#10 HONG KONG

My first visit to Hong Kong was in 2002, when I was studying in Nanjing and a trip here was all about indulging in luxurious conveniences and shopping. The abundant 711 shops were filled with hard-to-find cosmetics and toiletry products, like deodorant and quality hair waxes. And the Häagen-Dazs shops served decadent chocolate fondues that we'd recall in painful detail months later back on "the mainland" when we'd returned to our student lives.

I visited Hong Kong countless times after that, but I always appreciated the sensory overload of Kowloon and the harbor, even if it would be just a short layover between destinations. My last trip to Hong Kong was in 2024 when my husband was on his way to Papua New Guinea for work, and we decided to tag along for the free hotel and just eat a lot of dim sum. It was also our daughter's first trip to Asia, so there were a lot of first experiences awaiting her! Much to our delight, she was a true traveler and foodie who devoured dim sum with chopsticks at every opportunity! But Hong Kong can be very intense as an urban area with one of the highest population densities of any place on earth, and after a week there we were all craving a bit more greenery and clean air. Hong Kong has a big place in our hearts so we'll surely be back to keep showing her new places, things, and foods from China that we love.