River and Livable City

Abstract

The PRD is now conceived as an economic powerhouse of Great Bay Area where capitals, productions and, recently innovations are concentrated and circulated. However, if we try to investigate the connections of these city clusters from a humanistic point of view, it is all related to the 'blue' territories of rivers and seas. The connection through flows of water creates a culture that heavily embarks on the understanding of dynamics instead of statics of things and events. The investigation of why and how these territories are cohered deserves a revisit of the local culture that treasures avant garde spirit which has long been embedded since its inception of an 'alternative country'. Through this 'flow-of-lives' perspective, the area allows an interpretation of 'human landscape' that never fixates a way or a style of living but evolves with the changing perception of a local reality that is shaped beyond any ideology. Together with its fundamental cultural genes of pragmatism, this open attitude of seeing and living the lives of 'here and now' has largely shaped the mindscape of the local people in perceiving their identity. In this regard, Hong Kong and Macau as the twin cities that excuse themselves from the 'close-door' history of China have potentially indicated a direction of our 'flowing' future.