ENG-1971 — Page 25

4

REVIEW

shortage is of reasonable non-luxurious hotels at economy rates, but although the industry is making some such provision most of the consumers can still obviously afford to pay the going rate for the best.

Increasing internationalisation and aspirations to trendy affluence are therefore reflected in the appearance and way of life of the local people. The dignified traditional men's and women's Chinese dress is now rarely seen on the streets, but air-conditioning and mass- produced lightweight fibres have encouraged the adoption of western fashions that (the girls' miniskirts possibly excepted) would not have been thought 'sensible' in the tropics between the 'twenties and the 'fifties.

European and American styles of entertainment and leisure activi- ties have become popular, although the beginning may be discerned in what is still one of the world's keenest cinema-going populations of the self-defeating spiral of dropping attendances and rising seat prices. And each day crowds of office and factory workers hurry to work during rush hours in the same way as their commuter counter- parts all round the world.

Television and 'hi-fi' may have only supplemented, rather than displaced, mahjong in three quarters of the family evenings spent at home, but in the past few years thorough use has at last been made of the natural amenities of Hong Kong.

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Many beautiful beaches that, except for handfuls of westerners, were deserted in 1961 are now crowded throughout the summer, and the secluded bays and coves of the outlying islands are regularly in- vaded by flotillas of pleasure boats. Walking, picnicking and camp- ing have become increasingly popular with organised groups and spontaneous parties of friends, and at each weekend there is a massive exodus of people jamming the roads into what used to be the unknown country of the New Territories. The people themselves are often as beautiful as the places they frequent, but, unhappily, the rubbish they leave behind is not.

Select athletes are increasingly representing Hong Kong at inter- national sporting congresses, but for the masses, low level participa- tion as well as spectatorship are good enough. During the long hot days the most popular resorts for town youth are the five Urban Council public swimming pools, the latest of which has, officially, comfortable room for 5,000 swimmers at a time. These pools are essential to the spirited summer youth recreation programmes which have been managed by voluntary agencies, educationists, youth