Hong Kong from the Air

Airplanes land in Hong Kong either from the West or from the East.  The plane flies over open water when it lands from the West, and there is not too much to see.  But when the plane lands from the East and the sky is clear, it is a real treat.  Yesterday, when I was flying back from Taipei in the late afternoon, the sky was clear, the sun was low and the ride was smooth.  Everyone was cooperative - and the views were stunning.  When the plane flew up from the south past SaiKung, the houses of Marina Cove stood  out in the sun, and the hundreds of boats dotted the water.  

When it flew past Shatin, I could make up the apartment block where I used to live, and the paths where I used to ride bicycles and run with my daughters.  

Over the hills of East Kowloon, there was the Eastern half of Victoria Harbour, East Kowloon and East Hong Kong Island - and the old runway of Kai Tak Airport.

Then it was the Western half of the Victoria Harbour.  

The two needle-like towers symbolically guarding the passage through the harbour.  The Stonecutter Island Bridge stretching across the huge container port.   

Multiple bridges now link Kowloon to Tsing Yi Island, which was isolated and almost uninhabited only a few decades ago.  

The Tsing Ma Bridge remains as beautiful as ever - and vulnerable to mighty storms as well as the mundane traffic accidents.  What will happen if someone attacks it deliberately?

The Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macau Bridge is taking shape.  It is a huge construction.  It is also logistically and politically complicated.  

What will it turn out to be like?