To many people from across the world, Hong Kong is a city where the East meets the West. This encounter gives rise to a unique lifestyle that may be understood as traversing between two calendars – the Solar and the Lunar. Theoretically the Lunar calendar refers to the traditional cycle that agricultural Chinese society observes. Although 21st century Hong Kong can hardly be considered as agricultural, the Lunar calendar does exert significant force upon people’s life throughout the year, while the busy, urban, and material life speeds on with the Solar calendar. This is a creative non-fiction presenting the dual life of Hong Kong, from the beginning to the end of a year, between the two calendars. The Lunar calendar marks the important beginning of a new year when people look up their fortune according to their Chinese zodiac, while the Solar calendar presents the festivities in a highly commercial and material urban setting.
Read Life in a City on Two Calendars: Co-existence between the Solar and Lunar Hong Kong