Back in Action

In late 2015, one of Hong Kong's most well-known tourist attractions shut down for what turned out to be an extensive three year refurbishment. The Avenue of Stars, an amalgamation of the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Grauman's Chinese Theater, is a waterfront promenade in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, overlooking the mesmerizing skyline of the north shore of Hong Kong Island. 

First opened in 2004, it's arguably the best vantage point for a view of the city, with its only serious competition coming from the Peak. On a clear day—or, to be honest, even on a hazy one—the vista across Victoria Harbour is unmatched. I still don't think a cityscape anywhere on earth comes close to it.

Visiting the Avenue was a standard item on every Hong Kong itinerary, and none of my visitors ever walked away unimpressed, from my arrival until its temporary closure. So it was certainly bittersweet news to learn it would be off-limits for such an extended period of time. Sadly, Heidi, my dad and sister and Maddie all visited during the overlong hiatus. But as I made my way from Happy Valley to Kowloon this morning for a client meeting, reading a copy of the daily Standard, I was overjoyed to learn that the upgrade was complete at long last, and that beginning today, the iconic attraction would be back in action and open to visitors!

As fate would have it, my meeting was only a few minutes' walk away, over on Canton Road. So when it finished slightly earlier than expected, I stole half an hour to return to a place where I'd spent many precious moments between 2009 and 2015. And I must report that the wait was totally worth it. The Avenue of Stars is back and better than ever! 

Of course, the view is pretty much unchanged, but the new design is much snazzier than its predecessor. Food and beverage kiosks pepper the walkway, interspersed with eye-catching, Felliniesque benches that have apparently increased seating capacity nearly threefold! High quality souvenir stalls peddle Hong Kong-themed memorabilia. New masonry undulates gracefully, dipping lower towards the water in spots, then rising again a few feet further. And plants, shrubs and flowers add to the park-like ambiance. 

The old version was pretty much a place you visited purely for the magical view. Now, it's an attraction in itself. Designed by James Corner, who was the creative force behind Manhattan's High Line, it's a masterpiece of urban public space. I think I'll be a frequent visitor once again. 

Owing to the auspicious occasion, TVB and other local news stations had crews on location reporting on the reopening this morning. I walked by the cameras slowly, hoping one of the reporters would stop me and ask me for my impressions. Alas, none did. But I did get to spend a great deal of time exploring the place. 

Among the iconic features of the Avenue of Stars is a quartet of statues. Strolling west to east, the first one you encounter is a giant, twenty-foot high recreation of the Hong Kong Film Award, handed out each March, recognizing the best of the city's popular movie industry. 

Continuing east, you'll find McDull, a cartoon pig inexplicably popular here. I must admit, I don't quite get the fascination, but his statue is cute enough and certainly fitting as the Year of the Pig quickly approaches. 

Much more interesting to me is the macho likeness of kung fu legend Bruce Lee, one of Hong Kong's favorite sons. In addition to its value as a touchstone of local culture, I also think its simply a wonderful piece of art. Lee seems to come alive again: his flexed muscles, his penetrating stare, his bad-ass pose. You half expect him to spring into action. 

On the old Avenue, Bruce was fenced off so that you couldn't really get too close to him. He was also positioned pretty much at the water's edge, confining your view to three sides. Now he's moved to a prominent location slightly to the north, in front of an as-yet-unopened Starbucks. Instead of metal barriers to keep curious fans from damaging the sculpture, he's been placed in the middle of a fountain. 

And you can encircle the entire statue to appreciate the splendid details from all angles. I especially liked the view from the back, possibly because I'd never seen it before. (You'd have had to have been in the harbor in order to get the same vantage point previously.) For example, I'd never realized that Bruce's eyes, ever watchful, are assessing potential menaces from behind as he attacks unseen aggressors to his front. 

A final statue is of Cantopop diva Anita Mui, who is still beloved here fifteen years after her untimely passing. A popular singer and sometime-actress, Mui is especially revered for her philanthropy and community work, particularly in relation to the devastating SARS outbreak in 2003, the same year of her own death at the age of forty. It's a wiggy, whimsical, carefree statue that juxtaposes perfectly with the hyper-realistic one of Lee just feet away. 

At this point, I began retracing my steps back towards the Star Ferry, a bit perplexed at the absence of the celebrity hand prints that once lined the ground of the promenade. The Standard mentioned these would now be raised off the ground to allow for easier viewing. But I didn't see them anywhere. "They must not have been ready in time for today's grand opening, but I guess they'll be added later," I reasoned to myself. 

And then it hit me... I had been walking past them the entire time!

In perhaps the greatest enhancement of the entire refurbishment, the hand prints of some of Hong Kong's most illustrious film personalities now line the railing the divides the promenade from the water itself. I couldn't believe I missed them initially! When I scrolled back through the first photos I had snapped earlier, there they were, plain as day. I guess I was just so engrossed by all the other new features that I was simply too distracted to realize. 

To be fair, not every name will mean something to Western visitors, but many will. And after spending nearly a decade here, I'm now a firm fan of Hong Kong's cinema scene. As you wander along, you'll spot names like Wong Kar Wai, Michelle Yeoh, Brigitte Lin, Leslie Cheung, Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Chow Yun Fat, John Woo, Ann Hui, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau, Deannie Ip and Maggie Cheung. Overall, there are more than a hundred! Brief descriptions highlight major milestones in their careers, along with a photograph and—in many, but not all, instances—a replica of their hand prints. 

The old versions were pure Grauman's Chinese Theater, the stars having placed their hands in wet cement. The new versions are instead cast in gold metal. The star in question didn't actually press down on this exact spot. These are clearly moulds. Still it's an incredibly cool experience to wander alongside one of the best views in the world placing your own hands into the prints of these bigwigs. 

Just before leaving, I stopped at one of the souvenir stalls to buy a squishy toy version of one of my favorite Hong Kong treats, the boh loh yau (pineapple bun with butter). Now gracing my desk at work, I hope it's a daily reminder that one of the city's best vantage points is open for business again—and a memento of the unforgettable day when I was one of the first visitors to stroll the sunny Avenue of Stars on the occasion of its grand reopening!