In his writing, ‘Building on Disappearance,’ Abba describes the colonial space and disappearance of history. Among those variable topics in his reading, he explains why preservation of old buildings are important. Abba states that “preservation of old buildings gives us history in site, but it also means keeping history in sight.” (Abba, Building on Disappearance, p. 66). As Abba mentioned, preservation of old buildings are critical since it represents the history of one’s country. However, the word ‘preservation’ does not fit well to Hong Kong.
Compared to other countries like South Korea or Japan, Hong Kong does not contain many buildings that represent history. This is very natural because Hong Kong, as a British colony in the past, grew rapidly as the center of international trade. Without time to preserve old buildings, Hong Kong’s skyline became the Asia of New York. It seems that there aren’t many buildings that represent the history of Hong Kong. Restoring Hong Kong’s old buildings would be a difficult task since there aren’t many old buildings left. Nevertheless, right now, it would be crucial for Hong Kong to preserve the skyline of the central district. This is because in the movie ‘Ghost in the Shell’, the background represents the future of Hong Kong. The image of it is far from the image of central district now. It only shows buildings that are tall and that aren’t unique. Like the movie, the disappearance of the image of central district could occur in the future, if Hong Kong does not preserve central district and keep on constructing buildings that does not fit to it. Therefore, it would be important for Hong Kong to preserve its skyline, so that it won’t end up like the image in the movie ‘Ghost in the Shell.’
By Yonghyun Kwon(UID:3035555626)
Nice reference you made with Ghost in the Shell (2017). However, other than just preserving the physical form, Hong Kong’s skyline or colonial buildings, it is important to understand what we are preserving. Whether it is the colonial history of Hong Kong or Asia’s financial hub, as they are all going to be moments in the Hong Kong’s history.