Vickers - Hong Kong: a quick guide to customs and etiquette

eISBN: 978-1-85733-590-3

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP catalogue entry for this book is available from the British Library

Copyright 2005 Kuperard
Revised 2008; fifth printing 2010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission in writing from the publishers.

Culture Smart! is a registered trademark of Bravo Ltd

First published in Great Britain 2005
by Kuperard, an imprint of Bravo Ltd
59 Hutton Grove, London N12 8DS
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8446 2440 Fax: +44 (0) 20 8446 2441
www.culturesmart.co.uk
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Distributed in the United States and Canada
by Random House Distribution Services
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Tel: +1 (212) 572-2844 Fax: +1 (212) 572-4961
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Series Editor Geoffrey Chesler

Cover image: View from the Peak, Hong Kong Island.
Travel Ink/David Guyler
Brushwork calligraphy on by Bernard Lui

v3.1

Hong Kong is unique. Its geography and history have given it a surprisingly important role in the world. It is both a primary link for the world to China and the outpost of the West in the East.

Culturally, Hong Kong is rooted in the traditions of China, but there is more than a patina of Westernization. Nearly all the population have come to the territory in the last hundred years, most from southern China, but substantial numbers from the rest of China, from the rest of Asia, and from beyond. They came to a well-run, orderly place and found its comparative stability and the rule of law conducive to the oldest professiontrade.

Trade is everywhere. In addition to the myriad shops and stores, street markets and food stalls operate around the clock. Trade is the lifeblood of Hong Kong, and talk is the oxygen that fuels it.

The Hong Kong people are many and various. The substantial majority are Cantonese, entrepreneurial and industrious people from the farms and villages of the huge neighboring province of Guangdong. They brought with them a varied cuisine that is often acknowledged as the best in China, seeing themselves as the French do in Europe. Their style is open and extroverted compared to the more dignified and serious northerners. Restaurants and shopping malls overflow with families and groups of friends, talking incessantly and missing no opportunity for a bargain. In the unlikely event that a Hongkonger is alone for a few brief moments, he or she will be talking into a cell phone or listening to a walkman. Silence is not a preferred option.

Taking their style from the Cantonese, other settlers from around the world trade and prosper. There are more holidays in the Hong Kong calendar than in any other place in the worldChinese, Western, and Indian. And most holidays are celebrated in the streets or in the parks, out with friends, snacking and having fun.

This guide will give you a quick in to the multifaceted community and way of life of this vibrant territory. You will find helpful advice on business and meetings, and on social etiquette. You will find the confidence to participate rather than observe. In even a short trip, you can be part of the community life of the Hong Kong people. Private life is a different matter. It is something few outsiders ever share, and it is a real privilege if you do become an insider. In this guide, we hope to give you a few pointers to closer access to it.