We are Gathered Together Here to - the City Hall

First published in Elysiants on 27 December 2011.

On the Saturday before, Audrey and I went to the City Hall in Central for a drama performance by Trinity Theatre. It has been a long while since we both worked in Central, so we took the opportunity to re-familiarise ourselves with the landmark.

We first made it to the Memorial Garden so that Audrey can grab a quick bite before the drama begins. The doors to the garden bore inscriptions and emblems that reminded us of Hong Kong's colonial past.

The garden is there to commemorate those who gave their lives in the Second World War. It reminded me of my last hike on the Dragon's Back, where we walked down to Chai Wan and passed by the Sai Wan War Cemetery. It is rather sad to see that most of the soldiers in the cemetery are nameless, with their tombstone merely bearing the carvings "A soldier known to God". The Memorial Garden here is as serene and peaceful as the cemetery, and made a great sanctuary for a sandwich lunch in Central.

 

The High Block housed the first of the public libraries in Hong Kong, and my favourite place in the building is the Basic Law Library. I love how it is furnished with antique-looking Chinese furniture, looking very exquisite and tranquil. It is definitely my ideal place for revising.
 

We then headed off to the Low Block for our drama of the day, Mango. It was about several high school buddies getting together some years after graduation, and pondering whether they have lived up to their childhood dreams. Although the drama was about four men feeling lost in the waves of reality, it still hit the two of us hard, as their dilemmas were rather collectively Hong Kong.

There are lots of art and cultural events going on in City Hall all the time, so head down there during Buddha's Birthday and check out what was the hub of Hong Kong in the nineteenth century.