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China: Your next shopping destination!
Mix Hong Kong's cosmopolitan vibe with Beijing's cultural heritage for the ultimate travel experience.
By Line Abrahamian
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Where Home to 1.3 billion people, the People's Republic of China is the world's most populous country.
Your guide Crystal Kwok, 38, Hong Kong-based writer, TV talk show host and director, producer and writer of the award-winning film The Mistress. Kwok's work-in-progress is a documentary that highlights the similarities between Jewish and Chinese cultures.
Girl talk "Hong Kong men know how to open doors and pay for meals, but they don't know how to nurture a relationship," reveals Kwok. "Beijing intellectuals may lack grooming and style, but they can be very charming and good at conversation."
What to wear "A bra! Personal parts shouldn't be suggestively displayed," says Kwok. Last year, Chinese officials requested that Britney Spears not show too much skin for her tour stop in Beijing. Kwok says people in Hong Kong also have a problem with overt sexuality. "My talk show was controversial because we discussed taboo subjects like sex. Chinese people don't usually talk about these things in public."
Local lore If you have space between your fingers when they're closed (palms up), that means money slips easily through them. You must adorn them with jewels to close the gaps--preferably with gold. The irony is not lost on the Chinese that by splurging on gold rings, money has actually slipped faster through your fingers than if you hadn't had to buy the rings in the first place.
Hong Kong
Where Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong, on China's south coast--a high-octane cosmopolitan centre and former British colony.
Big picture Feng shui-inspired architecture, bright neon signs, scurrying pedestrians and bustling harbour traffic. Modern and traditional stand shoulder to shoulder, symbolized by the bamboo scaffolding covering partly built skyscrapers.
Style "Hong Kong is a great place to shop," says Kwok, "especially for well-known fashion brands."Fashionistas show off their designer threads as a sign of prosperity, and international designers like Giorgio Armani, Chanel, Hermès and Gucci recently opened boutiques in the area. "I really like Miu Miu," says Kwok, "but my favourite local designer is William Tang, who designed my wedding dress." Hong Kong designers Johanna Ho, Ruby Li and Henry Lau also like to mix European minimalism with Asian pageantry.
Photography courtesy of Line Abrahamian
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