Clarence K Bronson (DD 668) - Naval Cruise Book

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Dawn was just breaking as we approached Hong Kong from the east, and the sun cast the bright yellow of morning on the city. We had long tliought of Hong Kong as the most mys- terious of cities, where Occident and Orient meet and join almost unnoticed, and the city itself had been recently touted to us by all of the Seventh Fleet. We were completely won by Hong Kong and i ts fascinating old-modern ways. We toured thieves market where stolen goods are openly sold. We saw the ivory shops and the carvers at work on tiny, delicate fig- ures. We went by the jade center of the world where you may buy a clear, apple-green piece as big as your little fingernail for only a year ' s salary. We visited the home of Aw Boon Haw, one of the richest men in the Orient, and saw his priceless jade collection. He has turned iiis home and grounds into a fabulous showplace 58

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called the Tiger Balm Gardens. Rising on a hill behind the mansion are rock and plaster gods, animals and figmes in religious scenes and native tableaux, all in brilliant color. They represent the dreams and apparitions that have come to Aw Boon Haw. Dominating the whole is a tall, slender whit e pagoda, towering majes- tically aloof over all. Going around the island we stopped at the Repulse Bay Hotel and had a gin and lime on the veranda, overlooking its colorful gardens and the cool bav and crescent beach. Then to 59