Discover the Orient in a Single Holiday: Visuality and Tourism Promotion in Late-Colonial Hong Kong

Abstract

From the establishment of the PRC in October 1949 up to the reversion to Chinese sovereignty in July 1997, a network of state and non-state actors tried to promote colonial Hong Kong as a unique political, geographical, and cultural space. It was Chinese but not quite China; a harmonious blending of East and West and of old and new, and a modern, bustling metropolis coexisting side-by-side with the sleepy, rural New Territories. The Hong Kong Tourist Association, established in 1957, built a string of overseas branch offices in Britain, Europe, North America, and East Asia. Inspired by new approaches to tourism discourse and branding, this paper explores how local tourist authorities used visual imagery to sell Hong Kong across the globe. Several themes remained constant in this discourse, including shopping, food, and people – especially the “exotic” Chinese woman. From the vibrant watercolors of Chinese-American artist Dong Kingman to 70s-style pop posters, potential tourists learned that in Hong Kong they could “discover the Orient in a single holiday.” The Hong Kong tourist industry helped open that of mainland China after Deng Xiaoping’s reforms beginning in the late 1970s. However, this gradually meant that overseas tourists no longer had to visit Hong Kong either to enter or experience China. With tourists increasingly sidestepping Hong Kong altogether and the clock ticking down to 1997, this discourse shifted to one of promoting Britain’s only Chinese colony as a place that had to be seen before it disappeared.