2021/08/31

What do you want to know? Today, we'll be talking about the Hong Kong Tram, commonly known as "Ding Ding." Yes, we'll be talking about the recent Guinness World Records certification of the Hong Kong Tram, and about tourism in Hong Kong and Japan.

The new school year started last week at the international school my sons attend. The summer vacation, which lasted for about a month and a half, is now over. Just like last year, the summer vacation ended without us getting on a plane even once, but the kids got dark tans at the nearby pool and beach, and their faces looked a little stronger, so it seems they enjoyed the summer to a certain extent.

This summer, our family's biggest trip was to Shek O Beach. My second son was having fun.

It was August 2019, exactly two years ago. It was the first day of school after arriving in Port. I was surrounded by the parents of my eldest son's classmates and when I said, "I'm from Japan," I was surprised to hear them mention places that aren't in Tokyo, like, "The food in Fukuoka was delicious," or "Niseko was too crowded, so last year we went skiing in Hakuba." Incidentally, out of 100 students in five classes in the first grade, there were only two students who were a mix of Japanese and foreigners, including my eldest son. It was an event that symbolized how familiar everyone felt with Japan, even though they had no roots there.

The COVID-2019 pandemic. The daughter and the eldest son are in the same class. The American father, who worked in an office in Roppongi Hills before coming to Hong Kong, sighed and said, "There were so many fun towns to just walk around and so many delicious restaurants. I want to go back to Japan." According to the number of foreign visitors to Japan announced by the Japan National Tourism Organization in 229.1, before the COVID-2018 pandemic, the number of travelers from Hong Kong to Japan was 220.8 million per year. In 2017, it was 223.2 million, and in 220, it was XNUMX million, and the number has consistently exceeded XNUMX million in recent years (Note XNUMX).

Central at night. My favorite Hong Kong view. From the window of a double-decker tram.

Meanwhile, the number of Japanese travelers to Hong Kong. According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, in 2019, before COVID-107.9, it was 2018 million. Although the number dropped slightly that year due to the impact of the demonstrations, the number continued to exceed 128.8 million, with 2017 million in 123.0 and 120 million in XNUMX (Note XNUMX). Although it may not be as popular as the people living in Hong Kong, there is a term "Hong Kong enthusiast" that means "Hong Kong fan, crazy about Hong Kong," and Hong Kong, which blends East and West, old and new, is a popular tourist destination in Japan.

And here in Hong Kong, there is the tourist resource that Hong Kong is proud of: the Hong Kong Tram. The Hong Kong government announced at the end of May that the fourth wave of COVID-19 had subsided, and it has been two years since I came to Hong Kong. "Yay! Double-decker! I'm going to the second floor!" This summer, my boys, who love vehicles, made their debut on the double-decker tram, where they can fully experience the wind and sounds of Hong Kong.

Bicycles do not ride on the sidewalk or road, but on the tram tracks.

Now, this tram. Ting ting ting, clang, clatter, clang. But do you know how many trams there are in Hong Kong? Ta-dah. The answer is 165. The UK and Egypt also have double-decker trams, but they carry as many as 20 passengers a day, with an adult fare of HK$2.6 no matter how far you go. Hong Kong trams have become an inexpensive form of "citizen transportation." In July of this year, 117 years after its opening, Hong Kong Tramways was recognized by the Guinness World Records as having the "largest fleet of double-decker trams still in operation" (Note XNUMX).

The interior of the tram varies depending on when the vehicle was manufactured. The distance between stops is about 300 to 400 meters, so it's okay if you accidentally miss your stop.

Nowadays, trams are wrapped in colorful designs as running advertisements, but after the war, the bodies of newly manufactured double-decker trams were painted with dark green paint that was left over in large quantities during the war (Note 100). To commemorate the Guinness World Record, Hong Kong Tramways and the Pantone Color Institute, the creators of the color book "Pantone," announced a new color called "HK Tram Green" (Note 165). Even though I've only just come to Hong Kong, it's quite moving to see that the name of a vehicle that has been familiar to people's lives for over 88 years has become one of the colors in an internationally used color book. The body of tram No. XNUMX, a rare air-conditioned car among the XNUMX Hong Kong trams and with an auspicious number, is currently painted in this "HK Tram Green" color, so if you're lucky enough to come across it in the city, check it out.

The four color keywords for HK Tram Green are:

・Sustainability

・Innovative Mindset/Open-mindedness

・Lively/Refreshing/Natural/Fertile

・Calming/Comforting/Balanced/Harmonious

Now, let's turn to Japan. My eldest and second sons haven't seen my parents in over a year and a half since the New Year in 2020. The Tokyo Sakura Tram (Toden Arakawa Line) runs in the shopping district near my parents' house, and when I looked it up, I found that the predecessor of the Toden, the Tokyo Electric Railway, started operating between Shinagawa and Shimbashi on August 1904, 30, almost at the same time as the Hong Kong Tram (July 1903, 22). When I asked the boys, "Do you remember going to see the Tokyo streetcar with your grandparents?", they had troubled smiles on their faces. That's right, it's not surprising when they were XNUMX and XNUMX years old. I suddenly felt a sense of loneliness, and I picked up my cell phone, thinking that I had to at least tell my parents in Japan about my children's first experience of the Hong Kong tram.

An airplane takes off from Hong Kong International Airport. May the peaceful days when we can travel freely around the world return soon.

Hong Kong and Japan. Hong Kong tram and Tokyo Sakura tram. So close yet so far away. Of course, they are physically far apart, but when I saw the various numbers that strangely matched, I felt like the two were firmly connected, and I felt a little more positive on that summer day.

Emi in HK. Thank you very much. Shimojimi!

【source】

*Note 2003: Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) Number of foreign visitors to Japan by nationality/month (2021-XNUMX)

https://www.jnto.go.jp/jpn/statistics/since2003_visitor_arrivals.pdf

*Note 2019: Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) A Statistical Review of Hong Kong Tourism 2018, A Statistical Review of Hong Kong Tourism 2017, A Statistical Review of Hong Kong Tourism XNUMX

*Note 3: Hong Kong Tramways Press Release

https://www.hktramways.com/media/files/press-releases/20210730_GWR_EN.pdf

※Note 4…https://www.marketing-interactive.com/hk-tram-green-now-an-official-pantone-colour-system-for-the-world-to-see

*Note 5: Same as Note 3

Emi
She has worked in a wide range of roles at an economic organization, from negotiating with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Justice to consulting on business transformation and bankruptcy prevention for small and medium-sized enterprises. In June 2019, she said goodbye to her 15-year life in an office in Marunouchi, Tokyo, and moved to Hong Kong due to her husband's work. She is currently studying her rusty English and beginner-level Cantonese and Chinese every day. She relaxes by watching movies and dramas, playing the piano again after a 25-year hiatus, and eating sweets. She is the mother of two mischievous boys who go to elementary school and kindergarten.

Twitter　@emi_m_wang
Email: emiinhkg@gmail.com