Gucci and Chinese neon dragons

People swarm through Nathan Road in Hong Kong's Kowloon district around the clock, many are in a hurry, others are strolling, and most are glued to their cell phones. Above the sea of heads, the neon storm of countless neon signs rages. Even during the day, the main shopping street of the Asian metropolis seems overcrowded, but when the tropical night falls, the crowds swell even further. Most Hong Kong residents do not live in the city, but commute to work in the city center from the uniform satellite towns in the New Territories, which are called Tai Wo Hau, Tsuen Wan or Tuen Mun. In 1898, the New Territories were leased by the Chinese to the British crown colony of Hong Kong for 99 years. In 1997, Hong Kong reverted to China - with a special status - and has since flourished economically more than ever before, as the huge Chinese market has given the city an unexpected boost. Together with the New Territories, Hong Kong is barely larger than the canton of Thurgau, but is extremely densely populated with around 7 million inhabitants. The satellite cities, with their dam-like housing estates, appear barren, making Kowloon and the other inner-city districts all the more colorful.

Tourists and commuters

After work, commuters do their shopping in the city and then travel back to the residential silos in the New Territories on crowded MRT trains. The 42 million tourists who visited Hong Kong in 2011, including many day visitors from nearby Mainland China, also liven up the city and generate revenue. Hong Kong is a city "that never sleeps", promises the Hong Kong Tourism Board, and that is almost an understatement. Most of the smaller stores and the huge shopping centers are open seven days a week until 9.30 p.m., but it is also possible to go shopping at two in the morning. You can eat on the fly at one of the countless street stalls or in a classy Cantonese restaurant until long after midnight, for example, and many bars and clubs are open until dawn. Under the glistening neon signs, the night owls mingle with the early risers heading for the offices or getting fit for the working day with Tai Chi gymnastics in the parks.

Hong Kong has a lot to offer culturally with its museums and the cultural center at Victoria Harbour, and fascinates racing enthusiasts with its racecourse, but shopping is the strongest magnet of the former British crown colony alongside culinary delights, a unique skyline and the west-eastern ambience. Vendors who want to stand out from the enormous competition have to offer everything visually, right down to the Chinese neon kite. The mix of Cantonese lettering and Western advertising makes for a fascinating show in the city's urban canyons. The highlight is currently an advertisement for the Italian luxury tailor Ermenegildo Zegna, which covers an entire wall of skyscrapers and can even be seen from the other side of Victoria Harbour.

The labels of all the well-known brands, which are also present on Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse or on Kursfürstendamm in Berlin, vie for attention among the flickering Chinese lettering. Rolex, Dior, Gucci, Omega, Maserati and IWC can be found at every turn on Nathan Road, in the Ocean Center or Causeway Bay shopping meccas.

So you don't have to jet to London to buy a fur-lined Burberry coat, you can also buy this fine garment for cold days in subtropical Hong Kong in a discreetly chilled store. However, it is mainly the Mainland Chinese who are storming the brand stores - often as day tourists.

Hong Kong Chinese, however, prefer to buy their Omega as a status symbol in Lucerne or on the Jungfraujoch rather than in one of the distinguished stores on Nathan Road. Swiss army knives are on display in the brand store here as if you were in Gstaad, Toblerone ditto in the neighborhood of dried snakes and tiger penises. The city is a melting pot of globalization, but the advertising show above the heads of passers-by has retained its unmistakable local flair and is part of Hong Kong's fascination.

Werner Catrina