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Wednesday, April 21, 2021, 11:02
Harboring hope
By Chitralekha Basu in Hong Kong
Wednesday, April 21, 2021, 11:02 By Chitralekha Basu in Hong Kong

Stacked concrete pipes serve as a playground installation at Sai Ying Pun Promenade. (RAYMOND CHAN / CHINA DAILY)

Many of us were too distracted by the tensions brewing across the city since the middle of 2019 to notice that the northern coast of Hong Kong Island was quietly going through a makeover. The work to build an uninterrupted harborfront from Kennedy Town to Aldrich Bay and beyond in the Eastern district — covering a span of 12.3 kilometers — has been progressing at a steady pace, all this while. 

If you have not been to the Belcher Bay or Wan Chai promenades in the last few months, chances are that you will have a big smile of utter delight under your face mask when you go there the next time, for the regenerated sections of the harborfront have turned into a favorite haunt of small children. It’s a heartwarming sight to watch the tiny tots skipping down low-rise, wide wooden steps on the promenade, climbing on to and inside playground installations and checking out sculptures of prehistoric creatures, while their slightly older peers spend time hanging out around sculptures of their favorite animated characters at the Ani-Com Park in Wan Chai. 

If you were curious as to what Hong Kong’s future might look like, the harborfront might be a good place to begin your journey.

basu@chinadailyhk.com

Young people relax during a sunny day at Belcher Bay Promenade. (RAYMOND CHAN / CHINA DAILY)

Kids get a feel for being on the victory stand at Belcher Bay Promenade. (RAYMOND CHAN / CHINA DAILY)

Young children enjoy the colorful playground at Belcher Bay Promenade. (RAYMOND CHAN / CHINA DAILY)

A girl checks out a dinosaur sculpture at Central Promenade. (RAYMOND CHAN / CHINA DAILY)

Belcher Bay Promenade has plenty of space for a hop, skip and jump. (RAYMOND CHAN / CHINA DAILY)

The comic character Wind has a statue in Ani-Com Park at Wan Chai Promenade. (RAYMOND CHAN / CHINA DAILY)


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