Under the principle of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong has a different and separate political and economic system from mainland China (PRC) and these differences will continue until at least 2047. Generally, this means absolutely nothing to the average American.
However...
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March 8, 2008: Hong Kong/Shenzhen: My job interviews in the PRC were over. I was back in HK and set to spend a few days doing touristy things. Today, I was scheduled to take a full day tour from Hong Kong to Guangzhou in Guangdong province, PRC. A van picked me up at HK's Marco Polo Hotel (yes, I splurged for the Victoria Harbor view) and then others at other HK hotels in the Tsim Sha Tsui tourist area. The tour included English speakers only.
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| View of Hong Kong Island across Victoria Harbor from upper floor room of Marco Polo Hotel (hand-held) |
Our tour guide was a young HK lady and she escorted us to the high-speed ferry terminal for the ride across HK Harbor to Shekou in Shenzhen. During the ferry ride, she gave us each a PRC one day tourist visa to allow us entrance into the PRC for the tour.
We all got on the same line at customs in Shenzhen, and almost everyone went through without a hitch. Of course, I had the hitch. The PRC custom agent checked my passport and day visa and then looked-up, saying something in Mandarin to our HK tour guide.
She came over to me and said "You have a multiple entry/exit visa." Multiple visit visas take precedence over the tourist day visa and so I was on the wrong line. Embarrased for slowing down my tourmates, I got on the other line (there really was no other line; just a guard standing there by his podium) and had my passport instantly stamped as I was allowed entry back into the PRC.
After exiting the customs building and ferry terminal we were introduced to our new tour guide, who explained why we now had a new tour guide even when we had a perfectly fine old tourguide.
Our Hong Kong guide was not allowed to work in the PRC, so she was replaced with an official (government issued) PRC tour guide. The HK tour guide had to pretty much sit in the back of the tour van the entire day and say nothing. I cannot absolutely recall, but I seem to remember that she was not even allowed to have lunch with us.
The difference between the two tour guides could not have been any more obvious. The HK guide spoke a much smoother and natural English. The PRC guide, though speaking an entirely understandable English, was rigid and reading from a memorized script.
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| Official PRC-issued tour guide |
At the end of the day, when the Guangzhou tour was over, it was time to return to HK. We were told that we would be taking the Guangdong Through Train from Guangzhou East rail station directly back to HK. The PRC tourguide kept repeating how lucky we were to be taking the train. She went on about how her and and the van driver not only had to drive back to Shenzhen, they were not allowed to take the modern highway, due to the toll costs. They were forced to take the "Old Canton Road" ("Canton" being the old name for Guangzhou), which would be a substantially longer and more uncomfortable trip.
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| New toll plaza on Shenzhen-Guangzhou Highway (National Freeway 106) |
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| Wishbone-style Bridge |
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| Shenzhen-Guangzhou Highway (National Freeway 106) |
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