Materialism

Gucci. Louis Vuitton. Prada. Escada. Giorgio Armani. Valentino. Chanel. Christian Dior. Oscar de la Renta. Celine. Chloe. Vivienne Westwood. Giorgio Armani. Giorgio Armani. Giorgio Armani.

Even if I knew nothing about fashion, I would quickly learn in Hong Kong. My God. The stores. There isn't just one gigantuous Louis Vuitton flagship store, there are two, never mind the countless number of smaller branches in Hong Kong's labyrinth of malls. Giorgio Armani has an entire floor of a building (Chater House) with separate stores for all of his labels - Giorgio Armani, Armani Collezioni, Emporio Armani, Armani Cosmetics and get this, a flower shop, Armani Fiori. Don't forget to stop by his eponymous restuarant or bar for a refreshment after your exhausting shopping spree.

I don't know much about Hong Kong's history, but I'd be interested to find out how this thriving culture of materialism evolved. If I were to run a search in my head about Chinese culture or even East Asian culture in general, keywords like "Confucius, Taoism, Tai Chi, meditation, Buddhism, tea, abundant food, zen" would pop up. All of which I can see and find in Hong Kong, but in a rather Disneyfied form. Can all of this simply be credited to Western influence and inheritance?

Bag lady in front of HSBC

It seems to me as though Hong Kong took Western consumerism and materialism and reduced them right down to their essence. This is consumerism at its most garish and yet, unadultered and without makeup.* Hong Kong gives you what you want: better, faster, and cheaper.

As for me, I will just have to march past these stores and fight the temptations.

* This subject brings up thoughts about Communism and mainland China, but I'll have to put them on the backburner until I've traveled around and observed China a bit more.