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Ghetto at the Center of the World: Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong
There is nowhere else in the world quite like Chungking Mansions, a dilapidated seventeen-story commercial and residential structure in the heart of Hong Kong’s tourist district. A remarkably motley group of people call the building home; Pakistani phone stall operators, Chinese guesthouse workers, Nepalese heroin addicts, Indonesian sex workers, and traders and asylum seekers from all over Asia and Africa live and work there—even backpacking tourists rent rooms. In short, it is possibly the most globalized spot on the planet.
But as Ghetto at the Center of the World shows us, a trip to Chungking Mansions reveals a far less glamorous side of globalization. A world away from the gleaming headquarters of multinational corporations, Chungking Mansions is emblematic of the way globalization actually works for most of the world’s people. Gordon Mathews’s intimate portrayal of the building’s polyethnic residents lays bare their intricate connections to the international circulation of goods, money, and ideas. We come to understand the day-to-day realities of globalization through the stories of entrepreneurs from Africa carting cell phones in their luggage to sell back home and temporary workers from South Asia struggling to earn money to bring to their families. And we see that this so-called ghetto—which inspires fear in many of Hong Kong’s other residents, despite its low crime rate—is not a place of darkness and desperation but a beacon of hope.
Gordon Mathews’s compendium of riveting stories enthralls and instructs in equal measure, making Ghetto at the Center of the World not just a fascinating tour of a singular place but also a peek into the future of life on our shrinking planet.
But as Ghetto at the Center of the World shows us, a trip to Chungking Mansions reveals a far less glamorous side of globalization. A world away from the gleaming headquarters of multinational corporations, Chungking Mansions is emblematic of the way globalization actually works for most of the world’s people. Gordon Mathews’s intimate portrayal of the building’s polyethnic residents lays bare their intricate connections to the international circulation of goods, money, and ideas. We come to understand the day-to-day realities of globalization through the stories of entrepreneurs from Africa carting cell phones in their luggage to sell back home and temporary workers from South Asia struggling to earn money to bring to their families. And we see that this so-called ghetto—which inspires fear in many of Hong Kong’s other residents, despite its low crime rate—is not a place of darkness and desperation but a beacon of hope.
Gordon Mathews’s compendium of riveting stories enthralls and instructs in equal measure, making Ghetto at the Center of the World not just a fascinating tour of a singular place but also a peek into the future of life on our shrinking planet.
256 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
83 people are currently reading
1112 people want to read
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October 9, 2015
Ghetto at the Center of the World: Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong offers us a detailed case study on low-ended globalization, capitalism, international trades and different races coexisting together, all within one tiny building in Hong Kong.
Like many others, I first knew of the existence of the Chungking Mansions thanks to the famous Wong Kar-wai's movie Chungking Express (the Chinese title of the movie is actually Chungking Woods, and the main love story in the movie has a bit more to do with Haruki Murakami's famous novels such as Norwegian Wood than the Mansions itself), the movie paints a half romantic and half noir view over the Mansions and its residents.
Over the years the Mansions managed to wash its bad reputation of being a ghetto and a lair for illegal activities and re-established itself as a tourist attraction and a good place to find cheap hostels and good South East Asian food (but no one is saying now there're no illegal activities within the Mansions, there still are); but through his narration and many interviews, the author of this book reveals a much more complicated nature of the Mansions, its development from an ordinary building into what it is today, and how it functions as a center of international trades, small business, a tiny community for the ethical minor groups, all at once.
The book helps me to understand how Chungking Mansions as we now know it has come into being and why businessmen from South East Asian countries and Africa choose to do their trades and business here (who would have guessed being successful in Kong Kong is like some kind of coming-of-age test for African young businessmen?) and what their relationships with the general public, local landlords and shop-owners and authorities are like. The author interviewed a huge bunch of businessmen, workers, landlords, sex workers, illegal workers, druggies, hotel owners, tourists and even police officers, which enables us to see the many layers of the micro-world which is the Chungking Mansions.
Like many others, I first knew of the existence of the Chungking Mansions thanks to the famous Wong Kar-wai's movie Chungking Express (the Chinese title of the movie is actually Chungking Woods, and the main love story in the movie has a bit more to do with Haruki Murakami's famous novels such as Norwegian Wood than the Mansions itself), the movie paints a half romantic and half noir view over the Mansions and its residents.
Over the years the Mansions managed to wash its bad reputation of being a ghetto and a lair for illegal activities and re-established itself as a tourist attraction and a good place to find cheap hostels and good South East Asian food (but no one is saying now there're no illegal activities within the Mansions, there still are); but through his narration and many interviews, the author of this book reveals a much more complicated nature of the Mansions, its development from an ordinary building into what it is today, and how it functions as a center of international trades, small business, a tiny community for the ethical minor groups, all at once.
The book helps me to understand how Chungking Mansions as we now know it has come into being and why businessmen from South East Asian countries and Africa choose to do their trades and business here (who would have guessed being successful in Kong Kong is like some kind of coming-of-age test for African young businessmen?) and what their relationships with the general public, local landlords and shop-owners and authorities are like. The author interviewed a huge bunch of businessmen, workers, landlords, sex workers, illegal workers, druggies, hotel owners, tourists and even police officers, which enables us to see the many layers of the micro-world which is the Chungking Mansions.
August 5, 2011
A group of Hong Kongers enter the Chungking Mansions, in search of "real curry" perhaps.
They huddle closely together, unused to being the minority. Some of them stare openly at all the foreign faces, none of which are white. Others carefully avoid eye contact, especially the girls, unused to such open scrutiny. Unconsciously, they clutch their purses closer, not knowing that travelers from various corners of the world freely leave thousands of dollars on counters while they carefully count out the payment for, say, a shipment of copy mobile phones.
The Hong Kongers weave their way through narrow corridors lined by tiny shops, mostly catering to Africans and South Asians, and worry about the dangling wires overhead. They find the staircase near the back of the building, clear of junk which may have once been constituted as fire hazards. On the second floor, they find the Indian restaurant their friends told them of. They relax a little once they enter that small quiet world which was outfitted for the comfort of Hong Kong costumers. They are served by a quiet Indian girl who speaks beautiful English. Her relative, perhaps a husband, brother, or cousin, occasionally comes of the kitchen to stare at the TV, which was broadcasting the muted tones and bright colors of a comedic love story on the Indian subcontinent.
The curry was superb, the Hong Kongers all agree, definitely much better than the stuff they were served in Hong Kong restaurants. Of course, they do not know that the cook greatly altered his recipes to please the mild palates of Hong Kong Chinese.
They pay the bill, and the quiet Indian girl hopes that they enjoyed their meal and would come again. Of course, they reply, but wonder if they really wanted to risk the dangers of Chunking Mansions again, only for a meal.
They finally leave Chungking Mansions and re-enter the bright, familiar world of Hong Kong. On the sidewalks of Nathan road, they heave a collective sigh of relief and loosen their grips on their wallets.
Hong Kong people do not understand Chungking Mansions at all, but this book offers an insightful explanation of the building and its important place as a threshold to the developed world for the South Asian and African middle class. (Rnadom fact: The author estimates that about 20 percent of the mobile phones used in Sub-Saharan Africa had gone through Chungking Mansions.)
It is also a very well written book in that it is able to capture and retain the interest of even those who spend too little time reading non-fiction. It usually takes some effort for me to read non-fiction (okay, LS, put down this fantasy book for a while to finish a chapter of that history book), but this book was so interesting that I staid up quite late a few nights reading it. ;)
They huddle closely together, unused to being the minority. Some of them stare openly at all the foreign faces, none of which are white. Others carefully avoid eye contact, especially the girls, unused to such open scrutiny. Unconsciously, they clutch their purses closer, not knowing that travelers from various corners of the world freely leave thousands of dollars on counters while they carefully count out the payment for, say, a shipment of copy mobile phones.
The Hong Kongers weave their way through narrow corridors lined by tiny shops, mostly catering to Africans and South Asians, and worry about the dangling wires overhead. They find the staircase near the back of the building, clear of junk which may have once been constituted as fire hazards. On the second floor, they find the Indian restaurant their friends told them of. They relax a little once they enter that small quiet world which was outfitted for the comfort of Hong Kong costumers. They are served by a quiet Indian girl who speaks beautiful English. Her relative, perhaps a husband, brother, or cousin, occasionally comes of the kitchen to stare at the TV, which was broadcasting the muted tones and bright colors of a comedic love story on the Indian subcontinent.
The curry was superb, the Hong Kongers all agree, definitely much better than the stuff they were served in Hong Kong restaurants. Of course, they do not know that the cook greatly altered his recipes to please the mild palates of Hong Kong Chinese.
They pay the bill, and the quiet Indian girl hopes that they enjoyed their meal and would come again. Of course, they reply, but wonder if they really wanted to risk the dangers of Chunking Mansions again, only for a meal.
They finally leave Chungking Mansions and re-enter the bright, familiar world of Hong Kong. On the sidewalks of Nathan road, they heave a collective sigh of relief and loosen their grips on their wallets.
Hong Kong people do not understand Chungking Mansions at all, but this book offers an insightful explanation of the building and its important place as a threshold to the developed world for the South Asian and African middle class. (Rnadom fact: The author estimates that about 20 percent of the mobile phones used in Sub-Saharan Africa had gone through Chungking Mansions.)
It is also a very well written book in that it is able to capture and retain the interest of even those who spend too little time reading non-fiction. It usually takes some effort for me to read non-fiction (okay, LS, put down this fantasy book for a while to finish a chapter of that history book), but this book was so interesting that I staid up quite late a few nights reading it. ;)
March 15, 2023
A meticulously researched book that places the lived experiences of the people of Chungking Mansions at its center. I appreciate Mathews’ and his researchers’ in depth interviews and quotes, which are buoyed by substantial analyses of how Chungking Mansions exists in relation to Hong Kong’s greater infrastructure.
February 26, 2023
i wanted to hit my reading goal so i did my anthropology homework. thanks mr moses
January 9, 2022
This is the worst ethnography I’ve read for anthro, it’s a literal textbook and entirely unenjoyable. It’s also such a stretch to connect it to the anthropological theories and concepts we have learned. I’m sure I would appreciate it more if we were better prepared to read it but it felt way out of the highschool scope.
September 22, 2025
I put off reading this book, partly because I wasn't 100% certain what exactly it was about, and partly because I was concerned it would be boring. The second concern was swept away, as the sense of place created brings to life the environment and its peculiarities. Such a strange place could only be created by forces beyond any single person's control in the cracks that develop between borders and international marketplaces. Only the closest level of immersion at Chungking Mansions could have created such a work, that dives in to the struggles of statelessness and the need to keep body & soul together. The book is of its time but most of the issues addressed still apply today.
I don't give out a 5th star often. In my system, a book has to create a permanent change in me to qualify. A book can certainly be great without changing a reader. This book should be essential reading for people like myself who never had to worry about their status. I also think about how much has changed in Hong Kong since the book's publication, and how that has affected the goings on in the Mansions.
I don't give out a 5th star often. In my system, a book has to create a permanent change in me to qualify. A book can certainly be great without changing a reader. This book should be essential reading for people like myself who never had to worry about their status. I also think about how much has changed in Hong Kong since the book's publication, and how that has affected the goings on in the Mansions.
February 5, 2016
An incredible account of the hidden side of globalization
Ghetto at the Center of the World is an incredible book about an incredible place. Chungking Mansions is a 17-storied building in Hong Kong that has become an international trade hub because of it’s low prices and central location, gathering at any given time about 4 thousand people in it’s guest houses, stores and restaurants. It is one of the most cosmopolitan places on Earth, the author counted no less than 129 nationalities in the three years of research for the book.
One of the central concepts of the book is the one of “low-end” globalization, described thus by the author: “Low-end globalization is very different from what most readers may associate with the term globalization—it is not the activities of Coca-Cola, Nokia, Sony, McDonald’s, and other huge corporations, with their high-rise offices, batteries of lawyers, and vast advertising budgets. Instead, it is traders carrying their goods by suitcase, container, or truck across continents and borders with minimal interference from legalities and copyrights, a world run by cash. It is also individuals seeking a better life by fleeing their home countries for opportunities elsewhere, whether as temporary workers, asylum seekers, or sex workers. This is the dominant form of globalization experienced in much of the developing world today.”
“It is amazing how much can be obtained in Chungking Mansions, from lodging to a haircut to halal barbecue, to whiskey of all price ranges, to sex, to computer repairs, to TV remotes, to spy cameras installed in pens and glasses, to stationery, to groceries, to laundry service, to medicines, to legal advice for asylum seekers, to spiritual sustenance for Christians and Muslims. As one well-read informant explained, “There is a self-sufficient ecosystem in Chungking Mansions.” One might never leave the building for weeks or months on end, since virtually all that one might need is in the building itself.”
The book brings a fascinating ethnography about how these different nationalities and cultures manage to live side by side. Racism exists and is rampart, specially from the Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese against South Asians and Africans, but grievances are largely put aside in the everyday struggle to make money. It is not a Disney-perfect relationship, but a human and imperfect one, with highs and lows.
The book is very well researched and organized in chapters dedicated to the place, the people, the goods, the laws and the future. It is one of the books that really made me feel like I have traveled to this fascinating place. Highly recommended.
Ghetto at the Center of the World is an incredible book about an incredible place. Chungking Mansions is a 17-storied building in Hong Kong that has become an international trade hub because of it’s low prices and central location, gathering at any given time about 4 thousand people in it’s guest houses, stores and restaurants. It is one of the most cosmopolitan places on Earth, the author counted no less than 129 nationalities in the three years of research for the book.
One of the central concepts of the book is the one of “low-end” globalization, described thus by the author: “Low-end globalization is very different from what most readers may associate with the term globalization—it is not the activities of Coca-Cola, Nokia, Sony, McDonald’s, and other huge corporations, with their high-rise offices, batteries of lawyers, and vast advertising budgets. Instead, it is traders carrying their goods by suitcase, container, or truck across continents and borders with minimal interference from legalities and copyrights, a world run by cash. It is also individuals seeking a better life by fleeing their home countries for opportunities elsewhere, whether as temporary workers, asylum seekers, or sex workers. This is the dominant form of globalization experienced in much of the developing world today.”
“It is amazing how much can be obtained in Chungking Mansions, from lodging to a haircut to halal barbecue, to whiskey of all price ranges, to sex, to computer repairs, to TV remotes, to spy cameras installed in pens and glasses, to stationery, to groceries, to laundry service, to medicines, to legal advice for asylum seekers, to spiritual sustenance for Christians and Muslims. As one well-read informant explained, “There is a self-sufficient ecosystem in Chungking Mansions.” One might never leave the building for weeks or months on end, since virtually all that one might need is in the building itself.”
The book brings a fascinating ethnography about how these different nationalities and cultures manage to live side by side. Racism exists and is rampart, specially from the Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese against South Asians and Africans, but grievances are largely put aside in the everyday struggle to make money. It is not a Disney-perfect relationship, but a human and imperfect one, with highs and lows.
The book is very well researched and organized in chapters dedicated to the place, the people, the goods, the laws and the future. It is one of the books that really made me feel like I have traveled to this fascinating place. Highly recommended.
January 8, 2021
lol i have to write an in class essay on this but i skimmed it
September 4, 2013
I liked this book so well I reread it, a rarity. Finished again 9/3/2013.
June 25, 2023
very confused by the good reviews. lacking in useful analysis, strange ethics and little to no real examination of research methods or purpose, kinda exotifying, repetitive, and outdated.
November 13, 2025
Gordon Mathews’s Ghetto at the Center of the World has completely reshaped the way I think about 'globalisation'. Rather than presenting it as the domain of multinational corporations or high finance, Mathews takes us into the chaotic, vibrant world of Chungking Mansions, where small traders, migrants, and hustlers quietly drive the engines of the global economy. By centring this overlooked space, he forces the reader to reconsider what it means for a place to be 'global'.
Mathews’s concept of low-end globalisation is strikingly clear and compelling: the circulation of goods and people driven not by boardrooms, but by individuals trading phones, clothing, and remittances across continents. What makes the book especially powerful is how Mathews consistently ties these global flows back to Chungking Mansions itself. Every story of traders and shipments, every economic ripple from Africa or South Asia, is grounded in the narrow corridors, guesthouses, and shops of the building, turning it into a microcosm of the global economy.
That said, Mathews’s admiration for his interlocutors sometimes verges on romanticisation. Describing Chungking Mansions as a 'bourgeois enclave' of strivers risks glossing over the structural vulnerabilities that leave many of its residents precariously global but never fully mobile. The book could also more deeply interrogate race, class, and Hong Kong’s postcolonial context, which remain background noise in his otherwise vivid ethnography.
Even so, Ghetto at the Center of the World has changed my understanding of globalisation. By showing how the everyday practices of ordinary people sustain vast, transnational networks, and by anchoring these flows firmly in Chungking Mansions, Mathews turns what many dismiss as a chaotic slum into a lens for seeing the real dynamics of the world economy.
Mathews’s concept of low-end globalisation is strikingly clear and compelling: the circulation of goods and people driven not by boardrooms, but by individuals trading phones, clothing, and remittances across continents. What makes the book especially powerful is how Mathews consistently ties these global flows back to Chungking Mansions itself. Every story of traders and shipments, every economic ripple from Africa or South Asia, is grounded in the narrow corridors, guesthouses, and shops of the building, turning it into a microcosm of the global economy.
That said, Mathews’s admiration for his interlocutors sometimes verges on romanticisation. Describing Chungking Mansions as a 'bourgeois enclave' of strivers risks glossing over the structural vulnerabilities that leave many of its residents precariously global but never fully mobile. The book could also more deeply interrogate race, class, and Hong Kong’s postcolonial context, which remain background noise in his otherwise vivid ethnography.
Even so, Ghetto at the Center of the World has changed my understanding of globalisation. By showing how the everyday practices of ordinary people sustain vast, transnational networks, and by anchoring these flows firmly in Chungking Mansions, Mathews turns what many dismiss as a chaotic slum into a lens for seeing the real dynamics of the world economy.
November 14, 2025
Weer een studie boekje, ik vond het onderwerp wel interessant maar het is wel heel erg gefocust op economie. De culturele dimensie mist een beetje. Voor de rest wel goed geschreven en erg gedetailleerd
December 6, 2025
low end globalisation
March 7, 2020
Chungking Mansions is an infamous building in Hong Kong. It is a labyrinth of exotica, adventure , and otherness. In many ways it is a shadowy unknown place to many who live in Hong Kong and the countless travellers it attracts yearly. What is for sure is that we want to know more about it. Specifically more about the eclectic array of people that walk and work in its corridors each day. This fine work by Gordon Mathews satiates this curiosity quite fully.
Exploring the history of the building, its many personalities, the goods and businesses that pass through, and the new transformations, Gordon Mathews produces a landmark text. This work is particularly compelling because it addresses some misconceptions about Chungking Mansions, namely its safety and criminality and redresses these issues. It shows us that the building is intricately placed in what Mathews terms `low end globalization’. Millions of phones sold in this building sold by Pakistani tradesmen can be traced to the streets of Lagos. Illegal workers support their families in Calcutta by washing dishes or handing out flyers for the many restaurants in the building. Sex workers save money to start businesses back in their home countries. The most contemporary feature of the building is the rise in African traders passing through, this phenomenon is explored in detail and provides context for the transformations visible in the streets around Chungking Mansions.
Another important contribution this text offers is that of acknowledging asylum seekers in Hong Kong and showing their particular struggles in the territory. Many of these asylum seekers who have fled torture or the threat of political assassination frequent Chungking Mansions and contribute to an understanding of the place as a bourgeois location. The truth being that whilst the building is populated with people from disparate parts of the world, they are often the middle class entrepreneurs of their countries, and many of the businesses in Chungking Mansions themselves can be comfortably profitable.
Mathews is astute in pointing out that the fortunes and future of Chungking Mansions are tied to global caprices. Changes in visa regulations, the Olympics, and even 9/11 have changed the people and business practices that occupy Chungking Mansions. These factors reconfirm another important point that the author makes, whilst Chungking Mansions is in Hong Kong, it is not `of’ Hong Kong. As such this book will tell you much about the building, much about trade with China, and much about low end globalization, it will tell you less however about Hong Kong. After all Chungking Mansions is an island of otherness in this city, a ghetto at the centre of the world.
Exploring the history of the building, its many personalities, the goods and businesses that pass through, and the new transformations, Gordon Mathews produces a landmark text. This work is particularly compelling because it addresses some misconceptions about Chungking Mansions, namely its safety and criminality and redresses these issues. It shows us that the building is intricately placed in what Mathews terms `low end globalization’. Millions of phones sold in this building sold by Pakistani tradesmen can be traced to the streets of Lagos. Illegal workers support their families in Calcutta by washing dishes or handing out flyers for the many restaurants in the building. Sex workers save money to start businesses back in their home countries. The most contemporary feature of the building is the rise in African traders passing through, this phenomenon is explored in detail and provides context for the transformations visible in the streets around Chungking Mansions.
Another important contribution this text offers is that of acknowledging asylum seekers in Hong Kong and showing their particular struggles in the territory. Many of these asylum seekers who have fled torture or the threat of political assassination frequent Chungking Mansions and contribute to an understanding of the place as a bourgeois location. The truth being that whilst the building is populated with people from disparate parts of the world, they are often the middle class entrepreneurs of their countries, and many of the businesses in Chungking Mansions themselves can be comfortably profitable.
Mathews is astute in pointing out that the fortunes and future of Chungking Mansions are tied to global caprices. Changes in visa regulations, the Olympics, and even 9/11 have changed the people and business practices that occupy Chungking Mansions. These factors reconfirm another important point that the author makes, whilst Chungking Mansions is in Hong Kong, it is not `of’ Hong Kong. As such this book will tell you much about the building, much about trade with China, and much about low end globalization, it will tell you less however about Hong Kong. After all Chungking Mansions is an island of otherness in this city, a ghetto at the centre of the world.
July 22, 2012
Back in 2007, I was backpacking with my friend Linda. We had just arrived in Hong Kong, and didnt know where we were going to stay. I noticed in my travel book a large concentration of hostels in one city block in Kowloon, so we headed there.
To our surprise, the hostels were all located in one enormous building, Chungking Mansions. Immediately after getting out of the cab, we were approached by a small South Asian boy who saw our backpacks and offered to us what sounded like a reasonable rate for a hostel.
We entered the building with him, and he took us up a rickety elevator and through dirty corridors to an apartment that had been converted into 4 tiny hostel rooms.
It was an appropriate introduction to an incredible place. This books is the work of years' worth of anthropological research on the building and the many communities it holds. It reads like a very long magazine article, and I enjoyed a lot of it, but I don't think I would have found it very interesting if I handn't stayed a few nights there.
To our surprise, the hostels were all located in one enormous building, Chungking Mansions. Immediately after getting out of the cab, we were approached by a small South Asian boy who saw our backpacks and offered to us what sounded like a reasonable rate for a hostel.
We entered the building with him, and he took us up a rickety elevator and through dirty corridors to an apartment that had been converted into 4 tiny hostel rooms.
It was an appropriate introduction to an incredible place. This books is the work of years' worth of anthropological research on the building and the many communities it holds. It reads like a very long magazine article, and I enjoyed a lot of it, but I don't think I would have found it very interesting if I handn't stayed a few nights there.
December 2, 2012
Mathews has written a fascinating ethnography/biography of one of the most interesting buildings anywhere - Chungking Mansions. This seventeen story building is in the heart of Hong Kong's business district and is notable for the role it plays int eh world of global commerce - it's like a mini United Nations in the heart of perhaps the most neoliberal society in the world. Mathews is a skilled ethnographer and as a researcher who also is interested in the way single buildings function as sites of interaction (my dissertation was on the social life of a single high school), I appreciate his ability to focus on the building as a gestalt and the ways in which that gestalt is repeatedly formed and reformed by the inhabitants.
February 9, 2012
Fascinating. At times it makes a short detour into academic writing - the guy is, after all, a professor and this is the result of his research - but even that can't ruin how utterly fascinating this book is, especially if you've ever spent much time in Hong Kong and are familiar with Chungking Mansions. A truly fantastic journey into the world of globalization on the small, third world market level - as opposed to the huge multinational corporate level that we usually read about. If you're interested in global economics and how it relates to trade in the third world - which I am - and the sociology of it as well as the economics, this is a must read.
May 1, 2017
I love Chungking Mansions, but I expected more from this book. The author tried to synthesize to a point where he loses all the juicy details that I was looking forward to (the book is at its best when he lets people relate their story uninterrupted). He also focuses a lot on the economical aspects, which don't seem to be his strong suit and end up fairly superficial. Even the pictures are uninteresting. For the great access that he managed to achieve, I would have liked more stories.
July 31, 2019
Likely the most fascinating place in Hong Kong with some of the best South Asian food in the city. Chungking Mansions is a curiosity that is not to be missed.
3/5 stars.
Paperback, 256 pages.
Read from June 25, 2019 to July 3, 2019.
Review at The Pluviophile Writer: https://bit.ly/2K5lD05
I've called Hong Kong home for a few years now and have come to love it for all of its unique flaws and qualities. Hong Kong is a busy city but outside of its city walls are beautiful running trails, beaches, and hikes. There is something for everyone in this diverse city no matter what kind of person you are. As an expat, Chungking Mansions is a fascinating place that needs to be visited at least once, but for locals, it is generally a place to be avoided. The stories of crime and gang activity, along with the lack of familiar local faces, usually are enough to keep many locals away. However, this impression of Chungking Mansion isn't its whole story.
Grey facade – Photo by Gerald Figal on Flickr
Gordon Mathews is a university professor in Hong Kong and spent years living in and studying the people and it's unique economy and isolated globalization. Chungking Mansion is located in the bustling and wealthy Tsim Sha Tsui area of Hong Kong on the Kowloon side. It's a popular district for shopping and has lots of tourists from mainland China and elsewhere from around the globe. Yet inside Chungking mansions is like entering a different world. Just outside of the building, you'll find it brimming with South Asians, who, if you're white, will try and sell you knock-off watches, handbags, or tailoring services. Inside the building is old and run down compared to the shiny shopping area it's surrounded by. Inside you'll find cheap rooms for rent, refugees, illegal workers, traders, sex workers, drug addicts, and small businesses from all around the globe. African traders come to find cheap cellphones to bring back to their countries. South Asians come, often illegally, to try and improve the quality of their lives as well as their families. Many refugees come and get trapped in the system of long waits within Hong Kong and are unable to work legally too. Despite the illegality of most of what goes on in the building, a blind eye is often turned by police. Without the illegality of workers and many other trades, Chungking Mansions would not exist. The diversity of the building makes for some of the most eclectic and delicious food in Hong Kong and for rock-bottom prices. It also makes for a unique area of globalization that isn't really seen anywhere else in the world.
Image from Asia Times
I've actually had the pleasure of dining in Chungking Mansions with a group of refugees and have nothing but great things to say about the place despite its seedy reputation. I would go back in there in heartbeat for the great food, company, and people watching. That isn't to say that sketchy things don't happen at Chungking but in general, it's a decent place to grab a good bite to eat provided you don't mind how run down some of the establishments are.
Image from Wikimedia
This book is a perfect insight into Chungking Mansions as its clear that the professor himself has become an established name inside the building and is someone that everyone seems to be comfortable talking with. He seems to have a clear understanding of Chungking Mansions and the people that live there. The novel felt a bit like something I would read in a university class but that's not surprising since I'm sure that was one of the reasons it was written. Mathew's writing is as informative as it is fascinating and if you're in Hong Kong and have ever wanted to visit or know more about Chungking Mansions I would highly recommend this book.
3/5 stars.
Paperback, 256 pages.
Read from June 25, 2019 to July 3, 2019.
Review at The Pluviophile Writer: https://bit.ly/2K5lD05
I've called Hong Kong home for a few years now and have come to love it for all of its unique flaws and qualities. Hong Kong is a busy city but outside of its city walls are beautiful running trails, beaches, and hikes. There is something for everyone in this diverse city no matter what kind of person you are. As an expat, Chungking Mansions is a fascinating place that needs to be visited at least once, but for locals, it is generally a place to be avoided. The stories of crime and gang activity, along with the lack of familiar local faces, usually are enough to keep many locals away. However, this impression of Chungking Mansion isn't its whole story.
Grey facade – Photo by Gerald Figal on FlickrGordon Mathews is a university professor in Hong Kong and spent years living in and studying the people and it's unique economy and isolated globalization. Chungking Mansion is located in the bustling and wealthy Tsim Sha Tsui area of Hong Kong on the Kowloon side. It's a popular district for shopping and has lots of tourists from mainland China and elsewhere from around the globe. Yet inside Chungking mansions is like entering a different world. Just outside of the building, you'll find it brimming with South Asians, who, if you're white, will try and sell you knock-off watches, handbags, or tailoring services. Inside the building is old and run down compared to the shiny shopping area it's surrounded by. Inside you'll find cheap rooms for rent, refugees, illegal workers, traders, sex workers, drug addicts, and small businesses from all around the globe. African traders come to find cheap cellphones to bring back to their countries. South Asians come, often illegally, to try and improve the quality of their lives as well as their families. Many refugees come and get trapped in the system of long waits within Hong Kong and are unable to work legally too. Despite the illegality of most of what goes on in the building, a blind eye is often turned by police. Without the illegality of workers and many other trades, Chungking Mansions would not exist. The diversity of the building makes for some of the most eclectic and delicious food in Hong Kong and for rock-bottom prices. It also makes for a unique area of globalization that isn't really seen anywhere else in the world.
Image from Asia TimesI've actually had the pleasure of dining in Chungking Mansions with a group of refugees and have nothing but great things to say about the place despite its seedy reputation. I would go back in there in heartbeat for the great food, company, and people watching. That isn't to say that sketchy things don't happen at Chungking but in general, it's a decent place to grab a good bite to eat provided you don't mind how run down some of the establishments are.
Image from WikimediaThis book is a perfect insight into Chungking Mansions as its clear that the professor himself has become an established name inside the building and is someone that everyone seems to be comfortable talking with. He seems to have a clear understanding of Chungking Mansions and the people that live there. The novel felt a bit like something I would read in a university class but that's not surprising since I'm sure that was one of the reasons it was written. Mathew's writing is as informative as it is fascinating and if you're in Hong Kong and have ever wanted to visit or know more about Chungking Mansions I would highly recommend this book.
July 22, 2022
This is an amazing intellectual work on how low end globalization shapes peoples lives and places. The many years of painstaking ethnographic observation into Chungking Mansions and its inhabitants in Hong Kong reveals an incredible amount of surprising, fascinating, intimate, funny and sad stories and insights on how people are affected by and shape globalization.
As an academic economist, there are many interesting insights that I find worth summarizing and commenting on (mostly for my own memory, so please indulge me).
The book covers Chungking Mansions, a housing bloc in central Hong Kong that brings together a multitude of international tourists and entrepreneurs. The latter (who the book focusses mostly on) work as middlepeople between the mainland chinese manufacturing hubs and consumers in the global south (mostly south asia: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan) and Africa (both east and west ssa). A first insight, which is not new but still important to remember for economic research, is how dependent trade structures are. While a lot of contemporaneous modeling of trade in Economics focusses on trade in comparable varieties (CES style love for variety), this book shows clearly how Chinese manufacturing displaces manufacturing in other parts of the world, how Western demand for products affects which goods the Global South consumes (e.g. knock off, 14-day and refurbished phones or fashion that was discarded or sent back in Europe) and how these goods can be traded (e.g. Chungking Mansions exists in part because intellectual property rights make it hard to directly buy these traded goods online directly from Chinese manufacturers).
Still, the book might end up overselling the importance of Chungking Mansions since it is unclear how much it actually facilitates trade that would have happened anyway. This seems to be a big question that the book cannot answer but for which it provides a lot of insights. Some recent research in Economics takes seriously the importance of facilitators of trade. This book invites a closer dialogue between disciplines to get closer to this question and to study more closely the role of the intercultural facilitation of trade (in this sense, it also speaks to work by Kimberly Hoang on the role of the sex industry in facilitating FDI in Vietnam). As a little point of critique, the book could have tried more to quantify the benefit of traders (e.g. by focussing on value added, which is almost done but not quite and not emphasized as such)
As an academic economist, there are many interesting insights that I find worth summarizing and commenting on (mostly for my own memory, so please indulge me).
The book covers Chungking Mansions, a housing bloc in central Hong Kong that brings together a multitude of international tourists and entrepreneurs. The latter (who the book focusses mostly on) work as middlepeople between the mainland chinese manufacturing hubs and consumers in the global south (mostly south asia: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan) and Africa (both east and west ssa). A first insight, which is not new but still important to remember for economic research, is how dependent trade structures are. While a lot of contemporaneous modeling of trade in Economics focusses on trade in comparable varieties (CES style love for variety), this book shows clearly how Chinese manufacturing displaces manufacturing in other parts of the world, how Western demand for products affects which goods the Global South consumes (e.g. knock off, 14-day and refurbished phones or fashion that was discarded or sent back in Europe) and how these goods can be traded (e.g. Chungking Mansions exists in part because intellectual property rights make it hard to directly buy these traded goods online directly from Chinese manufacturers).
Still, the book might end up overselling the importance of Chungking Mansions since it is unclear how much it actually facilitates trade that would have happened anyway. This seems to be a big question that the book cannot answer but for which it provides a lot of insights. Some recent research in Economics takes seriously the importance of facilitators of trade. This book invites a closer dialogue between disciplines to get closer to this question and to study more closely the role of the intercultural facilitation of trade (in this sense, it also speaks to work by Kimberly Hoang on the role of the sex industry in facilitating FDI in Vietnam). As a little point of critique, the book could have tried more to quantify the benefit of traders (e.g. by focussing on value added, which is almost done but not quite and not emphasized as such)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2017
42 years ago my parents stayed in the Chungking Hotel during their around-the-world trip. In a few days I hope to visit the building in which the hotel is located. This book tells the story and analyzes the social, legal, and economical dynamics of the place. In many ways the 17-story building filled with 4K+ diverse residents and workers from China, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia is a microcosm of Hong Hong. They sell knock-off phones and sex, and seek a better life than their still developing home countries. "Chungking Mansions... embodies a third-world informal economy," writes Matthew, "that is made possible by the first-world neoliberalism of the society in which it is located." I have so many questions about this city, it's culture, and the relationship with China. This book helped my arrive at a few initial answers.
August 17, 2017
All you ever wanted to know about Hong Kong's Chungking Mansions, the bustling center of low-end globalization, which connects Africa, India, Pakistan, and elsewhere to Chinese goods via bold and brave third-world traders. The labyrinthian 17-story building houses both retail and wholesale operations, a variety of ethnic restaurants, and scores of guesthouses, many with only 6-12 rooms. Each night some 4,000 people sleep in these amazingly compact rooms. The place is "remarkably peaceful" because any of the animosities that its traders may feel for each other at home are overridden by their desire to establish profitable transactions. (While the topic is fascinating and the coverage is thorough, the writing is often plodding and the repetition is somewhat off-putting.)
April 10, 2020
'It is a building of the periphery within a city of the core, a city located between the developing world's manufacturing hubs and its poorest nether regions. It is a ghetto of middle-class striving within a city of wealthier middle-class striving, viewing its denizens with fear and scorn et letting business as usual be the law of the city; Chungking Mansions is a place where the ambitious from the poorer places in the world come to try to get rich or richer, in the shadow of skyscrapers of the truly rich, which they will almost certainly never become. Chungking Mansions is where the better-off from poorer nations and enclaves of the world mingle, in the hope of becoming as rich as the people just outside its doors.'
June 5, 2021
A fascinating if repetitive/limited look at Chungking Mansions. It was a thrill to learn about low end globalization, the diversity of activity and nationalities represented within, the day-to-day happenings, the shifting business landscape.
The book is short, but it could have been shorter. Most of its new information is expressed by the halfway point - we spend the rest of the book covering the same ground in slightly richer detail.
Because of the often illegal subject matter, the author isn't able to get as close to his sources as I would have liked, as someone who really wanted to get into the nitty gritty of what's happened in the lives of those working in the building. I'll be looking into some docs after this, hopefully so I can get a more detailed look at the place.
The book is short, but it could have been shorter. Most of its new information is expressed by the halfway point - we spend the rest of the book covering the same ground in slightly richer detail.
Because of the often illegal subject matter, the author isn't able to get as close to his sources as I would have liked, as someone who really wanted to get into the nitty gritty of what's happened in the lives of those working in the building. I'll be looking into some docs after this, hopefully so I can get a more detailed look at the place.
February 7, 2022
About Chungking Mansions and the people in it. Also talks about HK's immigration policies, asylum seekers, and low-end globalization.
It read like a textbook so it was a little boring at times but the content was super engaging. Gordan Mathews interviewed so many people and looked into many professions+ backgrounds within Chungking Mansions, so I think there was good representation. However, I did meet him once and thought that he's someone who can inflate stories for the wow factor and whose preconceptions can heavily influence his understanding of things, so I'm hesitant to truly believe everything he says. That being said though, the overall tone of the book was quite neutral so I don't think this was too much of a problem.
It read like a textbook so it was a little boring at times but the content was super engaging. Gordan Mathews interviewed so many people and looked into many professions+ backgrounds within Chungking Mansions, so I think there was good representation. However, I did meet him once and thought that he's someone who can inflate stories for the wow factor and whose preconceptions can heavily influence his understanding of things, so I'm hesitant to truly believe everything he says. That being said though, the overall tone of the book was quite neutral so I don't think this was too much of a problem.
May 2, 2025
Excellent ethnography about the melting pot of a building in hk. Interesting look, not just of hk society, but also, Africa, the Middle East, and south east Asia, and how the businessmen, asylum seekers, druggies, domestic workers, tourists interacted or failed to do so with each other, post gfc, and before Xi became emperor. The interviews were enlightening and showed the racism, and tensions inside.
“ Another mainland Chinese tourist said plaintively to me, “I want to eat Chinese food, but there are no Chinese restaurants here.*7 Why not? Isn’t Hong Kong part of China?” To which I answered that Hong Kong is part of China, but Chungking Mansions is not part of Hong Kong but rather an island of the developing world in Hong Kong’s heart.”
Excerpt From
Ghetto at the Center of the World: Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong
Mathews, Gordon
This material may be protected by copyright.
“ Another mainland Chinese tourist said plaintively to me, “I want to eat Chinese food, but there are no Chinese restaurants here.*7 Why not? Isn’t Hong Kong part of China?” To which I answered that Hong Kong is part of China, but Chungking Mansions is not part of Hong Kong but rather an island of the developing world in Hong Kong’s heart.”
Excerpt From
Ghetto at the Center of the World: Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong
Mathews, Gordon
This material may be protected by copyright.
November 16, 2018
Interesting if somewhat dry (as I guess is anthropology's style).
I could have done without the neoliberalism bashing too, e.g. "from a macroscopic perspective, it is no doubt true that neoliberalism adversely affects the world", is a statement which ranges from patently false to very contentious, depending on how you define 'neoliberalism' and the alternate ideological systems. I found this especially strange given how much is written in this book about the harms of government management of immigration, and the highly problematic regimes the traders/workers/asylum seekers featured in this book are fleeing from.
I could have done without the neoliberalism bashing too, e.g. "from a macroscopic perspective, it is no doubt true that neoliberalism adversely affects the world", is a statement which ranges from patently false to very contentious, depending on how you define 'neoliberalism' and the alternate ideological systems. I found this especially strange given how much is written in this book about the harms of government management of immigration, and the highly problematic regimes the traders/workers/asylum seekers featured in this book are fleeing from.
September 8, 2020
A striking and dynamic portrait of Chunking Mansions, but also more broadly of low-end globalisation, asylum seekers in Hong Kong, the international labour market and the illicit international political economy. Personally found this hugely fascinating as a Hong Konger - growing up I heard so many of the urban legends of Chungking Mansions and walked passed it every Sunday. Absolutely fascinating to dig beyond the shadowy myths and into some real anthropological research and I'd recommend this to any Hong Konger. Really refreshing for an ethnographic piece - not littered with jargon and takes a refreshing perspective to a lot of the high level topics explored through this microcosm.
November 1, 2025
I remember CK Mansions from when I lived in the HKG in the 1980s and being told to never go there. Then, staying at one of the hostels there in the 1990s. I was back in HKG last spring and did a walk through.
This is a fascinating read about a low-end, far less glamorous side to globalization. It was amazing to learn about the number and variety of nationalities and goods that pass through Chung King Mansions. I had never thought about the impact of all of this trade on other continents.
I hope to get back to HKG again soon and will definitely visit CKM with a different frame of reference.
This is a fascinating read about a low-end, far less glamorous side to globalization. It was amazing to learn about the number and variety of nationalities and goods that pass through Chung King Mansions. I had never thought about the impact of all of this trade on other continents.
I hope to get back to HKG again soon and will definitely visit CKM with a different frame of reference.
August 11, 2019
Often while traveling I've picked something up and wondered, how on earth did this product get here? This book helps me answer that question, and the details of how traders bring goods through a maze of countries was fascinating. However, the book didn't really have a theoretical angle or perspective and much to say about contemporary capitalism besides surface-level comments on world-systems theory (the generalizations about "developing countries" were also frustrating). I ended up skimming the law chapter.
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