Nathan Road Hong Kongs Main Street

Hong kong is a small megalopolis but still big enough to have a major shopping street, that is rarely to be found elsewhere. It is so long you even get the feeling, that you can walk from one edge of the tiger state to the other edge. It’s all about Nathan Road, the economic bloodline of Hong Kong.

Built in 1861 it is the very first road build in Hong Kong after the Brits got the pretty island as a colonny. First it was called Robinson Road after some governor of the Province. But in the beginning of the past century they changed it to Nathan Road, after, you might guessed it, a governor of Hong Kong. It is situated in Kowloon, which is on the mainland-part of HK. Alongside to the road there are various Metro-Stations and Bus-Stops, which might make it to one of the best conected infrastructures in Asia.

The trains stop so punctual and regularly that you never want to walk again. You can save some money though, when you go by bus and most certainly by feet. And then you really have a fun time watching the commuters. About every 50 meters you will see another busstop with people waiting for there connection. Hence HK is a bustling business place where everybody got something to do time is money and quick transport a key. If you pass by the mentioned busstops you will witness some extraordinary pictures. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is looking down the road in anticipation of their public transport. So you can smoothly walk by and just snap these beautiful but concentrated faces. Most likely they will not even take notice of it. Maybe the traffic on the left side effects these pictures, too. Hence the perspective is a different one. Because elsewhere walking on the left side people would look up the street waiting for their busses, instead of down like in Hong Kong. But maybe this is just a twisted thought in my mind!? Also you see loads of people doing their thing.

Working at the pavement, selling stuff, eating lunch, transporting things. Just everything that makes a metropolis so very worthwhile to watch. The architecture of this very road is quite diverse. Concrete shopping malls connect to parks and little shops. Likewise you still see some colonial buildings. All this mixed together with many commercial billboards is a great example about the charms of Hong Kong. You can reach Nathan Road via the Line of the Hong Kong Metro in South Kowloon. Popular Stops are those of Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei or Jordan.

written by wil6ka on 2010-01-11 #places #people #blue #street #fun #martin #cross #hong-kong #location #business #agfa-ct-precisa #topaz