PEARL OF THE ORIENT

[Music] it is sometimes called the pearl of the Orient by those who have been there but on the map it is known throughout the english-speaking world by the name Hong Kong Hong Kong itself is an island of breezy ten minute ferry ride out from the mainland port of Kowloon past the tiny junks lived against the massive magnificence of the downtown Hong Kong skyscrapers terminal point of the ferry the star appear on Hong Kong the boat disgorges cars and people ready for the business day morning rush-hour most of the ferry riders are commuters who have clerical jobs in the downtown office buildings these are the busiest moments for traffic policeman there is little jaywalking in this city where the rules are strictly enforced you can be fined as much as fifteen hundred dollars or even spitting on the street in Hong Kong The Wall Street of Hong Kong Victoria City headquarters for most banks and corporation opposites to cope with the problem besieging most cities these days finding space to park a car the authorities have authorized construction of many municipal parking lots in the manner of a European city many small parks offer enclaves of cool green here and there throughout the metropolis what's so fascinating why our newly wedded couple of course [Music] in a gilded frame the photograph will grace a living room of a mr. and mrs. for years and years since the size of the island is only 300 square miles the tendency is for buildings to be constructed high and narrow rather than sprawling laterally over many acres consequently the consulates of various foreign nations will often share space in an office building each consulate is distinguished by an appropriate national flag fluttering from a window pole buses Rumble past one after another [Music] tough competition for the services offered by the ever-present rickshaw drivers but double-decker trolley cars [Music] it looks like a tight squeeze but the trolley cars seem to make it alright then on down the street festooned with brightly colored advertising banners on both sides [Music] a Chinese arcade is always an attraction for tourists and bargain hunters since 99% of the population is Chinese the signs of course are written in Chinese characters [Music] red changes to green and we go up toward the top of Victoria Peak which looms over the rear of the city to offer a stunning view of the pearl of the Orient [Applause] second to Victoria City and importance is the section of North Pointe with its happy ballet racetrack but right at the moment no thoroughbreds strain of the starting gate it's a football game a British football that is North Point is a newly developed entertainment area bus loads of pleasure seekers arrive eagerly from all over Hong Kong it's a shopping center as well brand stores of important Japanese department stores attract would-be bargain hunters but on an island one can find at the end of a busy street may well be of war faster with small boats and sand hands what to do to beat the housing shortage why set up residence on the water of course more than 100,000 people in Hong Kong live on small boats of all shapes and sizes [Music] the cramped confines of a sampan offer an obvious contrast with the impressive new apartment residences overlooking the water [Music] Hong Kong is people crowds of them on boats in apartments in cars parked bumper-to-bumper along the streets [Music] since the end of World War two more than 600,000 human beings have escaped Communist China to seek refuge on this small island horridly constructed apartment houses cannot possibly keep up with a constantly increasing population and each week the jungle of jerry-built shacks spreads out further and further on the hills and slopes of Hong Kong above the slum city of shacks and shelters like a supremely triumphant royal Kingdom sits famous Tiger Balm garden formerly the villa of a Chinese millionaire it is now an amusement park for the general public Tiger Balm is the trade name of the medicine and Sad which made the owner of these properties a fabulously wealthy man why do they come to Tiger Balm garden to see the gaudily colored ceramic statues to absorb something of the bizarre eccentric taste of the millionaire who created all this leave Tiger Balm Park and take the road leading to the south side of Hong Kong [Music] Aberdeen was the original part of Hong Kong it is still the entranceway for the fish catch that sustains the diet of the people on this crowded island thousands of junks and Sam pans move in and out when they are not resting idly on the placid waters Knight comes to Aberdeen Sam Pan's glide into motion ferrying passengers to the many restaurants around the bay and on the water [Music] [Applause] [Music] the chant of both women at the oars ferrying diners to the floating restaurants sounds deliciously across the water the feature of these Aberdeen floating restaurants is for the diner to choose his own fish live which is then cooked to his order the interior brightly lit with exotic chinese chandeliers fires with a glittering neon outside to form a background for a memorable evening of dining out on the balmy waters of Aberdeen [Music] and so passes a night in Hong Kong a night of fire with the excitement brought to it by the magic of electric light as well as the expectation of millions that with a dawn of the next day the happy promise of the night will be the happy reality for tomorrow [Music] [Applause] [Music]