Our publications - Page 2 of 7

Out of stock
Diamond Hill: Memories of growing up in a Hong Kong squatter village

HK$118.00
USD: US$15.11
CNY: CN¥109.39
GBP: £11.83
EUR: €13.91
AUD: AU$22.71
CAD: CA$20.61
JPY: ¥2,374
"Diamond Hill was one of the poorest and most backward of villages in Hong Kong at a time when Hong Kong itself was poor and backward. We moved there in 1956 when I was almost 10. I left when I was 19. Those were the formative years of my life. It’s a time that I remember well and cherish.”

This memoir of a native son of a Kowloon-side squatter village – the first book ever on Diamond Hill, in either Chinese or English – presents the early days of a life shaped by a now-extinct community. Penned by a high-achieving Hong Kong professional, Feng Chi-shun’s sharp recollections of his humble upbringing contain warmth, humour, and an abundance of insights into a low-income Hong Kong neighbourhood that no longer exists – but remains close to the hearts of many who lived there.

Diamond Hill will invite comparisons with Martin Booth's Gweilo. If you enjoyed the latter, you will likely find the former similarly absorbing, because the young Feng was, for many a “gweilo”, the inaccessible yet intriguing face of an altogether edgier Hong Kong.

Look inside this book
Click on the following link to view sample pages from Diamond Hill. You will need a pdf reader to view this excerpt.

Thugs and gangsters

Details
Dim Sum: A Survival Guide

HK$98.00
USD: US$12.55
CNY: CN¥90.85
GBP: £9.82
EUR: €11.55
AUD: AU$18.86
CAD: CA$17.11
JPY: ¥1,971
Siu mai, har gow, jar leung, sin jok guen. These are all types of dim sum. But do you know what they look like, and what’s in them? Can you pronounce their names in Cantonese, or recognize them on a menu? Can you confidently order dim sum for you and your friends — especially if any of them have dietary restrictions?

Australian-Chinese writer Liza Chu has a part-time career as a Hong Kong dim sum guide. She has distilled her knowledge of Cantonese cuisine and Chinese dining etiquette into this practical guidebook to delicious dim sum. Each photographed dish is identified with Chinese characters and a pronunciation guide. Icons alert those with allergies or special diets, and there’s a special listing of dim sum dishes most popular with children. Master chefs explain their cooking methods, and even the art of tea drinking is covered in detail.

Take this book to your nearest dim sum restaurant and let Liza show you how to yum cha like a local!

Add to basket Details
Don’t Joke on the Stairs: How I learnt to navigate China by breaking most of the rules

HK$128.00
USD: US$16.39
CNY: CN¥118.66
GBP: £12.83
EUR: €15.08
AUD: AU$24.63
CAD: CA$22.35
JPY: ¥2,575
China – what’s not to love?

Join longtime Hong Kong resident and Cantonese fundamentalist Cecilie Gamst Berg as she ploughs through the non-stop surreal-fest that is today’s China, stopping occasionally to ruminate about the travails of trying to make Cantonese a world language, and how the Chinese have invented a new English: Manglish.

In this book you’ll find answers to everything you wanted to know about China, such as:

What does “the slippery are very crafty” really mean?

What’s the etiquette for hitch-hiking in really small cars?

What’s the best way to gatecrash a Ketamine party?

Indeed, what is modern party etiquette in China? And:

How do you win a fist-fight with a hotel security guard?

Travelling by horse, train and sleeper bus from the deserts of Xinjiang, across the mountains of Tibet and Sichuan to the water buffalo fields of Hong Kong, Cecilie shows you how China is not only the most happening place on Earth, but also the most fun.

Look inside this book
Click on this link to view sample pages from Don't Joke on the Stairs. You will need a pdf reader to view this excerpt.

Smile Comes Before a Fall
Add to basket Details
Dragon Bones: Two Years Beneath the Skin of a Himalayan Kingdom

HK$128.00
USD: US$16.39
CNY: CN¥118.66
GBP: £12.83
EUR: €15.08
AUD: AU$24.63
CAD: CA$22.35
JPY: ¥2,575
Wedged deep in the Himalaya between India and China, the secretive kingdom of Bhutan guards its independence while around it, Sikkim and Tibet have been swallowed by the giants and Nepal is rife with unrest. Bhutan markets itself as the last Shangri-La, but a closer look reveals the turbulence that accompanies its efforts to join the Western world.

Murray Gunn and his French wife came to love and better understand Bhutan while living there for two years — but risked their marriage in the process. A travel memoir of discovery and change.

Look inside this book
Click on this link to view sample pages from Dragon Bones. You will need a pdf reader to view this excerpt.

11-19

Add to basket Details
Drawing on the Inside: Kowloon Walled City 1985

HK$288.00
USD: US$36.87
CNY: CN¥266.98
GBP: £28.87
EUR: €33.94
AUD: AU$55.42
CAD: CA$50.29
JPY: ¥5,794
Curated by Benjamin Salmon

Imagine an illegally built mini-city formed of multiple 12-storey blocks, taking up only the area of a sports stadium but home to 60,000 people. What was it like living in the most densely populated place on Earth?

Intrepid 22-year-old artist Fiona Hawthorne spent three months inside the notorious Walled City of Kowloon, an apparent no-go area right in the heart of bustling Hong Kong. This book reveals the sensitive and extraordinary artworks she created there. It is a unique record of a time and place that no longer exists.

Add to basket Details
Eating Smoke: One man’s descent into drug psychosis in Hong Kong’s triad heartland

HK$138.00
USD: US$17.67
CNY: CN¥127.93
GBP: £13.83
EUR: €16.26
AUD: AU$26.55
CAD: CA$24.10
JPY: ¥2,776
Chris Thrall left the Royal Marines to find his fortune in Hong Kong, but instead found himself homeless and hooked on crystal methamphetamine.

Soon he began working for the 14K, Hong Kong’s largest crime family, as a doorman in one of their nightclubs in the Wan Chai red-light district.

Dealing with psychosis, conspiracy and the ‘foreign triad’ – a secretive expat clique which, unbeknown to the world, works hand-in-hand with the Chinese mafia – he had to survive in the world’s most unforgiving city, addicted to the world’s most dangerous drug.

“A triad-controlled nightclub is not a clever place to work if you’re addicted to a drug with a tendency to induce horrifying paranoia. A lot of bad stuff is going to happen and it’s very easy for an Ice-addled mind to imagine that even worse stuff is also going on. This is at the heart of Thrall’s nightmare and it’s a narrative device that makes Eating Smoke work so well.” – South China Morning Post

Look inside this book
Click on this link to view sample pages from Eating Smoke. You will need a pdf reader to view this excerpt.

Excerpt 1

Add to basket Details
Explore Macau: A walking guide and history

HK$98.00
USD: US$12.55
CNY: CN¥90.85
GBP: £9.82
EUR: €11.55
AUD: AU$18.86
CAD: CA$17.11
JPY: ¥1,971
Walking is the best way to get to know any city, and Macau — the former Portuguese colony returned to China in 1999 — is made for walking. Only seven miles square, one can easily walk from the Border Gate to the A-Ma Temple at the tip of Macau in a day.

This guidebook describes eight routes around the urban peninsula and its outlying islands, sufficient to explore and understand this fascinating old city and its unique blend of European and Asian architecture, cuisine and cultures.

“An invaluable pocket guide that is perfect for the first-time visitor as well as old hands.” — South China Morning Post

Look inside this book
Click on this link to view sample pages from Explore Macau. You will need a pdf reader to view this excerpt.

Walk no. 3 - From Lilau Square to Barra Point

Add to basket Details
Farewell, My Colony: Last Days in the Life of British Hong Kong

HK$128.00
USD: US$16.39
CNY: CN¥118.66
GBP: £12.83
EUR: €15.08
AUD: AU$24.63
CAD: CA$22.35
JPY: ¥2,575
20th anniversary edition

In the heart of Beijing, a large digital clock marked off the seconds until July 1, 1997, when the red, five-star flag of China would be hoisted over Hong Kong – and the grand but untried idea of “one country, two systems” would be put into practice.

Farewell, My Colony is a real-time journal of the end of an era by an objective observer. American journalist Todd Crowell captures a unique moment in history as Britain stoically soldiers through the last months of its 156 years of colonial rule, China waits restlessly to resume its sovereignty, and Hong Kong buzzes with endless speculation.

He tells how Hong Kong’s Chinese and expatriates, taipans and cagemen come to terms with the impending change of rule. He mingles with the rich and famous and common people alike. A long-term resident, he votes in elections controversially called by Governor Chris Patten. He then follows the selection of a rival legislature, and of Patten’s successor, shipping magnate Tung Chee-hwa, as the first chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The city’s pulse is charted by his pen, through to the pomp, circumstance and partying of the day of handover itself. Now, 20 years later, Crowell has updated this valuable historical record with reflections on what has happened to Hong Kong since 1997.

Add to basket Details
Fishing in Hong Kong: A How-To Guide to Making the Most of the Territory’s Shores, Reservoirs and Surrounding Waters

HK$170.00
USD: US$21.76
CNY: CN¥157.59
GBP: £17.04
EUR: €20.03
AUD: AU$32.71
CAD: CA$29.69
JPY: ¥3,420
with John Peters and Lizzie Sharp-Eliazar

Did you leave your fishing rods at home before relocating to Hong Kong, unaware that such a densely populated place could support recreational fishing?

Mike Sharp and John Peters walk you through the local angling spots and describe key tactics normally known only by Hong Kong anglers. Carp fishing, pier fishing, and trolling for game fish are just some of the topics covered in a warm, descriptive text beautifully illustrated by Lizzie Sharp-Eliazar.

Whether you live in a skyscraper or a village, this book will encourage you to get out onto the territory's beautiful waters or rocky shore and cast a line―in the hope that the next one will be the one that didn't get away.

Look inside this book
Click on the images on the left to view sample pages from Fishing in Hong Kong.

Add to basket Details
Forty Nights (Eating Smoke #2)

HK$118.00
USD: US$15.11
CNY: CN¥109.39
GBP: £11.83
EUR: €13.91
AUD: AU$22.71
CAD: CA$20.61
JPY: ¥2,374
The stand-alone sequel to the international bestseller Eating Smoke

Former commando Chris Thrall returned from a year in Hong Kong suffering severe psychosis from crystal meth addiction. The medical profession said recovery was unlikely and recommended admitting him to a psychiatric hospital.

“There’s nothing wrong with me!”

Chris refused all intervention and his life descended into a chaotic cycle of drug use that almost killed him... until salvation came in a surprising form.

In this long-awaited follow-up to Eating Smoke, Chris tells a harrowing yet refreshing and often hilarious account of addiction and one gutsy journey to recovery.

"After the harrowing events in Eating Smoke, if you thought Chris Thrall departed Kai Tak bound for a life of cream teas and Little England 'normality'... then you've likely not experienced the depravity and horror of drug addiction. In Forty Nights, Chris continues to confront his demons with his usual engaging honesty, side-splitting Royal Marine humour and storytelling at its finest." – Phil Whelan, RTHK

Add to basket Details
Getting Along with the Chinese: For Fun and Profit

HK$138.00
USD: US$17.67
CNY: CN¥127.93
GBP: £13.83
EUR: €16.26
AUD: AU$26.55
CAD: CA$24.10
JPY: ¥2,776
Are the Chinese really so inscrutable?

China Hand Fred Schneiter delves into the lighter side of Chinese psychology, and in doing so demystifies one of the toughest markets in the world. With an unfailing sense of humor, he offers insights for Sinophiles, Sinophobes and everyone in between. On the Hong Kong bestsellers list for twelve months, this book is now back in a new edition — the essential item to pack in your China survival kit.

"Everyone working with Chinese, in or out of China, should read this and send a copy to their boss." -- Daniel Ng, managing director, McDonald's Hong Kong/South China

"Should be required reading for everyone setting out for China for the first time. Lighthearted and highly readable." -- Donald M. Anderson, president, US-China Business Council

Look inside this book!
Click on the following link to read pages from Getting Along with the Chinese. You will need a pdf reader to view this excerpt.

Prologue and Chapters 1 & 2

Add to basket Details
Great Leaps: Finding home in a changing China

HK$128.00
USD: US$16.39
CNY: CN¥118.66
GBP: £12.83
EUR: €15.08
AUD: AU$24.63
CAD: CA$22.35
JPY: ¥2,575
In Great Leaps, Colin Flahive explores China’s rural-urban migration against the backdrop of his own transition from Colorado to southwest China. There, in Yunnan province, he partnered with three friends to open a café that became much more than simply an outpost of Western cuisine in a far-flung corner of the world.

Over the course of a decade, Salvador’s Coffee House became home to more than fifty young women from mountain villages in the surrounding countryside. Most knew nothing about coffee or Western food, but they moved to the city to work at Salvador’s and earn their independence.

Great Leaps follows the challenges faced by Colin, his partners and his employees as they leave their old lives behind to make a new home in a foreign land. They encounter unlikely successes, endure heartbreaks and nearly lose everything. But by taking the leap together, they all find their own places in the modern Chinese dream.

Look inside this book
Click on the following link to read pages from Great Leaps. You will need a pdf reader to view these excerpts.

Chapter 1: From the Countryside

Add to basket Details
Out of stock
Hong Kong 20/20: Reflections on a borrowed place

HK$148.00
USD: US$18.95
CNY: CN¥137.20
GBP: £14.84
EUR: €17.44
AUD: AU$28.48
CAD: CA$25.85
JPY: ¥2,977
(Go to Chinese edition)

The handover in 1997 saw Hong Kong’s smooth transition from colonial to Communist rule under the auspices of the ‘one country, two systems’ framework. But twenty years on, the real impact of the sovereignty change is just starting to register: the city’s near-total economic integration with the mainland, a massive influx of Chinese visitors, simmering cross-border tensions and a rapid erosion of freedoms. Believing that we are stronger and louder together, PEN Hong Kong invited some of Hong Kong’s most prominent literary and creative minds to reflect on the city’s post-colonial development, in a definitive compendium of essays, poems, fiction and artwork that marks this historical milestone.

Michael Braga · Mary-Jean Chan · Jennifer S. Cheng · Kris Cheng · Chow Hon Fai · Larry Feign · Harry Harrison · Gérard Henry · Louise Ho · Oscar Ho Hing Kay · Tammy Ho Lai-Ming · Sarah Howe · Law Lok Man, Louise · Arthur Leung · Leung Ping-Kwan · Louisa Lim · Shirley Geok-lin Lim · Lui Wing Kai, Eric · William Nee · Jason Y. Ng · Margaret Ng · Timothy O’Leary · Michael O’Sullivan · Ilaria Maria Sala · Mishi Saran · Shahilla Shariff · Shen Jian · So Mei Chi · Tang Siu Wa · Eddie Tay · Chip Tsao · Stephen Vines · Marco Wan · Wawa · Kate Whitehead · Joshua Wong · Nicholas Wong · Xu Xi · Marco Yan · Chris Yeung · Douglas Young

With forewords by Timothy Garton Ash and Kevin Lau Chun-to.

"The success of Hong Kong’s pluralist citizenship will come out on top whatever the challenges. Reading many of the contributions [in Hong Kong 20/20] confirms me in that view." — Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong

Details
Hong Kong Beat: True Stories From One of the Last British Police Officers in Colonial Hong Kong

HK$138.00
USD: US$17.67
CNY: CN¥127.93
GBP: £13.83
EUR: €16.26
AUD: AU$26.55
CAD: CA$24.10
JPY: ¥2,776
Sex, drugs, gambling, ghosts, drinking, rugby, overseas adventures – and even some police work.

Hong Kong on the edge of empire was a place teeming with triads, smugglers, Chinese immigrants and Vietnamese refugees. Simon’s memoir of his time in the Hong Kong police force – from the 1970s until after the 1997 handover – is a fast-paced tale of his exploits. From the murky back streets of Kowloon to the open seas in the Marine division, his shocking and hilarious tales offer an alternative look back at what life was really like on the Hong Kong beat.

LOOK INSIDE THIS BOOK
Click the following links to read excerpts from the book.

Chapters 1, 2 and 3

Add to basket Details
Hong Kong Confidential: Life as a Subversive

HK$148.00
USD: US$18.95
CNY: CN¥137.20
GBP: £14.84
EUR: €17.44
AUD: AU$28.48
CAD: CA$25.85
JPY: ¥2,977
A former senior Chinese Administrative Officer has at long last lifted another little corner of the veil of half-truths and anodyne official releases which hitherto shrouded many of the decisions and evasions under the long Hong Kong governorship of Sir Murray MacLehose.

David T. K. Wong — who started working life as a dishwasher in a Chinese restaurant at the age of 13 before becoming a journalist, teacher, colonial bureaucrat, international businessman, and then a writer of short stories and novels — is clearly a man of many parts. He has now turned his narrative skills to producing a pungent, sardonic, cerebral and revelatory insider memoir of his experiences in the upper reaches of the colonial administration during the 1970s.

In doing so, he draws attention to the political, cultural and economic cross-currents that have always swirled through the uniquely paradoxical city. As a Chinese, he constantly found himself struggling with a three-horned dilemma: how to serve the people of Hong Kong, who paid his salary; the wider Chinese nation, from which he was culturally and emotionally inseparable; and the demands of the British crown, to which he had publicly sworn his allegiance.

Hong Kong Confidential is a valuable contribution to the historical mosaic of a dynamic Chinese community living through turbulent times.

Look inside this book
Click on the following link to read pages from Hong Kong Confidential. You will need a pdf reader to view these excerpts.

Chapter 1: Interregnum

Add to basket Details
Hong Kong for Kids: A Parent’s Guide

HK$158.00
USD: US$20.23
CNY: CN¥146.47
GBP: £15.84
EUR: €18.62
AUD: AU$30.40
CAD: CA$27.59
JPY: ¥3,178
Hong Kong’s bestselling parents’ guide is back, completely revised for 2015 and more comprehensive than ever before, with 70+ outing ideas! Filled with exciting child-friendly activities to do, see and experience, Hong Kong for Kids gives parents and educators all the important information they need to have a successful and stress-free outing with kids.

Whether you’re a tourist visiting the city for the first time, a seasoned expat, a life-long resident or a teacher planning a school field trip, this book is indispensable.

Look inside this book
Click below to view sample pages from Hong Kong for Kids. You will need a pdf reader to view these excerpts.
Contents
Sham Shui Po themed street shopping
Hong Kong Heritage Museum
Victoria Peak Garden
Sample maps

Add to basket Details
Hong Kong Noir (Akashic noir series)

HK$125.00
USD: US$16.00
CNY: CN¥115.87
GBP: £12.53
EUR: €14.73
AUD: AU$24.05
CAD: CA$21.83
JPY: ¥2,515
Edited by Jason Y. Ng and Susan Blumberg-Kason

Published in association with Akashic Books

Akashic continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir. Each story is set in a distinct neighbourhood or location within the city of the book.

Hong Kong Noir features brand-new stories by Jason Y. Ng, Xu Xi, Marshall Moore, Brittani Sonnenberg, Tiffany Hawk, James Tam, Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang, Christina Liang, Feng Chi-shun, Charles Philipp Martin, Shannon Young, Shen Jian, Carmen Suen and Ysabelle Cheung.

What will Hong Kong look like in five years, ten years, or thirty years when the “one country, two systems” promise expires? It’s impossible to foresee. Hong Kong’s future may be beyond our control, but some things aren’t. We can continue to write about our beloved city and work our hardest to preserve it in words.

When we asked our contributors to write their noir stories, we didn’t give them specific content guidelines other than to make sure their stories end on a dark note. What we received was a brilliant collection of ghost stories, murder mysteries, domestic dramas, cops-and-robbers tales, and historical thrillers that capture Hong Kong in all its dark glory. The result is every bit as eclectic, quirky, and delightful as the city they write about.

Look inside this book
Click on the following links to read pages from Hong Kong Noir. You will need a pdf reader to view these excerpts.

Contents and Introduction

Add to basket Details
Out of stock
Hong Kong Noir: Fifteen true tales from the dark side of the city

HK$118.00
USD: US$15.11
CNY: CN¥109.39
GBP: £11.83
EUR: €13.91
AUD: AU$22.71
CAD: CA$20.61
JPY: ¥2,374
Hong Kong pathologist Feng Chi-shun was once part-owner of a dive bar in Kowloon City: a rough part of town which was home to the Sun Yee On triad gang. During that time, he heard a lot of stories.

How about the street sleeper who was a secret millionaire, or the man who chose to end it all in Chungking Mansions? Do you want to know the details of Kowloon's gruesome Hello Kitty murder, or what the taxi driver from hell did to his passengers? How about Elvis of the Orient, the ancient movie star who fooled hundreds of people for his final performance, or the student who stumbled into the 1967 riots and entered the world of girlie bars? And what was the truth about the girl with the eagle tattoo?

The 15 stories in Hong Kong Noir offer a glimpse of what happens in the shadows.

Look inside this book
Click on these links to read pages from Hong Kong Noir. You will need a pdf reader to view these excerpts.

Foreword Inside Hello Kitty's Head The Taxi Driver from Hell

Details
Hong Kong On Air

HK$98.00
USD: US$12.55
CNY: CN¥90.85
GBP: £9.82
EUR: €11.55
AUD: AU$18.86
CAD: CA$17.11
JPY: ¥1,971
As the Hong Kong handover boom fizzles into the Asian economic bust, a young American couple's marriage and careers tumble into a maze of television news, betrayal, high finance, and cheap lingerie.

TV news veteran Muhammad Cohen's engaging, often hilarious novel captures the mood ahead of the July 1997 handover when Hong Kong reigned as the centre of the universe, a multicultural melting pot bubbling with pure gold. As the Asian crisis abruptly ends the party, mainland China emerges, eclipsing Hong Kong. For everyone whose job or business falls under China's lengthening economic shadow, Hong Kong On Air presents a fresh angle on how it all began. For media watchers, Hong Kong On Air broadcasts the backstage secrets of television news the way The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay illustrated the dark side of comic books.

For newspaper reporter turned TV producer Laura Wellesley, the morning show at Franklin Global Networks Asia means going to bed before dark and swallowing the first rule of broadcast news: the anchor is always right, especially when it's American-born Chinese egomaniac Deng Jiang Mao. The station's fortunes and Laura's outlook improve with the arrival of Peter Franklin, the 28-year-old son of FGN's billionaire founder. But Franklin's eye falls on mainland-born graphics drone Pussy, Laura's control room nemesis, and a butterfly emerges from the web he spins.

For Laura's husband Jeff Golden, the production line for his Golden Beauties lingerie runs through a cagey mother minding their stores on Long Island, cookie tins stuffed with cash smuggled over the border, and hot tubs in Hong Kong's Jewish Community Club and mainland brothels. Cut out of his own multi-million dollar deal, Jeff's consolation prize is Yogi, a Japanese banker with a yen for "Jew food" and men raised on it.

During Hong Kong's pre-handover boom, FGN Asia becomes a hit, a star is born, and mistakes are easy to overlook. But the economic crisis ripens relationships for treachery, creates opportunities for revenge, and moves China centre stage, triggering a great leap forward for some, a long march to failure for others.

Add to basket Details
Hong Kong on the Brink: An American diplomat relives 1967’s darkest days

HK$138.00
USD: US$17.67
CNY: CN¥127.93
GBP: £13.83
EUR: €16.26
AUD: AU$26.55
CAD: CA$24.10
JPY: ¥2,776
Syd Goldsmith’s first taste of China’s Cultural Revolution is blood on his tongue. It’s 1967. Hong Kong is simmering, plagued by communist-led riots and strikes, crippled transport, punishing water-rationing, takeover threats from Beijing and roadside bombs. And Syd — the only Caucasian Foreign Service Officer at the American Consulate General who speaks Cantonese — is made responsible for reporting and analysis of the Hong Kong government’s ability to survive.

The CIA station chief and the head of Macau’s gold syndicate play major roles in Syd’s story, along with Newsweek’s Sydney Liu and Maynard Parker, and a steady stream of inquiring foreign correspondents and China-watchers. Richard Nixon makes a cameo appearance — to talk football with Syd since the consul general won’t see him — in this riveting memoir of a year when Hong Kong’s “borrowed time” seemed about to expire.

Look inside this book
Click on the following link to read pages from Hong Kong on the Brink. You will need a pdf reader to view this excerpt.

Chapters 1 to 3

Add to basket Details
Hong Kong Shifts: Stories from the streets of Hong Kong

HK$288.00
USD: US$36.87
CNY: CN¥266.98
GBP: £28.87
EUR: €33.94
AUD: AU$55.42
CAD: CA$50.29
JPY: ¥5,794
Words by Cynthia Cheng
Photographs by Maxime Vanhollebeke

From sampan ladies and bamboo scaffolders to street cleaners, fishermen, security guards and market vendors – these workers form the backbone of the fast-paced metropolis of Hong Kong, yet they are often overlooked or taken for granted. Looking beyond the glamorous harbourfront, neon-lit shopping districts and dramatic skyline, Hong Kong Shifts explores the back alleys to meet and learn from the individuals who work tirelessly to keep the city ticking. These are stories and portraits of resilience, wisdom, positivity and strength from the streets of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Shifts is a social impact storytelling platform with a mission to promote kindness, empathy and connection in our living and working environments. At the core of our project is the belief that storytelling is a powerful tool to engage, move and inspire – and, ultimately, to build bridges between diverse communities in the city that we call home.

Add to basket Details
Hong Kong Slang

HK$120.00
USD: US$15.36
CNY: CN¥111.24
GBP: £12.03
EUR: €14.14
AUD: AU$23.09
CAD: CA$20.96
JPY: ¥2,414
The classic, the comical, and plenty of rude ones too

By Lindsay Varty and Iris Yim, illustrated by Amber Tsang

Ever feel like a chicken talking to a duck? Ever ask a girl out, only to be forced to eat lemons? Maybe you've been told that you're a peanut guy? Or perhaps someone has warned you that you're wearing a green hat?

No need to be confused! This little dictionary of Cantonese slang will supply you with all the appropriate knowledge to get by in Hong Kong and make you cool at office parties. With illustrations and translations, as well as English slang alternatives, both Cantonese and English speakers can learn and laugh at the joys (and vulgarities) of Hong Kong slang in a celebration of local culture.

Add to basket Details
HONG KONG State of Mind: 37 views of a city that doesn’t blink

HK$118.00
USD: US$15.11
CNY: CN¥109.39
GBP: £11.83
EUR: €13.91
AUD: AU$22.71
CAD: CA$20.61
JPY: ¥2,374
with illustrations by Lee Po Ng

Hong Kong is a mixed bag of a city. It is where Mercedes outnumber taxi cabs, partygoers count down to Christmas every December 24, and larger-than-life billboards of fortune tellers and cram school tutors compete with breathtaking skylines.

HONG KONG State of Mind is a collection of essays by a popular blogger who zeroes in on the city’s idiosyncrasies with deadpan precision. At once an outsider looking in and an insider looking out, Ng has created something for everyone: a travel journal for the passing visitor, a user’s manual for the wide-eyed expat, and an open diary for the native Hong Konger looking for moments of reflection.

Look inside this book
Click on this link to view sample pages from HONG KONG State of Mind. You will need a pdf reader to view this excerpt.

Kowloon Complex

Add to basket Details
Hong Kong Sweet and Sour

HK$108.00
USD: US$13.83
CNY: CN¥100.12
GBP: £10.83
EUR: €12.73
AUD: AU$20.78
CAD: CA$18.86
JPY: ¥2,173
French artist Zabo arrived in Hong Kong in 1967, and condensed his year-long stay into a book of cartoons which has come to be known as an emblem of the era.

Hong Kong’s street scenes, people and fashions are humorously illustrated with sharp satire, covering popular pastimes, social etiquette, age-old traditions and the customs of local people as well as foreign residents.

Even half a century later, Zabo’s portrayal of Hong Kong still rings true, and his take on local life will resonate with everyone who lived through the Swinging Sixties – or wishes they had.

Add to basket Details
Out of stock
Hong Kong Unveiled: A journey of discovery through the hidden world of Chinese customs and culture

HK$118.00
USD: US$15.11
CNY: CN¥109.39
GBP: £11.83
EUR: €13.91
AUD: AU$22.71
CAD: CA$20.61
JPY: ¥2,374
Hong Kong Unveiled is an "access all areas" pass into Chinese culture and customs. Though written with a Hong Kong slant, it applies to any Chinese community worldwide.

Invited to a Chinese wedding or business function and don’t know the correct form? This book will lead you through the minefield where an innocent mistake could see you lose your friend or your business connection. Want to change a run of bad luck? Or are your jokes falling flat with your Chinese friends? Find out how and why in this far-ranging book – which also explains how many seemingly strange customs came about.

Look inside this book
Click on the links to read pages from Hong Kong Unveiled. You will need a pdf reader to view these excerpts.

Introduction Mistranslations At the restaurant

Details

Subscribe to our mailing list