Richard Flynn

Hong Kong & Macau, March 2006

I was in Hong Kong for a week, during which time I spent a day in the other Chinese ‘Special Administrative Region’, Macau.

Monkey • A monkey in a cage at the Hong Kong Botanical and Zoological Garden.
Animal Botanic Gardens City rhjf 20060312 2136
HM King George VI • A former king of Hong Kong (and all dominions of the British Crown), His Most Gracious Majesty George VI. The Chinese haven't (yet) seen fit to remove statues and monuments such as this which are dotted around Hong Kong.
Botanic Gardens City Statue rhjf 20060312 2149
HKBZG Fountain • The fountain which acts as a focal point of the Hong Kong Botanical and Zoological Garden.
Botanic Gardens City Fountain rhjf 20060312 2150
Tulips • A statue stands in the midst of red and yellow tulips in the Hong Kong Botanical and Zoological Gardens.
Botanic Gardens City Flowers rhjf 20060312 2158
War memorial • This memorial forms the main entrance at the south of the Hong Kong Botanical and Zoological Gardens.
Botanic Gardens City rhjf 20060312 2165
Queen’s Road Central • Taxis speed across an intersection with Queen’s Road Central in Hong Kong.
Building City City Views Street Traffic rhjf 20060312 2178
The QE2 • The Queen Elizabeth II was in dock in Hong Kong for a couple of days while I was there. At various points I encountered groups led by guides toting signs emblazoned with ‘Cunard’.
City Cruise Ship Ferry Harbour rhjf 20060314 2191
Waterfall • A waterfall in the rather sparse Kowloon Park.
City Park Waterfall rhjf 20060314 2193
Looking towards Hong Kong • The Hong Kong (island) skyline, as seen from the Kowloon peninsula on the mainland. On the right of the photo is the QE2, docked in Hong Kong for three days.
City City Views Cruise Ship rhjf 20060314 2205
Star Ferry • A boat from the Star Ferry service, which shuttles between the Hong Kong island and Kowloon peninsula crosses Hong Kong Harbour. The waterfrong buildings of Hong Kong loom in the background.
City City Views Ferry rhjf 20060314 2210
Hong Kong • A view of Hong Kong from Victoria Harbour.
City City Views rhjf 20060314 2212
On the Peak Tram • People board the Peak Tram (strictly a funicular railway), ready for the ascent to Victoria Peak. The tram is the oldest mode of public transport in Hong Kong, having operated without accident continuously since 1888.
City Funicular Railway rhjf 20060315 2223
Looking towards Victoria Harbour • The view from The Peak over Victoria Harbour. The QE2 can be seen moored on the Kowloon side of the harbour.
City City Views rhjf 20060315 2238
Peak rickshaw • This man evidently sits at the Peak with his rickshaw, waiting to engage passing tourists and encourage them to pose for photos such as this in return for payment.
City rhjf 20060315 2241
Peak Tower scaffolding • The Peak Tower at Victoria Peak was being renovated when I was there, and wasn't open to the public (apart of course from the tram terminus, which is in the base of the tower). Note the bamboo scaffolding being used.
Building Building work City rhjf 20060315 2246
Night view from The Peak • I went back up The Peak later on the same day to see the view over Hong Kong at night. The mist was still there, which served to reflect the lights from the city.
City City Views Night rhjf 20060315 2254
City Views Night rhjf 20060315 2255
Posing • When I went back to The Peak at night, there were even more people there than earlier in the day—here they were lining up to have their photos taken in front of the impressive Hong Kong skyline.
City Night rhjf 20060315 2262
Largo do Senado • A woman takes a photo of her young son in the Largo do Senado in Macau. The largo had a distinctly ‘European’ feel bestowed on it by the Portuguese, particularly in the tiling on the ground and the colonnade finished with yellow-painted stucco.
Children City People Photographing Square rhjf 20060316 2279
Largo do Senado • The fountain in the Largo do Senado in Macau.
City Fountain Square rhjf 20060316 2280
S. Domingos • The façade of the church of St Dominic in Macau, also covered in yellow stucco like the buildings surrounding the adjacent Largo do Senado.
Church City rhjf 20060316 2281
Orchestra rehearsal • Inside S. Domingos an orchestra was rehearsing, presumably for a concert later that evening.
Church City Orchestra Rehearsal rhjf 20060316 2282
Orchestra rehearsal • Inside S. Domingos an orchestra was rehearsing, presumably for a concert later that evening.
rhjf 20060316 2284
Orchestra rehearsal • Inside S. Domingos an orchestra was rehearsing, presumably for a concert later that evening.
Church City Orchestra Rehearsal rhjf 20060316 2285
Macau street
City Street rhjf 20060316 2287
Inside the Sé • The interior of the Sé (the cathedral) in Macau.
Church City rhjf 20060316 2290
Our Lady • “Our Lady, Queen of the world, mother of Portugal, support Macau.”

A statue inside the Sé (the cathedral in Macau).
Church City rhjf 20060316 2292
The Sé • The Sé, the cathedral in Macau.
Church City Square rhjf 20060316 2298
The church of St Francis • Inside the church of St Francis in Macau.
rhjf 20060316 2300
The 26 Martyrs of Japan • A painting in the crypt of the ruined São Paulo of the 26 Martyrs of Japan, dating from 1640. If you don't remember who the 26 Martyrs (St Paul Miki & Companions), you can be reminded. The eagle-eyed will notice that there are only twenty-three being crucified: the artist, presumably a Franciscan, left out the three Jesuits.
City Painting rhjf 20060316 2310
São Paulo • The façade of the church of São Paulo in Macau, which is all that remains of the building after a fire started in the kitchens in 1835.
City Ruins rhjf 20060316 2314