Back to the West

Writing this as I wait to board my flight home to Canada. One month has flown by.

 

Life  Travel

 This week was different for me as I left Shenzhen early to spend four days in Hong Kong. Life and travel have merged together, so I’ll treat them as one category. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Hong Kong – I knew it would be different from Mainland China but I couldn’t gauge how different. Having now been here almost a week, the answer is: very different.

If you read my last post, you’ll remember me speaking about feeling like a Celebrity in Mainland China. And so when I was leaving Shenzhen, passing through Chinese customs, everything was normal – I felt right at home. When I got to Hong Kong and got on the metro, something was different. Nobody was looking at me anymore. As you can imagine, I was shocked – was it my hair? My untrimmed beard? It didn’t take long to realize why I had been stripped of my celebrity status – Hong Kong is incredibly diverse. In my view, if Aliens were to land in Hong Kong, they would get the most accurate, proportionate representation of the Earth’s human population. What’s really interesting is that unlike many other diverse cities where people tend to adopt a homogenized identity, people in Hong Kong  seem to keep their personal identity intact, which to me enhances the city’s collective identity. In contrast to Shenzhen, coming to Hong Kong felt like I was back in the Western world. There is still a distinct Chinese culture, but to me it felt closer to Manhattan than Shenzhen (which is right across the bay). So for anyone visiting China, I’d say visit the mainland first before going to Hong Kong – it’ll give you a deeper understanding of China.

Hong Kong is easily one of the most picturesque cities on earth. The unique blend of natural landscape and human structures create unparalleled Instagram opportunities. And the best place to see it all is Victoria Peak. I saw it at sunset and stuck around to see it at night, and it was gorgeous. Some advice: don’t go to “the peak” where everyone crowds together to see the view. There are several semi-hidden spots that you can easily reach that offer arguably better views, without all the people.

If you’re into museums at all, Hong Kong has a bunch of them. I recommend going to the Hong Kong Museum of History. Learning about the evolution of the city gave me a much deeper appreciation of it, for only 10 HKD. Generally speaking there is a lot to do in the city, and for anyone interning in Shenzhen it is definitely something you need to do.

 

Work

On my last day of work I pitched my stock pick. There were some inherent difficulties present as some of the Analysts don’t speak English fluently, but that didn’t stop anyone from asking tough questions. It was a great experience – I gained valuable feedback on where my analysis could’ve been better, along with a generally positive reception of my investment thesis. The month I spent at OHIM was great, but if I could do it again I’d stay a bit longer.

This is my final blog post. As I said in my first post, this entire experience has been an experiment and in summation, a successful one. I have learned so much about myself, and have gained priceless exposure to the Chinese market. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here, and won’t be surprised if I find myself in China sometime soon.

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