National Day Patriotic Spending

Lots of patriotic red at the Convention Centre this morning

Now Hongkongers know how Beijing residents feel when National Day comes on October 1.

Roads and walkways near the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre were roped off, apparently some 8,000 police officers were out on the streets, and while pro-Beijing events that had gatherings of more than four people (wearing red masks of course) went ahead, others were given tickets by the authorities for contravening social-distancing measures.

Yesterday people could not go near the HKCEC

Luckily Hong Kong residents had a distraction from the patriotic festivities -- the second batch of the consumption voucher scheme was released today, and many took advantage of either HK$2,000 if they used Octopus cards (and HK$1,000 in December), or HK$3,000 for three other designated apps to go shopping.

One 50-year-old man shelled out HK$134,000 for a gold bridal necklace at Chow Tai Fook.

"Since I planned to buy a gold necklace as a future wedding gift for my one-year-old daughter, I decided to buy it today, as it just so happened that the second round of the e-voucher scheme was kicking off," he said. "When she is 18, I will present this gift to her."

Hope she likes it, 17 years from now...

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po thinks the local economy is improving significantly because of the e-voucher scheme.

People went mad shopping instead in the malls

"From what I've observed, the market sentiment is really good. Many people told me that as the economy is getting better, they are willing to spend more," he said.

However, he said what was a priority was to keep the pandemic under control and reopen the border with the mainland.

Ah yes, that.

Hong Kong has gone 44 days without a local infection, but apparently that is still not good enough for China.

A few days ago Chinese authorities hinted Hong Kong needed to further step up its testing of inbound travelers and quarantine. But perhaps there are expectations for Hong Kong to implement the use of the mainland's health apps it developed during the pandemic?

But in the meantime our government officials are getting a kick in the arse by lawmakers and social workers for not visiting grassroots residents regularly in a bid to understand their needs and try to solve their livelihood issues.

Ip says officials need to meet locals regularly

That put senior government officials on the defensive, however, it wasn't enough for Executive Council member and former secretary for security Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee.

"The cabinet as a whole has yet to form a habit to stay close with the people regularly. The government needs to respond to public demands speedily, but [Carrie] Lam has mainly been visiting public facilities and universities, and hasn't stepped out of her comfort zone yet. Even though Lam hosted a town hall meeting in August, it was held on the seventh floor of the Xiqu Centre."

Ouch.

Lam and co. still have a lot of work to do to please everyone...

London: Kensington Palace

A statue of Queen Victoria in front of Kensington Palace by the Round Pond

Apologies in advance if I keep switching between London, Greece and Hong Kong, but I would still like to write about my experiences on my recent trip.

The bedroom (dining room) where Princess Victoria was born

In London we stayed at a hotel that was near Kensington Palace so we checked it out. It has been a royal home for over 300 years and the most famous monarch to be born here was Princess Victoria, later Queen Victoria on May 24, 1819.

I didn't know much about her life until visiting the palace, seeing the bedroom she was born in -- it was actually the dining room, but it was upstairs from the kitchen, but it was easier to bring up hot water. Displayed are Princess Victoria's parents' bed and her small cradle.

At the time Princess Victoria was fifth in line to the throne, with three elderly uncles ahead of her. However, her father died eight months after she was born, and left Victoria's German mother and her in difficult circumstances financially. Before her father died, his equerry, an officer of honour, John Conroy, was tasked with looking after Princess Victoria and her mother, the Duchess of Kent.

The King's Gallery is a grand room

As a child Princess Victoria played by herself, with dolls and her Spaniel dog Dash, and was home schooled by a German governess, Baroness Lehzen, with who she became very close. Kensington Palace also displays the toys she played with and the notebooks where she practiced cursive writing and even sketches that she copied from her drawing teacher. She wrote in a diary daily, though she knew her governess and mother would read it, and she continued this journaling habit well until her later years.

Conroy was hoping to have further control over Princess Victoria, especially if she ascended the throne before the age of 18 and was preparing her mother, the Duchess to become Regent. He established a series of strict rules for Princess Victoria, including that she was not to be alone at anytime, and that she had to hold someone's hand while walking down the stairs. As a result, Princess Victoria came to resent Conroy and her mother over the years.

Princess Victoria also prepared for the possibility of becoming queen by going on tours around the country to familiarize herself with the areas and the people, and recorded these experiences in her journal.

Wallpaper of Princess Diana by illustrator Julie Verhoeven

On June 20, 1837, news came that Victoria's uncle King William IV had died and she was now queen. As she was 18 years old, she was no longer under the control of Conroy and her mother and this led to her acrimonious relationship with them; she dismissed Conroy and instructed her mother to live in Belgrave Square. The new queen soon moved to Buckingham Palace.

Her first meeting was with the Accession Council where she wore black as a sign of respect for her uncle, though there is a portrait in the palace of her wearing white. Queen Victoria apparently hated this painting, saying the likeness was not of her either.

Queen Victoria's coronation was a year later. Another important man in her life was her German cousin Prince Albert. They were introduced at a ball in the palace with a few other suitors in 1836, but Queen Victoria had her eye on Albert. Following protocol, she proposed to him three years later and they married in 1840.

Queen Victoria's crown jewels on display

According to information in Kensington Palace, the pair doted on each other, and Prince Albert took a lot of interest in his wife's jewels, helping her design everything from tiaras to necklaces and such. She was so thrilled to have a husband with such good taste in design. They went on to have nine children!

The museum part of the palace also showed pictures of Princess Diana who also lived at Kensington Palace. Displayed in a foyer is a pink ballgown designed by Catherine Walker in 1987, and Princess Diana wore it at least four times. Nearby is a wall featuring wallpaper with colourful caricatures of the late princess.

We also saw some serious jewellery, particularly Queen Victoria's tiara topped with emerald tear-drop shaped stones and diamonds that were accompanied by a giant brooch, necklace and earrings. Definitely some massive rocks there, as well as a giant crown covered in diamonds for Queen Victoria's granddaughter Princess Louise. 

Outside the palace a few roses that had a lovely sweet scent, and still around in the autumn weather, though the sunken garden was already bare, as the gardeners were going to put in other plants for the fall season.

Royal roses still blooming in the autumn sun

Nevertheless we enjoyed the stroll around the palace grounds and learned a lot about Queen Victoria's life within these walls.

Kensington Palace
Kensington Gardens
London
W8 4PX
www.hrp.org.uk

London: The Victoria and Albert Museum

The Victoria and Albert Museum has been in this location since 1854

The Victoria and Albert Museum has a fascinating and massive collection of all kinds of stuff -- 2.27 million of them spanning 5,000 years -- dedicated to applied decorative art and design. It is a reference area for artists, designers, fashion designers and the general public to learn more about art and design from around the world.

It was founded in 1852 and originally called by the Museum's first director Henry Cole and it was known as the Museum of Manufactures. And then in 1854 it was moved to its current location and called South Kensington Museum. 

Coral tiara, brooches and earrings from the 19th century

Queen Victoria officially opened the museum in 1857 and it was renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum. What made this museum particularly accessible to the working class was that gas lamps were introduced, so that the museum could be open later for these people to be able to enjoy it too.

We arrived just after 5pm and asked a museum staff member to point us to some must-see things there. She advised that the second floor would be closing at 5.30pm and that we would probably be interested in the jewellery section there, followed by the Raphael Cartoons.

So we followed her directions and went up the stairs to the jewellery section that happens to be near the National Art Library that has over 750,000 books, photographs, drawings, paintings and prints. It also has some of Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks, The Codex.

Meanwhile the jewellery section really hits the eyes, all these shiny stones in a dark room make them even more glittery. The entrance has a giant spiral of so many different coloured stones that they are totally mesmerizing to look at.

Taking a peek into the National Art Library before it closed

What's interesting here is that jewellery items are not placed in chronological order but coordinated with different countries and times to show contrast or similarities.

There were many royal jewellery items, including a section on coral from 1830 to 1920 that showed how it has been prized since the 19th century. While it was mostly sourced around the seas in Naples and nearby Torre del Greco, coral used in jewellery became popular because there was also a naturalistic theme that was all the rage in the 1850s. There was even a tiara made from coral that was so interesting to see, along with brooches and earrings.

Jewellery from top artisans like Bulgari and Cartier are shown here, and a highlight is Queen Victoria's sapphire and diamond coronet designed by her husband Prince Albert. He seems to have had a flair for design, particularly jewellery and his love of Victoria also helped fuel the passion to make her look beautiful.

The coronet features stones from previous pieces and it could be worn either on the crown of her head, or opened up and placed behind her head.

The Miraculous Draught of Fishes by Raphael, about 1515

We like many others were told the jewellery section was closing so we moved down to the ground floor to the Raphael Cartoons. They are called cartoons from the Italian word "cartone", which means a large sheet of paper, or a preparatory design.

These were detailed paintings that were meant to be given to weavers to make tapestries that would be hung up on the lower walls of the Sistine Chapel in the 1690s. These cartoons were made on several sheets of paper that were pasted together and then originally drawn with charcoal, then colour mixed with led-white, animal glue and water to make a gouache was applied onto the paper.

The weavers would take these cartoons and prick the contours with a needle to make a copy, and then cut vertically into sections of weavers to work on. Afterwards the strips were reassembled again and glued to a canvas backing for display. So it's actually quite amazing these cartoons still look in good condition.

Eve Tempted by the Serpent by William Blake

Canadian-born fashion designer known as Erdem, whose full name is Erdem Moraligu explains in a short video how he loves these Raphael Cartoons and was inspired to create his first collection around them and even showed the outfits in the room.

Other interesting items in the V&A include a painting by William Blake that I spotted, a beautiful keyboard where the outer case is covered in a floral pattern, and a completely intact series of blue and white tiles from Turkey in the 1600s.

There is a Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation wing that is dedicated to Buddhist items. It was opened in 2009 and marks the chronological and geographical development of Buddhist art. 

By this time it was getting late, but more people were coming into the museum because there was a DJ in the foyer playing dance music and some people actually dancing to the grooves. Apparently every Friday night it's like this and it made us wonder if the fragile art works weren't affected by the strong vibrations from the music...

Panel of 80 Tiles from Turkey, 1600-1700

But an interesting way to draw a younger audience in, even though we saw lots of students sketching items in the museum or looking up things in the library.

Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London
+44 (0) 20 7942 2000
vam.ac.uk

Dresden's Treasures

 

A large bouquet of flowers made of mother of pearl

There's a lot to see within walking distance in Dresden, churches and museums each with their own story. Many intersect with World War II that was destroyed in air raids and buildings were slowly rebuilt.

One of these examples is the Frauenkirche or the Church of Our Lady. It was originally a Catholic church built in the 11th century in Romanesque style, but became Protestant during the Reformation. Hence the statue of Martin Luther in front.

The Frauenkirche rebuilt only recently

It has one of the largest domes in Europe at 96 metres high, called die Steinerne Glocke, or "Stone Bell". 

But in World War II it was severely damaged by air raids, the roof finally collapsing after having withstood two days and nights of attacks. The church was left in a pile of rubble for 45 years, because of Communist rule in East Germany, though the residents had already begun trying to salvage what they could and numbering them for future reconstruction.

That didn't happen until 1994, after Germany's reunification and raising money to rebuild Frauenkirche, which took 11 years and over 180 million euros. Some of the stone blocks are black, from the original building, but most are relatively new, a testament to the residents' determination to rebuild it also using the original plans.

Another jewel in Dresden is the Royal Palace or Residenzschloss. We came to see the Green Vault, which was amazingly not damaged during the air raids, and contains immense treasures royalty collected over the centuries.

The interior is stunning and awe-inspiring

The Historic Green Vault has its rules -- no bags or coats -- these must be placed at the coat check or in a locker, and you must be there at the time issued on your ticket, to limit the number of people in there. And at one point you must enter a room at most two by two into double doors, much like entering a jewellery store. It's that intense.

But it's worth the hassle -- the items they collected, from stunning wood carvings, mother-of-pearl decorating boxes, horns covered in carvings, massive silver platters, goblets, tiered platters lavishly decorated with tiny tea cups and the jewels! Massive rocks from diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, and rubies… how did they wear all that jewellery?

It was impressive to say the least. The Dresden Green Diamond is quite the stunner at 41 carats, decorated with two large diamonds and many smaller ones. For us plebs, we’d be happy with one small stone or two. They had hundreds of them. Even the rooms themselves are examples of the height of opulence, with each room decorated in a different colour and accentuated with curvy shaped mirrors framed in gold (of course).

Above the painted dome that is 96 metres tall

There’s tight security for the History Green Vault, but when it comes to the New Green Vault, visitors are taking pictures, and the stuff is still impressive, but not as much as those crazy jewels and boxes covered in glowing amber. There’s a massive display like a miniature stage filled with characters in a lavish set called The Throne of the Grand Mogul Aureng-Zeb.

August the Strong bought the work in 1709 for a massive sum at the time, and he and other royalty would buy items from jewellers and artisans, which ended up in this giant collection that reflects artistic and technical skills at the time. Interestingly they even used coconut shells to carve, and the stones of fruits. The ivory balls, with several balls inside look similar to the ones made in China – were they influenced by the Chinese? We didn’t get the audio tour to find out.

The Throne of the Grand Mogul Aureng-Zeb

Nevertheless the collection is stunning and worth just seeing for the admission alone (21 euros/$23.52). The upper floors are exhibition spaces and we saw one on Kandinsky and his woodblock prints.

Another place nearby worth checking out is Zwinger, another palace steps away from Residenzschloss that dates back to the 18th century, designed in the Baroque style by Matthaus Daniel Poppelmann for Augustus the Strong.

Zwinger means an enclosed killing ground in front of a castle or city gate, and this palace was formerly a fortress complete with a moat. The palace was used as one point to grow oranges, an exhibition space and festival area for the Dresden court.

It too was destroyed during World War II and luckily the art collection was evacuated earlier. Reconstruction began with the Soviets in 1945 and was completed finally in 1963, restoring Zwinger to its pre-war state.

Zwinger with the massive crown down at the other end

Walking into the massive courtyard leaves you in awe of such an amazing space and the giant crown at the top held up by four golden eagles. It is a replica of the Polish royal crown that Augustus the Strong wore from 1687 to 1704.

Visitors can see the massive amount of art amassed here, like the extensive porcelain collection of 20,000 pieces, with ceramics from Jingdezhen in China. There is also the Old Masters Picture Gallery that houses many well known paintings like Raffael's Die Sixtinische Madonna or two angels looking upwards, works by Van Eyck, Durer, Rubens, Rembrandt and Vermeer are here. The highlight is The Sistine Madonna by Raffael.

But it must also be amazing to come here to listen to live concerts that are put on here during the summer.
 

Mini Hong Kong Brings on Nostalgia

A girl looks on at a street scene that looks quite real, but is very small

My dad bugged me to go see the "Feature of HK" miniature exhibition at Olympian City and I finally got around to it because it's closing in two days. I got to the shopping mall at Olympic station after work and there was a line-up to get in. Luckily it was a short wait, but it wasn't fun having to jostle with everyone else not only to get a decent look of the exhibits, but also take pictures.

A traditional shop decorated with Chinese New Year flowers

Nevertheless it was kind of disappointing there wasn't an introduction to the exhibition -- the general public probably didn't care, but it would have been nice to know who the people were behind these pieces -- they are all locals as far as I know, some of whom have even published books on how they make these miniature dioramas.

Some of the pieces were very large, like a replica of the Tai O former police station that is now a hotel, or a series of stalls along cobblestone steps that looks like Pottinger Street, another about wooden huts for people living on Mount Davis Road.

But many of them were small, specific shops, like a cha chaan teng, or a barber shop, jewellery store, shoe shop, one selling roast meats or a general store. The amount of detail that went into each one was staggering, from the individual pieces of candy or fruit in the grocery store to the old school green floor tiles of the barber shop.

The detail of this grocery story is quite amazing!

There was one store that sold snacks like fish balls and egg waffles, lanterns for Mid-Autumn Festival, and another selling dried seafood and even eggs! Even the tea shop had tea cakes wrapped in paper.

People looked at each one, fascinated with the detail and they would comment about how the scene reminded them of their childhood. For most of the visitors who were over 40, it was a trip down memory lane.

A lot of research when into each piece but also trying to recreate the items with as much detail as possible was amazing. It's definitely a labour of love, but perhaps to see people so fascinated with what they have done is probably rewarding enough for them.

A small barbershop complete with green tiles

Nostalgia about Hong Kong from several decades ago is still very emotional for people. It makes them realize how much things have changed in the city, for better or for worse. It will be a theme that businesses will continue to exploit to tug at the heart strings because most people have fond memories of the past.

Chanel Up Close

A beautifully encrusted Chanel haute couture dress

Tonight after dinner, my friend and I happened to be near PMQ or Police Married Quarters on Aberdeen Street above Hollywood Road, when I remembered there was a Coco Chanel exhibition there. Lucky we caught it because it closes tomorrow!

When we arrived there wasn't much of a line, though we had to scan a QR code and tediously register online in order to get in free of charge. The first part of the show featured local artists' interpretation of the legendary Paris-based designer.

This white wedding top is completely beaded

While it's nice to have these kinds of overseas shows invite local artists to participate, the pieces themselves seemed forced... perhaps because the local artists have no affiliation with a brand that makes zillions of dollars from fashion slaves.

Then we walked inside a room where you could smell the different essential oils that go into making Chanel No. 5 perfume and when we walked out we wondered if that was it. But thankfully it wasn't, though it meant walking up several flights of stairs to get to an exhibition showing a few select haute couture pieces up close.

They were presented behind several sheets of muslin (white fabric used to make the first draft in tailoring) and a rectangular hole cut through them for viewers to "peek" inside the atelier.

Some of them had very intricate beading like the top underneath a white wedding jacket, or a dark navy dress encrusted with sparkles. There was also a selection of little black dresses that revealed the outer shells to show fashion fans how intricate the sewing was, but also indicate how many man hours went into each outfit, which was in the hundreds.

890 hours of work went into this black dress

It's almost as if Karl Lagerfeld wants to challenge the haute couture staff into doing the most tedious work to deadline, but in reality fashion is a business and these pieces are a way to lure clients to order these one-of-a-kind dresses.

One that I liked required 890 hours of work into it. Thin organza black strips were carefully sewn either horizontally or vertically -- definitely a daunting task not everyone would have the patience for.

There were also some high jewellery featuring lots of small diamonds to create glittering pieces that would turn heads, including one of a carved lion signifying the leo constellation that stands on top of a shooting star.

At the end there is a very short film that Lagerfeld made in 2015 featuring himself and Geraldine Chaplin as Gabrielle Chanel. She wakes up in her Paris salon and goes upstairs to find Lagerfeld there and the two have a feisty debate about how things have changed since she died, but she still doesn't approve of what he has done with the label.

Chanel's favourite leo on a shooting star

It's a funny finish, but then we are handed a cloth bag and a poster -- of Lily Rose Depp -- Johnny Depp's daughter with a tiara on her head... what does that mean? Hardly a souvenir we want to keep!

Mademoiselle Prive Hong Kong

Until February 10, 2018

PMQ

35 Aberdeen Street

Hong Kong

Picture of the Day: Hello Kitty Bling

Care for a Hello Kitty-themed necklace from Mikimoto? Only HK$2 million

Today I was out for a story and was at Elements mall at Kowloon City when I passed by the Mikimoto boutique and when I saw this necklace I couldn't help but laugh.

The 12-strand pearl necklace features the face of Hello Kitty, with her distinctive eyes, nose and bow on her left ear.

I couldn't make out what's on the left side of the necklace -- perhaps a cat that just went splat on the screen door?

But I did a bit of research and discovered this collaboration between Mikimoto and Hello Kitty was back in 2014, and the necklace I just described has a whopping HK$2 million price tag.

There's also a choker featuring the famous feline around the neck of the wearer.

How chic.

Who would be a Hello Kitty freak and have enough dough to buy these jewellery pieces?

Or is this a serious miscalculation on the part of Mikimoto that this would be a sure winner?

Checking out Wudaoying Hutong

Cars sometimes pass through here, but mostly it's pedestrians

A friend who lives in Beijing recommended that I check out Wudaoying hutong near Yonghegong Lama Temple, as it hasn't been commercialized like Nanluoguxiang hutong.

I remember when Nanluoguxiang was just starting to have shops and it had rough edges to it that gave it some charm.

Does this cat look like he could be Brother Cream's cousin?

But now it's very gentrified, and as my friend says, there are the independent shops there, but there are also ones run by the government that you can tell are trying to push Chinese arts and culture in a Friendship Store 2.0 kind of way.

Having been there twice on my trip, I can attest to that!

So I checked out Wudaoying and I remember I did go there once many years ago to a western restaurant called Vineyard Cafe and it's still there. On the whole Wudaoying is still a residential area with shops down the main strip.

Some are clothing shops selling qipao or Chinese shirts and jackets, some with embroidery, jewellery shops, there are snack shops, mostly cafes, and several pottery shops that have several throwing wheels, where people take classes.

A not very happy looking mud grass horse at Plastered 8!

One of the pottery workshops had a giant fat cat with a bowtie, lazying on the table by the entrance and he could be Brother Cream's Beijing cousin!

A shop called Plastered 8 that opened in Nanluoguxiang also has a store here, and it has pretty funky T-shirts. The store front here includes a sculpture of a caonima, or "grass mud horse", which sounds like a swear word, but it is like giving the finger to internet censorship in China. I think we all feel like that!

On a happier note, we also saw a couple taking wedding photos there, probably the equivalent of Hong Kong couples taking pictures with the tram going by.

A sign indicating the entrance but we started from the back

On the whole it was fun to poke our heads into some of the shops and seeing what was going on. Some of the prices were expensive, some were OK. Although we didn't buy anything, we enjoyed soaking up the laid back atmosphere with a dose of crafts.

Advertorial Wedding

Angelababy wearing a Chaumet diamond tiara

French jeweller Chaumet is defying the bleak retail economy thanks to its sponsorship of the celebrity wedding between actors Angelababy and Huang Xiaoming in October last year.

On social media the bride showed off a six-carat, US$1.6 million wedding ring that was quickly dubbed the "Angelababy Ring" by millions of netizens.

The jewellery house has a long history of being the official jewellery to Emperor Napoleon I, making the crowns and ceremonial jewels for him and his wife Empress Josephine as well as other monarchs since the late 1700s. But it has lost out in terms of brand recognition, because well, you don't need a tiara everyday.

The infamous "Angelababy ring" with a six-carat diamond

Nevertheless, this massive wedding held at the Shanghai Exhibition Centre has hit the jackpot for Chaumet, says chief executive Jean-Marc Mansvelt.

He recalled the overwhelming response from Chinese clients for the Josephine Airgrett Imperiale ring, as well as for two antique diamond tiaras Angelababy wore at her wedding.

Mansvelt is quick to point out many shoppers flock to the Chaumet stores in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan and China, asking for the "Angelababy ring", but "it was not something that was originally designed for her," he says.

But do Chinese consumers care to know who Empress Josephine was?

And why should Mansvelt care anyway? He's seeing "more than double-digit growth" in revenue in greater China from its 20 boutiques on the mainland, five in Hong Kong and four in Taiwan.

There doesn't seem to be any thought about how over-the-top the wedding is, and how the bride and groom profited from the sponsorships and tie-ups with companies, pitching their stuff by wearing or using it.

No-frills couple Shu Qi and Stephen Fung

This contrasts starkly with the recent wedding of Taiwanese actress Shu Qi and Hong Kong-based actor and director Stephen Fung in September. She wore a pink dress from H&M given to her two years ago, and they didn't even have a wedding banquet.

Seems like you either do the full-on, with everything on top kind of wedding, or the other extreme of keeping it as plain as possible...

Retail Sales Plunge in Hong Kong

Causeway Bay may look busy but who is actually shopping?

Retailers in Hong Kong are freaking out with sales plunging 13.6 percent in the first two months of the year, the biggest slump since 1999. More bad news is expected later in the year.

The Hong Kong Retail Management Association expects retailers to see double-digit decline in the first quarter, and end the year with a contraction in the high single digits.

Part of the reason is due to declining visitor figures, which dropped 13 percent in the past year. Those from the mainland fell 18 percent even though there was an increase of 7 percent in overseas visitors, according to the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

Supermarkets seem to be the best retail sector at the moment

Some expect large-scale layoffs and a string of shop closures this year if the situation doesn't improve.

In 20 retail categories surveyed, only supermarket goods recorded growth, expanding 0.2 percent in the first two months of 2016, while 13 other categories saw double-digit declines.

Thomson Cheng Wai-hung, chairman of the association, was very surprised people didn't splurge for Chinese New Year, adding that local consumption had softened.

"We were all shocked... People would not spend money even during Lunar New Year," he said.

The biggest slump was in jewellery, watches and other valuables that mainlanders typically came to Hong Kong to buy, followed by sales of clothing and department store goods, which shrank 11.4 percent and 12.3 percent respectively.

Jewellery and watch sales dropped in January and February

Cheng said many locals and tourists were more interested in spending their money outside of Hong Kong.

So many people are flocking to Japan to go shopping as the yen is weak and why not go to a place where the residents are polite, the streets are clean and food is delicious?

The second best places for value is Taiwan and Thailand.

While the slowing down of consumption isn't good for the Hong Kong economy, environmentalists must be thrilled people are spending less. And with supermarket sales going slightly up, that must mean more people are cooking at home, which is good for the waistline and the heart.

Perhaps reading enough stories about how fast fashion is not good for the environment, or people wanting to save money are reading about budgeting have led them to cut down on spending too.

Or am I being totally idealistic?

This year is not good for many sectors -- we're all in the same boat. But honestly, who was the one who thought Hong Kong should only concentrate on mainland clientele?

Nothing lasts forever...

Tragedy of a Tourist

The jewellery store on the left was where the tourist was beaten up

It is shocking to hear that a mainland tourist died yesterday after trying to mediate a dispute between a fellow visitor and their tour guide.

Miao Chunqi, a 53-year-old construction contractor from northeastern Heilongjiang province was allegedly beaten unconscious by a gang of four men, thought to be mainlanders.

Together with 19 other visitors from China, Miao joined a tour that was probably cheap in price, but when they arrived, the group had to pay up the difference by buying up in a jewellery shop. The visitors were forced to stay inside and buy something, but a fellow tourist complained to the tour guide not wanting to purchase anything.

The two had a verbal altercation and Miao tried to mediate, but was attacked by four men believed to be mainlanders. The police source said: "Initial investigations showed he was dragged out of the shop and attacked again.

The "forced shopping" tour guide was arrested yesterday

The news of this tragic death has resulted in the Chinese tourism authority for Hong Kong to tell the local government to protect the rights of mainland visitors.

It goes to show the Leung Chun-ying administration is not doing a good enough job of keeping tabs on the situation. The authorities should be cracking down on cheap tours that rely more on shopping. Instead these nefarious tours seem to continue to exist, and now we've seen the ugly and tragic side of "forced shopping tours".

Now the Hong Kong tourism industry is concerned this incident will leave a dark stain, and already mainlanders have pledged online not to visit here.

The local tourism sector is already struggling, thanks to Chinese President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption campaign that is scaring off big spenders, and now with this horrific incident, one wonders if any tourists from China will want to come here.

"Mainland tourists might lose interest and confidence in coming to Hong Kong," said Josephn Tung Yao-chung, executive director of the Travel Industry Council. He said tours involving shopping were highly sought after.

But tourism sector lawmaker Yiu Si-wing, cautioned against jumping to conclusions. "Maybe it was about coerced shopping, or perhaps, personal remarks. We don't know what provoked the dispute."

Retailers Change Their Tune

Did hot men result in hotter sales for Abercrombie & Fitch in Hong Kong?

A few years ago luxury brands muscled their way into prime retail locations in Hong Kong, which had the domino effect of unsympathetically pushing out mom-and-pop stores that had been there for decades.

This kind of gentrification was not welcomed by Hong Kong people -- these boutiques selling expensive fashion, jewellery and watches were catered towards mainland tourists, not the local population.

It got to the point where there were regular reports in the paper about this noodle shop closing, or that bakery shuttering because of exorbitant rents, and residents rushed to these places for their last bite because it reminded them of their childhood.

I also joked at the time that because all these food shops were closing that we wouldn't have anything left to eat.

Burberry's flagship store in Pacific Place

Abercrombie & Fitch created a stir when it kicked out Shanghai Tang from Pedder Building in Central, and even worse, was willing to pay double the rent at HK$7 million a month.

After the hoopla of having topless men with washboard stomachs (of course) doing publicity stunts around town, did that help sell millions of dollars worth of casual clothes per week?

Then there was Burberry that took over the space previously occupied by Lane Crawford in Pacific Place in Admiralty, that caused a chain reaction -- Lane Crawford then moved across the street to Queensway, uprooting a number of small shops that had occupied that area.

But now some of these brands are having their comeuppance, as mainland shoppers are not keen to buy big ticket items in Hong Kong, and instead are looking further afield to outlet stores -- in Europe and Japan where the euro and yen are weak.

Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer is closing its store on the popular Russell Street in Causeway Bay, while luxury group Kering (formerly PPR) founded by Francois Pinault, will be asking for lower rents for its brands like Gucci, Saint Laurent Paris, Boucheron, Bottega Veneta, Stella McCartney and Qeelin.

Kering not only wants to get rent reductions in Hong Kong, but also Macau, and if these requests aren't met, some shops may have to close in the region, according to the company's chief financial officer Jean-Marc Duplaix.

IFC mall in Central is full of luxury brand stores

Following its big gamble of setting up many shop spaces in Hong Kong, Burberry Group is looking for a cut in rent, saying Hong Kong is "a challenging luxury market", while Coach says its weak sales were due to "lower tourist trends from the mainland".

On the other side, big landlords like Hongkong Land says it has received requests to decrease rent, but has refused to, while Cheung Kong Property Holdings that owns 1811 Heritage mall in Tsim Sha Tsui has frozen the rent for three years when leases were up recently.

However luxury mall owners like Sun Hung Kai at IFC mall and Hysan Development at Hysan Place and Lee Gardens have claimed they didn't receive any requests to have cuts in rent.

Chasing the mainland tourist dollar has been a short-sighted strategy all along. While the sheer numbers of visitors across the border cannot be ignored, Hong Kong entrepreneurs should not completely shut out local clientele.

Either way perhaps landlords will finally realize that their greediness was not sustainable long term...

True Love Conquers All

Victor and his now fiancee posing for pre-wedding pictures in Iceland

People are still talking about Victor and Stephanie BB's wedding proposal from last weekend, gobsmacked that he spent HK$400,000 ($51,590) on a 1.5-carat diamond ring, a hotel suite with a view and a helicopter flying by with a banner that had the proposal written on it.

Many are wondering if it's a publicity stunt and if the media who reported it were paid to cover the story.

But we'd like to contrast this with two other couples.

A couple in Turkey got married near the Syrian border and celebrated the nuptials by inviting 4,000 Syrian refugees to eat with them. The bride and groom even spooned out food for the less fortunate.

A Turkish newlywed couple dishes out food for refugees

It was the idea of the groom's father, who was glad the couple began their married life "with such a selfless action".

The bride admitted being shocked at the idea at first, but then she was so happy she was able to help others in need.

The groom added, "Seeing the happiness in the eyes of the Syrian refugee children is just priceless. We started our journey with making others happy and that's a great feeling," he said.

And in Anhui province, a 30-year-old man paid for a 12,000 yuan ($1,932) diamond ring in coins to give to his former childhood sweetheart.

Liang Liang wheeled a tricycle loaded with 150kg of coins into bags to a jewellery shop in Fuyang. The highest denomination coin was 1 yuan.

Staff counting the coins Liang used to buy a ring

It took four employees half a day to count all the coins, that were neatly wrapped in newspaper.

Liang said he was fulfilling a promise he made to his fiancee made 20 years earlier when they were children.

"Do you remember 20 years ago I said I would earn money and marry you?" Liang was quoted as saying. "Now I've earned enough to buy you a ring, please marry me!"

His fiancee accepted and was reportedly so moved by his proposal that she burst into tears.

Liang had said that several jewellery stores turned him away when he asked if he could pay for the ring in coins. But the manager of the shop that sold him the ring said staff were touched by his story and would put the coins on display as "the best evidence of true love".

We hope this brings everyone back to reality, that there are some people out there who are celebrating their love with true hearts.

Zhang Ziyi Says Yes

Fiancee Wang Feng gets down on one knee as he proposes to Zhang Ziyi

The big entertainment news today is that actress Zhang Ziyi is finally getting hitched.

Her rocker boyfriend Wang Feng threw a birthday party for her on the weekend to celebrate turning 36 today.

To top off the festivities, a white drone carrying a basket flew into the room to Wang, 43, where he picked up a small box from it, got down on one knee and proposed to Zhang with a whopping 9.15-carat diamond ring apparently from London's Moussaieff Jewellery and a ruby-diamond bracelet.

What girl who was keen to get married wouldn't say no to that?

Zhang is in complete shock as Wang gets a ring from the drone

The handout picture to the media shows Wang taking the box from the drone and Zhang looking completely surprised, covering her face with her hands and wearing a one-shoulder red dress. It's wonderful to see her unscripted.

The actress and star of such hits as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Memoirs of a Geisha and The Grandmaster has had a string of relationships, and from 2008-2010 was engaged to Israeli American billionaire Vivi Nevo where she tried to learn English.

She later dated Chinese TV host Sa Beining in 2011 before moving on to Wang, who was twice married before, divorcing his second wife in 2013. He has two daughters, one from each wife.

Maybe three times lucky for Wang?

On Zhang's Weibo account, she posted a picture of fireworks with "Yes, I will [marry you]".

Wang reposted the picture and added: "Thanks for completing my life. All the hardship is past. From now we are together till we're old.

"We have experienced happy times and bitter times. I hope Ziyi will always have happy times. If we grow old, I will still be able to look after you," he tearfully proposed.

So maybe money isn't what Zhang wants -- according to gossips, she makes 20 times more than Wang.

We wish all the best for the couple -- Zhang has looked a long time for love and hopefully this is it.