How South Asians Helped to Make Hong Kong: History, Culture, Profiles, Food, Shopping

When a visitor arrives for the first time in Hong Kong, it is clear this is a Chinese city, but with a Western overlay. The faces are mostly Chinese, the conversations are likely in the unfamiliar tones of the Cantonese dialect and Chinese characters abound. But English is also seen and heard. But this is not the whole story. Hong Kong is a city not only of Chinese and British but of many nationalities.

South Asians from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka were some 80,000 in Hong Kong. They were soldiers and merchants – soldiers from the regiments of the British Indian Army and merchants who were Parsees fromWestern India. For the next 100 years, Indians played an essential role in the development and security of the colony. They ran international trading firms that shipped Chinese tea, silk, porcelain and spices to India and the West in exchange for opium, cotton, garments and other goods. They sold diamonds and jewellery.

South Asians brought with them their languages, religion, sports, customs, festivals and food. These have been preserved here until today. They built temples, mosques and other places of worship. Their sports and recreation clubs gave them a place to play cricket and hockey and the restaurants they opened offered a dazzling array of culinary styles and dishes – from curries and halal meat to vegan and vegetarian fare.

Plenty information and beautiful photos around 200

Mark O’Neill
Was born in London and educated at New College, Oxford. After working in Washington DC and Belfast, he came to Hong Kong in 1978 and has remained in Asia since. He worked in Taiwan, India, Japan and Mainland China before settling in Hong Kong in 2006. He has written 10 books, eight published by Point Publishing. It includes Israel and China: From the Tang Dynasty, The Miraculous History of China’s Two Place Museum and etc.

Annemarie Evans
Is a British journalist, who has made Hong Kong her home for the past 25 years. She has presented the RTHK Radio 3 weekly feature programme “Hong Kong Heritage” for the past 20 years. She also co-presents a daily news programme and is a regular contributor to the South china Morning Post. She has previously written for a variety of Asia-based and London publications, and was a Hong Kong stringer for the BBC World Sercive.

Kevin Lee
Was born and raised in Hong Kong. Kevin studied at Ecole régionale des beaux arts de Besançon in France. He has lived and worked in Vancouver, Beijing and Shanghai. Kevin has been a photographer since 1985. His pictures have appeared in many international media, including as the cover of The Economist magazine. Kevin freelances for Associated Press, Daily Telegraph, The Globe and Mail (of Toronto), Getty Images, Bloomber News and Süddeutsche Zeitung.

Introduction
Chapter 1 Indians – Here Since the Foundation of Hong Kong
Chapter 2 The Muslims of Hong Kong
Chapter 3 Sikhs – Lions and Princesses from the Punjab
Chapter 4 Gurkhas – Protecting the Border, Keeping the Peace
Chapter 5 Sri Lankans – Travellers from the Tear Drop Nation
Chapter 6 Textiles, Bengali Culture and Islam
Chapter 7 From Momos to Masala – South Asian Food in Hong Kong
Chapter 8 Tailors, Beauticians and Jewellers
Chapter 9 The Sporting Life
Chapter 10 From Fasting to Feasting – South Asian Festivals
Acknowledgements
Photo Credits