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Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Which of these cities would you say is the unofficial hub/capital of East Asia?
How would you compare them in terms of global importance, regional importance, GDP/economy, culture/cultural influence, skyline, nightlife, transportation.etc.
Tokyo has the biggest economy but Hong Kong just feels more international to me. It has more nationalities living in it, and gets over 21 million visitors a year, far more than Tokyo.
Shanghai still probably trails in international prominence, but will probably become no. 1 in 10 years IMO.
Seoul is probably still no. 4 but is still a huge city and Korea is rising in prominence.
It seems like Beijing would have a pretty strong stab as the unofficial hub/capital of East Asia as well by political, demographic, media, and economic clout.
It seems like Beijing would have a pretty strong stab as the unofficial hub/capital of East Asia as well by political, demographic, media, and economic clout.
Being that China charges a huge fortune for Americans to visit China (around US$150)...it prevents people from casually going there, who might otherwise. I live in Japan, so it's much cheaper to go to many other countries without those 'penalties' that are more fun. So, I'd give Beijing a pass.
Of the 4 categories..I'd probably go with Hong Kong. ALthough the others are close to it too.
They say most of the world's money goes through New York, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Maybe I'm selling Japan short, but Hong Kong has always felt more international to me, so therefore I'd say HK is probably the greater hub over Tokyo.
I also lived in Seoul, and the mass majority of the foreigners living and/or working in Seoul were ALWAYS either AMerican military personnal or contractors OR English teachers. It was a shock to meet any other foreigner who wasn't one of those two. Whereas in Tokyo or HK, you really have no idea who is who among the foreigner crowds.
I really want to say Tokyo because when I visited, I thought it was so much better than Hong Kong. But I believe that since the natural disasters last year, the economic situation has taken a huge toll on Japan in general. Tokyo used to be a top destination, but now people are scared to go there, fearing another natural disaster would happen.
I haven't been to Shanghai since I was 10-years-old, so i can't speak for it. However, I think Hong Kong might be the winner ere. Their transportation system is amazing and clean - I mean, look at most of these stations..they're connected to malls and they have lots of shopping! It is so diverse, plus there are SO MANY Mainland tourists, especially wealthy ones, who occasionally come down to Hong Kong.
HK has more foreigners that don't learn the local cultures and languages than Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul. There are still many foreigners in HK not wearing masks like the Asians during this outbreak.
HK was a British colony and has non Chinese residents such as Europeans and South Asians since British rule in the 19th century. It currently also has large number of Southeast Asian workers.
Being closer to Mainland China, SE Asia, S Asia and the Middle East, it got more Asian visitors than the whole Japan and South Korea. It also has stronger connections with Africa, Europe, Australia and NZ, more flights from these.
Other cities need to relax visitor and work visa policy for foreigners and use more English to become more international. High income and job opportunities are needed to attract international talents. Good profits are needed to attract international investors.
Last edited by Tomboy-; 02-21-2020 at 06:21 PM..
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