loong”, meaning “nine dragons”.
Foshan: Buddhist Mountain
From Fei Ngo Shan
Writing the mountain is an act of trust.
May the drifting dragon who circles
these clouds come and bless mountain water
which sweetens the tea, keeps the steps
of weekend hikers light and smiling.May the dragon sing himself from
windswept afternoons into the silence
of pixels; such a fortunate portmanteau:
picture and element deriving deeper,
like the painted rudiments of landscaperesolving between city and hills;
what we have cordoned off from ourselves
and what we allow to devour us.
Along the way, leave an offering
if you can, so you may remainhigh on the dragon’s back long after
you have caught an evening train
back to the narrow streets, teeming
with whispers of flying geese and
the lonely eyes of the emperor.
by Marc Nair
BUGIS, SINGAPORE
Introduced by Marc Nair
Bugis has had a very colourful past, unimaginable for straight-laced Singapore. However, the Bugis of today is unique in a different way. It is a hub for Taoist and Buddhist devotees, as evidenced by one of the images which shows a '“blessings” vending machine. There are also vestiges of older times, with the image of the spiral staircases, which are the back of a series of shophouses that now sell too-cheap products and/or are ramen or mala restaurants. The last image is one that is perhaps not so unique to Bugis, but I enjoyed the juxtaposition of text in it. Bugis, as a microcosm of the country, is always undergoing construction somewhere, but this constant striving for growth, which came at the cost of eradicating its vibrant street life in the 1980s, is perhaps a more honest reflection of how Singapore is today.
Huat Ah!
He watches from inside the vending machine,
a better vantage point then the shelf in the
shop of lesser gods, housed for years
with no view, as the streets were erased,run smooth by concrete and a string of shops
on perpetual discount, as the late-night boys
in their dresses and the bulging sailors
disappeared on the ships that brought them.This is a different world now, he sees, nobody
wants a blessing from his kind, his velvet cape
and plastic staff flimsy against the rush for
for bubble tea and phone covers, a stopat the billboard to read the horoscope
before a foot massage. Nobody comes
to deposit a few coins in exchange
for his wisdom, words to keep a storm at bay.But he knows when you live forever,
the body is just a body and the street
finds a way to sing its siren songs, outlives
the joss sticks burning for success.
by Marc Nair
City of the Future
‘New Asia’, ‘Passion Made Possible’, ‘Surprising Singapore’
alliterative advertising attractions for the modern city.
But what about the past?Glorious, hedonistic, shocking Bugis Street
an Asian Boogie Wonderland
Earth, Wind and Fire
replaced by Wind and Water
the Fung Shui¹ that makes our world go round.A celebration of duality
the dichotomy
of Merlions and Yin and Yang
dancing cheek to cheek amid shop-houses and whore-houses
strange bedfellows.
But while business is booming
governments turn the other cheek.Urban development finally put paid
to a sub-culture that many abhorred.
HRT² replaced by MRT
old habits driven underground
old haunts whitewashed
gentrified with fast food and slow traffic.Now Buddhist blessings and Taoist talismans
are available here
from shopping mall vending machines.Something gained and something lost
perhaps a price too high.
by David McKirdy
Footnotes
Fung Shui (the English literal translation is “Wind Water”): the traditional Chinese practice of ensuring harmony between nature and the living environment
HRT: Hormone Replacement Therapy
