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Photography: Murat Taner

Arif Aşçı’s Hong Kong

Arif Aşçı’s Hong Kong

Arif Aşçı recently won the overseas photographer award at the Higashikawa photography festival held in the Japanese city of the same name. We asked hım about hıs beloved Hong Kong.

How did you come to know Hong Kong?

I first saw Hong Kong in 1988. After a long journey through Tibet, I reached Canton over land and went from there by train to the Hong Kong coast of mainland China. I went to the island of Hong Kong on one of the Star Ferry boats, which are very much like our Bosphorus ferries.

What impressed you there?

The first thing that makes an impression in the city is the incredible dynamism and the crowds. At first I stayed in a hotel on the Kowloon side, Chungking Mansions, a gigantic building almost in ruins that was popular with the backpacker set. It had an Indian restaurant on every floor. Years later it had a leading role in director Won Kar Wai’s 1993 film, Chungking Express.

How did you see Hong Kong?

After a while I found a job at a photo agency and stayed a few months in Hong Kong. During that time the thing I did most was to go to the Aberdeen side, mingle with the Chinese fishermen who lived on boats and eat fish on small fishing boats turned into restaurants.

1. Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade

2. Evening in central Hong Kong

3. Skyscrapers in the financial district

4. A local yacht in Hong Kong harbor

5. There’s shopping aplenty in Hong Kong’s colorful sign-filled streets