Real talk from three years in Hong Kong: Hongkongers love to trash talk mainlanders, yet they rush to Shenzhen for a shopping spree; mainlanders get dissed but are desperate to get into Hong Kong.
It's my third year in Hong Kong, and one day I was chilling in a bar in Tsim Sha Tsui, watching a table of Hongkongers sipping beers complaining about 'too many mainlanders', then they turned around and booked train tickets to Shenzhen for the weekend. I just couldn't help but laugh.
This is the real face of Hong Kong, no cap.
When Hongkongers start roasting mainlanders, they go all out: overcrowding hospitals, jamming schools, Mandarin noise pollution, low quality, snatching resources... they really go hard on it.
But come Friday afternoon, the Luohu-Futian port is buzzing like it’s on steroids, packed with Hong Kong uncles and aunties dragging huge suitcases, their faces screaming ‘finally, time to go shopping!’
They’re not there for tourism; they’re just there to score some deals.
Milk powder expensive? Head to Shenzhen. Diapers pricey? Go to Shenzhen. Cosmetics, snacks, clothes, bags, even getting a haircut or having a decent meal... prices in Hong Kong are sky-high, while the mainland has them slashed in half, plus you can find more variety.
Many middle-class Hong Kongers now think of Shenzhen as their cheap kitchen, running over for dim sum, massages, hot springs, grocery shopping, and then coming back to complain in the group chat about how ‘the mainland is such a mess.’
Your wallet is always more honest than your mouth. These people, their sense of superiority is like their daily bread, and cheap goods are also their daily bread—it's a win-win for them.
But what about folks from the mainland? They're just as real, man.
I've seen too many mainland friends jump through hoops just to get a Hong Kong ID—running around, making connections, taking courses, throwing money, waiting in line—a dizzying array of operations. Why? Because they’re anxious.
What they want isn’t to ‘become Hong Kongers,’ but a ticket to escape.
Kids don’t need to stress out too much; there are international schools to choose from. Healthcare is relatively reliable, so no worries about sudden policy changes; money in Hong Kong flows in and out freely, and having an extra passport means an extra escape route. Bottom line: in this uncertain era, it’s about buying a little more insurance for yourself and your family.
For them, Hong Kong has never been the romantic Pearl of the Orient; it’s more like a safety net that lets them sleep soundly.
The most messed up part is that neither of these groups can really do without the other.
Hong Kongers can’t live without the cheap deals and market from the mainland, and mainlanders can’t live without the systems and channels from Hong Kong. But neither side respects the other: Hong Kongers think you’re loud, think you’re uncultured, think there are too many of you; mainlanders know deep down they’ll always be seen as ‘outsiders’ here.
After three years, the clearest thing I’ve seen is this—Hong Kong doesn’t talk about feelings, it only talks about benefits.
When Hong Kongers go to the mainland to shop, don’t be naive and think they’ve started accepting you; they’re just there to grab a quick profit.
When mainlanders get their Hong Kong ID, they shouldn't get too high on themselves—getting that card is easy, but being truly accepted as one of their own is hard as hell.
Everyone’s just so damn sharp and realistic.
These days when I drink, I often think: there's no real fusion in this world, just mutual exploitation. Once they're done using you, they'll keep on bashing you and run off when they need to.
What do you think?
Are you one of those Hong Kongers who rush to Shenzhen for a weekend shopping spree?
Still struggling for that Hong Kong ID, huh, my mainland friends?
Got stories? Bring them on, let’s all enjoy the laughs.