"My Day out in Hong Kong with Shawn Mendes" by Chelsea Tse
We asked our readers to write an essay titled "My Day out with Shawn Mendes". Here is one of the entries. It has not been edited.
The Kowloon Walled City Park was once a place that criminals and other wrongdoers would go to. There were no laws, and many illegal things were done there. The government was unable to take control of this place, and it flourished. However, in 1987, the British Government was finally able to regain control over these lawbreakers and the infamous Kowloon Walled City was reopened to the public on December 22, 1995 as the Kowloon Walled City Park.
Now, the park has a Chinese style. One of the main facilities of this park is the Garden of Chinese Zodiac. This garden contains sculptures of the different Chinese zodiac animals. This garden can teach others the traditions of China. Another facility is the Mountain View Pavillion. This pavillion faces Lion Rock and a rickshaw is on display. Rickshaws were once the way Hongkongers used to use as a means of transport, and they are commonly used to symbolize Hong Kong. The Garden of Four Seasons consists of different plants that represent the four seasons. Some of the shrubs in this garden have been trimmed into dragon and phoenix shapes, which are symbols of China. It is quite hard to imagine that a place this beautiful was once such a dark area!
I would end this day at a dim sum restaurant so that Shawn can taste some Chinese cuisine. I would let him try sticky rice dumplings, and I will tell him about the history of it, which is that when a poet called Qu Yuan drowned himself, the people of China threw the sticky rice dumplings into the river to prevent the fish from eating his body.
This is where I would take Shawn if I were to spend a day with him. Where would you go?
Check out all the other entries here.