It would be a marvel of urban planning except for the flaws I spotted, such as what I view as shoddy workmanship and lack of attention to detail – visible in pedestrian passages with uneven steps.
Admittedly, I’m not one of those people who go north every weekend to eat, and shop at Costco and Sam’s Club.
I remember people warning me that literally everything there was counterfeit, including the food. This was when the news was full of horror stories like ink added to soy sauce, starch put into diluted milk, plastic pellets passing as rice, and rodent and mink meat substituted for pork and mutton.
Was this why people from the Chinese mainland always came to Hong Kong to buy authentic cosmetics, quality dried seafood and baby milk formula? They trusted Hong Kong’s consumer protection regulations.
![A shopper at Sam’s Club in Shenzhen, in January, 2024. Photo: Eugene Lee](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/07/1efc5c0c-7c66-489b-b62e-e324429dca50_52ed6c04.jpg)
At the same time, everything still costs less. On the last night of the conference, my partner and I checked out a bistro close to the Convention Centre. It had a tacky faux European decor, but there were lots of alfresco tables.
In terms of food, everything was well prepared and presented, tasty and delicious. We dined on a crab appetiser, some satay skewers, Iberico pork ribs and a roast duck.
![Duck can be found for much less at Shenzhen restaurants than at their Hong Kong counterparts. Photo: Getty Images](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/07/e79f413a-e0d7-4d1e-8df4-6862b3fba859_58dda525.jpg)
Actually, it was more food than we needed. We expected the duck to be a quarter portion of a leg or a breast because the menu listed it as just 108 yuan. What arrived was an entire roast duck.
How can you blame anyone for crossing the border to stretch their dollar? No wonder Hong Kong’s restaurant industry is struggling so badly.
This kind of imbalance is difficult to overcome. Either inflation in Shenzhen has to go up or the cost of living in Hong Kong goes way down. For economists, neither is a good option.
The only comparable situation I can think of is the US-Mexico border. Thousands of Americans cross over into Mexico for certain services and goods.
![Plaza Santa Cecilia, a historic square in the heart of Tijuana, Mexico – a city that borders San Diego, and where many Americans go each year for perks like cheaper dental care. Photo: Shutterstock](https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/05/07/4b94e15c-503d-4220-9a88-cc0a8a62bf6b_cb1f4dc7.jpg)
American border cities like San Diego aren’t economically threatened by cheaper tequila and affordable dental care. However, if Tijuana, which borders San Diego, grew to double the latter’s size and became a global tech and trade hub, while housing remained half the price of that in the American city, then it might be an issue.
I really don’t know what the long-term solution is for Hong Kong, but this is the new reality. If we can’t beat them, join them?