• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
GO TO EXPAT LIVING SINGAPORE
GET OUR NEWSLETTER

Expat Living Hong Kong HomepageExpat Living Hong Kong

Moving to Hong Kong and not sure where to start? Expat Living is the essential lifestyle guide to living in Hong Kong.

Menu
  • Living In Hong Kong
      • Living Here
      • Where To Live
      • Schools
      • For Guys
        • Sailing in Hong Kong - inclusive sailing courses by charity SailabilityMaking sailing accessible to everyone
        • We chat with two GSIS families
        • 6 super reasons to visit sky100
        • A New Home in The New Territories
      • View all
    Close
  • Things To Do
      • Things To Do
      • What’s On/Calendar
      • Competitions & Offers
        • Reclusive Means Exhibition at Pearl Lam Galleries Hong KongTop 35 Best Things To Do In Hong Kong This Weekend
        • 6 super reasons to visit sky100
        • Best playgrounds & parks for the kids
        • What to watch this month – Netflix & more!
      • View all
    Close
  • Kids
      • Activities & Things To Do
      • Education & Enrichment
      • Health & Wellness
      • Mums & Babies
      • Podcasts
        • We chat with two GSIS families
        • A boarding school with wildlife on the doorstep!
        • Children's teeth and bracesKids and braces – all you need to know
        • Child reading for web article on Books and Brains - helping children with reading and phonicsHelp for children struggling with reading
      • View all
    Close
  • Homes
      • Home Décor
      • Readers Homes
        • A New Home in The New Territories
        • Transforming an old Hong Kong junk
        • Image of Altfield home furnishings showroomWhere to get designer home furnishings
        • Hong Kong People: Meet Laura Pezza
      • View all
    Close
  • Travel
      • Short Breaks
      • Further Afield
      • Travel News & Offers
        • Mount KinabuluClimbing Mount Kinabalu in Sabah
        • Son Doong CaveJourney into the world’s largest cave
        • Famous movie locations in Asia - Hong Kong - Gage Street8 Famous Movie Locations in Asia
        • Gaining access to an EU passport
      • View all
    Close
  • Wine & Dine
      • Recipes & Groceries
      • Bars & Restaurants
        • 6 super reasons to visit sky100
        • Popcorn Shrimp with Spicy Honey Mayo
        • Indulgent chocolate cake - recipeRecipe: Indulgent Chocolate Cake
        • Spicy Asian Coleslaw - recipeRecipe: Spicy Asian Coleslaw
      • View all
    Close
  • Style & Beauty
      • Fashion
      • Hair & Beauty
        • where to get botox in hong kongBotox in Hong Kong – All you need to know
        • Where to buy (and sell!) watches
        • Face masks, spa products, body scrubsWe test body scrubs, creams, masks & more!
        • Hong Kong Spas - Spa at Four Seasons Hong Kong - facial and body treatmentTried and Tested: 2 Luxury Spa Treatments
      • View all
    Close
  • Health & Fitness
      • Medical & Dental
      • Fitness
      • Wellness
        • family dental clinics and dentists in Hong KongFamily Dental Clinics and Dentists in HK
        • Children's teeth and bracesKids and braces – all you need to know
        • Safe & healthy eating during pregnancy
        • Couples therapy for divorce and separation, MindNLife Hong KongDivorce: how to break up with dignity
      • View all
    Close
  • Shop
    • Magazine
    • Advertise With Us
    • Close

Holding up half the sky

3 November, 2018 by Irene Karton 3 Min Read

https://expatliving.hk/holding-up-half-the-sky/

Our writer reflects on the women she sees in Hong Kong’s streets in a reader story from our Parting Shot series.

In certain parts of Central, you can sometimes see Hakka women working on construction sites of major skyscrapers. These women wear large, round straw hats called “coolies” that have been in their culture for over 1,000 years. Attached to the brim are dangling black tassels, like something that would hang from a retro lampshade. Wearing basic, plastic gumboots, these intrepid women can be seen pushing extraordinarily heavy loads in their wheelbarrows or carrying what looks like twice their body weight in the form of steel pipes or bags of concrete.

Our latest reader story shares one woman's reflections on life in Hong Kong.
Our latest reader story shares one woman’s reflections on life in Hong Kong. Picture: Suphakaln Wongcompune

It’s a wonder to watch them work. I was walking behind one of these ladies in Kennedy Town one day as she struggled under her load of reinforced steel, and she was chatting away cheerfully to her workmate. Her apple-red cheeks, perfectly formed white teeth and dark eyes portrayed a picture of good health and vibrancy. Forget the gym to get fit – carry a load of rebar for a city block every day!

The other women that amaze me are the ones our children call the “90-degree women”. The boys had just studied geometry in school, so protractors and measuring angles were their latest fascination, when we spotted these little old ladies in Sham Shui Po or Kennedy Town that were bent over at an angle that was pretty darn close to 90 degrees. This medical condition – either scoliosis or osteoporosis – is sometimes denoted by the old-fashioned term “hunchback”; the boys thought “90-degree women” sounded nicer. They were also distressed to hear that this orthopaedic deformity couldn’t be changed, and they thought it sad that these women had to spend all that time looking at their feet.

Our first home in Hong Kong was in Lan Kwai Fong. Twenty years ago, it was the site of a huge rubbish facility, surrounded by a growing bar scene for yuppies. The rent was cheaper, of course, because of the stench (which was especially strong in the summertime). The first time I spotted a ninety-degree woman was there in Lan Kwai Fong as I was walking home from work. This little old lady with her wiry grey curls tightly pressed to her sweaty head was pushing a huge trolley of rubbish up that Sisyphean hill. And … she passed me. Her calves looked like gnarled old vines, she was huffing and puffing, but she was very determined to get that rubbish into the big tip.

Mao Zedong once said, “Women hold up half the sky.” Recently in Kennedy Town, my teenage son spotted another ninety-degree woman, this time pushing a precariously balanced trolley full of antiquated VCR tapes, CDs and DVDs. Everything went sliding off when she miscalculated the path and hit the curb. In an instant, my son went running over and started helping her put everything back on the trolley. I don’t know who was more surprised by his actions, the older lady or me. I do know I was very proud of this boy and the fact that he was helping this lady – someone who spends so much of her time looking at the ground – to hold up the sky.

Tell us a tale and win HK$1500

Here’s your chance to get published – and make some money at the same time. We’re looking for 500-word written contributions on any funny, poignant, practical or even controversial topic that touches on expat life in Hong Kong. Simply email your stories in a Word document to editor@expatliving.hk and we’ll consider them for inclusion in an upcoming issue.

This article first appeared in the Dec/Jan edition of Expat Living magazine. Subscribe now so you never miss an issue.

Want to read more about living in Hong Kong?

My Hong Kong home – from expat dream to reality

Categories: Living Here Living In Hong Kong Tags: expat life Living In Hong Kong Reader story

Get the latest events, stories and special offers
sent to your inbox.

By signing up, you'll receive our bimonthly newsletters and offers, which you can unsubscribe to anytime.

You May Also Like

Sailing in Hong Kong - inclusive sailing courses by charity Sailability

Making sailing accessible to everyone

A New Home in The New Territories

Helping our communities learn to swim

Primary Sidebar

  • COMPETITIONS & OFFERS
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Expat Living Hong Kong, All Rights Reserved.