Glimpses 驚豔

Happy Valley 跑馬地

Professor Hui Cheuk Kuen, Desmond (許焯權教授)

Happy Valley is one of the best held secrets of the city because it has intentionally been kept this way – tram instead of subway, multi- ethnic and cultural, good clubs and shops, best hospital and most bank branches of choice. But one most important feature that differentiates the area from the rest of Hong Kong is the location of the first racecourse here as the valley’s “fengshui” entrance, the benefit of which could only be appreciated by residents here on an air-polluted day: it is often the only area with a patch of blue sky above amidst the grey city immersed in smog. I enjoyed coming to the racecourse with my boys (when they were younger) where they could run around and played soccer in the big green field surrounded by the race tracks, while I did my painting under a tree.

跑馬地是香港其中一個不為一般人知的好地方，因為這秘密是刻意保存的: 這裡只有電車沒有地鐵，有多元的族群和文化，優貭的會所和商店，最好的醫院和多間銀行的分行可以選擇。但讓跑馬地與其他地區不同的最重要因素，是在這快活谷的風水進出口建立了香港第一個賽馬場，這箇中的好處只有住在這區的市民在空氣污染的一天才能深深體會。當全港市區都浸淫在灰朦朦的霧霾中，往往只有這區的上空還可以看到一點點蔚藍的天色。當我的小孩較為年幼時，我很喜歡帶他們到馬場中央的綠地讓他們跑跑跳跳或踢踢球，而我會坐在樹下畫畫寫生。

Happy Valley, Hong Kong

Multicolored

Watercolors