So Long Hong Kong, So Long

Since January of 2021, there is a minimum of three flights every day fully loaded with Hongkongers, leaving Hong Kong for the UK. It is expected that 250,000 to 320,000 Hong Kong residents will immigrate to the UK in the next five years.

This mass migration wave is a consequence of the pro-democracy protests in 2019 and a resistance to the increasing control from the mainland Chinese government.

I myself was one of the people on those planes. Leaving the city that I loved for my whole life, with the feelings of perplexity and depression of leaving my family, friends, and career behind.

All the photographs from this project ’So Long Hong Kong, So Long’ were taken during the time of such a dramatic change to the city of Hong Kong between January 2020 and May 2021.

In the beginning, I see this work as my farewell letter to Hong Kong, and also to the first half of my life.

But when I continue developing this body of works, I realized this work is more than personal, it is also about the complexity of HongKongers' identity and cultural roots. I was in a way trying to capture the enhancing sense of powerlessness and loss of hope within the city.

© Chung-wai Wong - A little boy with his Filipino Maid.
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A little boy with his Filipino Maid.

© Chung-wai Wong - The Big Cross of Tao Fong Shan.
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The Big Cross of Tao Fong Shan.

© Chung-wai Wong - A bird that was run over by a car.
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A bird that was run over by a car.

© Chung-wai Wong - An abandoned air-raid shelter, near Aberdeen.
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An abandoned air-raid shelter, near Aberdeen.

© Chung-wai Wong - A heart shape drawing on the beach.
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A heart shape drawing on the beach.

© Chung-wai Wong - Sese, playing basketball on her own, a basketball court in a public housing estate.
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Sese, playing basketball on her own, a basketball court in a public housing estate.

© Chung-wai Wong - A teenage girl looking west, Sai Wan Swimming Shed, the western end of Hong Kong Island.
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A teenage girl looking west, Sai Wan Swimming Shed, the western end of Hong Kong Island.

© Chung-wai Wong - Pool cleaning, Kowloon Park Swimming Pool.
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Pool cleaning, Kowloon Park Swimming Pool.

© Chung-wai Wong - Guanyin, the goddess of mercy. A Guanyin statue was reassembled by broken statues.
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Guanyin, the goddess of mercy. A Guanyin statue was reassembled by broken statues.

© Chung-wai Wong - Image from the So Long Hong Kong, So Long photography project
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Chan, 89 years old, is in his photo studio. The photo studio was opened in 1964, mainly provides family photo shooting services. This is one of the very few of its kind that still exists in Hong Kong.

© Chung-wai Wong - A parrot with leg chains.
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A parrot with leg chains.

© Chung-wai Wong - A Caucasian boy scout figure in The Hong Kong Scout Centre.
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A Caucasian boy scout figure in The Hong Kong Scout Centre.

© Chung-wai Wong - A hair Salon in Tuen Mun.
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A hair Salon in Tuen Mun.

© Chung-wai Wong - Victoria Harbour, looking at the Hong Kong Island from the Kowloon side.
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Victoria Harbour, looking at the Hong Kong Island from the Kowloon side.

© Chung-wai Wong - Ashley, a student of a catholic secondary school.
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Ashley, a student of a catholic secondary school.

© Chung-wai Wong - Madam Wong, in front of her tailor shop.
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Madam Wong, in front of her tailor shop.

© Chung-wai Wong - A chained cat in a public housing courtyard.
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A chained cat in a public housing courtyard.

© Chung-wai Wong - Shing Mun River.
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Shing Mun River.

© Chung-wai Wong - Oscar and Kenny, waterfront at the western end of Hong Kong Island.
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Oscar and Kenny, waterfront at the western end of Hong Kong Island.

© Chung-wai Wong - Teenage boys playing anime card games in a small shopping arcade.
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Teenage boys playing anime card games in a small shopping arcade.

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