sino-british border, 1972

This short “border tour” emphasizes the training of British troupes in contrast to Chinese troupes, with clips of the Luohu border crossing as well as food and livestock being transported into the Colony from Wenjingdu.

At his youtube site, Ben Mumford has also posted 8 Hong Kong Beat documentaries, which look at how the British managed police corruption at the border. The intro to the series on the BBC webpage promises all sorts of adventure, seeming more soap opera that cinema verite.

Nine documentary programmes which take a close look at the world’s most controversial police force in action. The Royal Hong Kong Police have been accused of corruption and bribery at all levels. This series shows the job they have to do – as a British Colonial Force working among 4 1/2-million Chinese. John Norman, ex-London policeman is now a CID Inspector in Tsim Sha Tsui – Hong Kong’s Soho -Triad Territory, where you’re bought off or framed if you get too near the truth. As Norman is drawn into robbery, kidnap and murder, he shows what it is to be on the Hong Kong beat, where British policemen bow before the God Kwandai. And where the Yaumati Force now row in a Dragon Boat Race against the Triads.

an apparatus of integration 2: the shen kong border, wutongshan south to liantang

Yesterday had a wonderful time with good friend Denise exploring Shatoujiao and then the land border from Wutongshan South to Liantang subway stations (Shekou Line). Three observations (with illustrations!) and unsubstantiated speculation, below:

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lilang holy hill

Today is Grave Sweeping Day, so I thought I’d publish something about an historic cemetery–Holy Hill (圣山), which is located in Buji.

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at the cusp of renewal: old shatoujiao

The other day, I walked the streets of Old Shatoujiao, just near the entry to Zhongying Street (中英街). Traces of the past appear fragile: early 80s work unit housing, previously fashionable architecture, pedestrian and bicycle friendly streets, the lingering remains of tourism before border restrictions loosened, and clusters of mom and pop shops. Redevelopment presses in on this small bit of history, “Be farsighted and demand development,” a developer’s banner exhorts homeowners, “the faster renovation takes place, the faster you benefit.”

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三洲田村:Narrating the Shen Kong border

So, review of Thirty Years of Shenzhen Villages continues from Episode 7 because for some yet-to-be-ascertained reason, episodes 5 and 6 aren’t available on youku net.

In 2005, construction workers unearthed a 10 kilometer section of the ancient tea route (茶马古道). This road once linked eastern Shenzhen to the new territories, more importantly (for the sake of narrating the Shen Kong border), this road connected to Sanzhoutian Village (三洲田村, literally “Peninsula Paddy Village”), where Sun Yat Sen (孙中山) lead the Sanzhoutian First Uprising (三洲田首义). In retrospect, Sanzhoutian became known as the first explosion of the Gengzi Incident (庚子事件), protesting the Boxer Indemnity that the eight colonial powers imposed on the Qing Dynasty.

Sanzhoutian is a rich symbol in Shenzhen history because it provides deep historic links between the SEZ and Hong Kong at multiple levels. Continue reading

wutong mountain


wutong mountain

Originally uploaded by maryannodonnell

Went to a wedding yesterday at the Wutong Restaurant (梧桐山酒楼) in Shatoujiao, Yantian District. The wedding itself was fun and I’m grateful for the opportunity it gave me to visit Shaotoujiao, one of the more interesting parts of the city.

Shatoujiao is famous because its the location of Chung Ying Street (中英街), which explicitly actualized the One Country, Two Systems policy with Chinese stores on the southern side of the street and British stores on the northern side. For the historically minded, you can also look at boundary stones from the March 16-18, 1899, when the boundary was marked at the end of the Second Opium War. Chung Ying Street is also one of Shenzhen’s 8 contemporary sights (a direct quotation of Xin’an County’s 8 classic sights). Continue reading