As a non-local student, this chapter helps me understand the complex evolution of Hong Kong architecture, cinema and culture since the colonial times, as well as Hong Kong’s changing cultural and architectural identity. It gives me a better understanding of Hong Kong’s unique history, which puts Hong Kong in a unique position to establish its cultural identity. I would say that the author brilliantly captures the dynamic and constantly changing Hong Kong architectural scene, and gives an interesting analysis to Hong Kong’s architecture during its ceaseless changes. I also love Abbas’s paraphrasing of Walter Benjamin: “architecture would be in ruins even when—especially when—the monuments that make it up have not crumbled”. I think it expresses in part that architectures lose their original identity and purpose, and disappear in their essence when they are physically still there. I would say that in the quickly changing world, the statement applies well to other places as well.
Yipeng Duan, 3035660146