Blue Dragon

(Japanese): Coloured ornamental carp.
    Kowloon: Peninsula opposite the Harbour from Hong Kong Island, a densely packed area of highrise buildings. Actually on the Chinese Mainland, but separated by a strict border dividing Hong Kong from China.
    Kowloon City: District in Kowloon just before the entrance to the Cross-Harbour Tunnel.
    Kwan Yin: Buddhist icon; a woman who attained Nirvana and became a Buddha but returned to Earth to help others achieve Nirvana as well. Often represented as a goddess of Mercy.
    Lai see (Cantonese): A red paper envelope used to give cash as a gift for birthdays and at New Year. It’s believed that for every dollar given ten will return during the year.
    Lai see dao loy (Cantonese): ‘Lai see, please!’
    Lantau Island: One of Hong Kong’s outlying islands, larger than Hong Kong Island but not as densely inhabited.
    Li: Chinese unit of measure, approximately half a kilometre.
    Lo Wu: The area of Hong Kong that contains the border crossing. Lo Wu is an area that covers both sides of the border; it is in both Hong Kong and China.
    Lo Wu Shopping Centre: A large shopping centre directly across the Hong Kong/Chinese border on the Chinese side. A shopping destination for Hong Kong residents in search of a bargain.
    Love hotel: Hotel with rooms that are rented by the hour by young people who live with their parents (and therefore have no privacy) or businessmen meeting their mistresses for sex.
    M’goi sai (Cantonese): ‘Thank you very much.’
    M’sai (Cantonese): Literally, ‘no need’, but it generally means ‘you’re welcome’.
    Macau: One-time Portuguese colony to the west of Hong Kong in the Pearl River Delta, about an hour away by jet hydrofoil; now another Special Administrative Region of China. Macau’s port is not as deep and sheltered as Hong Kong’s so it has never been the busy trade port that Hong Kong is.
    Mafoo (Cantonese): Groom.
    Mah jong: Chinese game played with tiles. The Chinese play it differently from the polite game played by many Westerners; it is played for money and can often be a cut-throat competition between skilled players, rather like poker.
    Manga: Japanese illustrated novel or comic book.
    Mei mei (Putonghua): Little sister.
    MTR: Fast, cheap, efficient and spotlessly clean subway train system in Hong Kong. Mostly standing room, andduring rush hour so packed that it is often impossible to get onto a carriage.
    Na Zha: Famous mythical Immortal who was so powerful as a child that he killed one of the dragon sons of the Dragon King. He gained Immortality by unselfishly travelling into Hell to release his parents who had been held in punishment for his crime. A spirit of Youthfulness.
    New Territories: A large area of land between Kowloon and Mainland China that was granted to extend Hong Kong. Less crowded than Hong Kong and Kowloon, the New Territories are green and hilly with highrise New Towns scattered through them.
    Nunchucks: Short wooden sticks held together with chains; a martial arts weapon.
    Opium Wars: (1839–60) A series of clashes between the then British Empire and the Imperial Chinese Government over Britain’s right to trade opium to China. It led to a number of humiliating defeats and surrenders by China as they were massively outclassed by modern Western military technology.
    Pa Kua (Cantonese): The Eight Symbols, a central part of Taoist mysticism. Four of these Eight Symbols flank the circle in the centre of the Korean flag.
    Pak Tai: One of Xuan Wu’s many names; this one is used in Southern China.
    Peak Tower: Tourist sightseeing spot at the top of the Peak Tram. Nestled between the two highest peaks on the Island and therefore not the highest point in Hong Kong, but providing a good view for tourist photographs.
    Peak Tram: Tram that has been running for many years between Central and the Peak. Now mostly a tourist attraction because of the steepness of the ride and the view.
    Peak, the: Prestigious residential area of Hong Kong, on top of the highest point of the centre of Hong Kong Island. The view over the Harbour and highrises is spectacular, and the property prices there are some of the highest in the world.
    Pokfulam: Area of Hong Kong west of the main business districts, facing the open ocean rather than the harbour. Contains large residential apartment blocks and a very large hillside cemetery.
    Putonghua: Also called Mandarin, the dialect of Chinese spoken throughout China as a standard language. Individual provinces