Hong Kong

In just eight years a phenomenon of British history that began in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, will play out once again in a tiny enclave of spectacularly beautiful, rock-strewn terrain on the edge of the Chinese mainland. After a span of almost 221 years, Hong Kong - the last of Britain's crown colonies - will, like America, unhook its bonds to Britain. But the similarities end there. For starters, unlike the United States, whose Declaration of Independence still inspires freedom-loving people around the world, Britain's departure from Hong Kong after 150 years is not a result of the freely expressed desire of Hong Kong's inhabitants.

Record numbers of people are doing it. Everyone else is talking about it. Some are paying big bucks for expert advice on how to do it. And thousands more are reading a new magazine all about where to do it. What is this latest social craze? Drugs, sex, travel, fashion? No, this is Hong Kong, and the big thing on everybody's mind these days - after making money, of course - is leaving. Emigration fever is gripping this British colony as the countdown continues to 1997, the year Britain hands over sovereignty to China after 156 years of rule.

RE RIVER City: Once again, certain pseudo-intellectuals and their political mouthpieces hang out the sign "Visionary Developers and Those Who Would Create Thousands of Jobs Stay Away from Philadelphia!" If it weren't so insane, it'd be laughable. Critics call River City "Hong Kong on the Schuylkill," but are they aware that Hong Kong is one of the world's most beautiful cities? As for those who say it would block out the sun,I guess DaVinci was wrong, and the earth and sun are stationary.

Stanley Kwan's melancholy romance Hold You Tight is set in 1997, on the eve of Britain's return of Hong Kong to China. A nocturnal confessional populated by barflies and bed-hoppers, the film is crammed with characters confronting personal loss that is compounded by the looming loss of their Hong Kong. At the airport, two women (played by the same actress, Chingmy Yau) are in line to catch a flight for Taipei. Because one, Rosa Gao, has mislaid her passport, she cannot board. The other, Ah Moon, gets on the plane and dies when it crashes.

Tsui Hang Chun, Chinatown's newest seafood restaurant, was named for a famous restaurant in Hong Kong, says owner Yen Fai Wong. The name isn't the only thing that came from that exciting city. Tsui Hang Chun's chef is newly arrived from there as well and, at his insistence, Wong imported much of the restaurant's kitchen equipment. That's a lot of effort, but it appears to have paid off. A friend who grew up in Hong Kong says that Tsui Hang Chun is right on target, that her recent meal there tasted like food from home.

More than 26,000 Vietnamese boat people in crowded refugee camps are straining Hong Kong's commitment to care for them and forcing government officials to advocate the return of thousands to Vietnam against their will. After a heavy and unexpected influx of boat people last year, Hong Kong now has more Vietnamese refugees than does any other place in Southeast Asia. "They are people," Hong Kong Governor Sir David Wilson has said, "on a journey to nowhere. " Hong Kong has instituted a screening policy for Vietnamese boat people to distinguish "political refugees" from "economic migrants" - an approach endorsed this month by the six-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

At 6, I got my first glimpse of Hong Kong from the window of a DC-3: It was a shimmering island below me. As a refugee from the Communist revolution - both my parents were senior military officers in the Chinese Nationalist Army - I would make Hong Kong my home for the next 10 years. Even today, as an American businessman, I think of Hong Kong as home. I've lived there off and on in the pursuit of business, and for a time was chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.

erever you turn, visions of Hong Kong cinema are high-kicking like Shaolin monks throughout American popular culture. In "Batman Forever," Chris O'Donnell does the laundry like a Kung Fu master in a scene inspired by the Hong Kong movie "Dreadnought. " And in rap music, the group Wu-Tang Clan, which tried to enlist action director John Woo for one of its videos, borrowed its name from the vaunted martial arts group depicted in many period movies. Through Jan. 29, the Neighborhood Film/Video Project at International House goes straight to the well when it presents eight Hong Kong movies that range from action-crammed fests that would make Arnold Schwarzenegger whimper to heart-tweaking melodramas.

One of two men nabbed last week at 30th Street Station for possessing what officials say is $25 million worth of "China White" heroin is reputed to be a member of a Hong Kong-based organized crime family similar to the Mafia. The suspect, Tat Man Ho, 37, and a traveling companion, Hin Ping Lo, 40, both citizens of Hong Kong, were denied bail yesterday by a federal magistrate and ordered to remain in jail pending trial. Ho is a member of a large Chinese organized crime group known as the 14K Triad, Assistant U.S. Attorney Linwood C. Wright Jr. said in arguing that Ho be denied bail.

It rained that special kind of Hong Kong summer rain on the first two days after Hong Kong's takeover. When I say rain, I mean it looks as if the famous Victoria Harbor had turned upside down, drenching the city with opaque water the color of toxic metals. When you go outside the rain feels slimy against your skin, as if you've just cozied up to a giant wriggling fish. In spite of the subtropical air temperature, there's a dampness that makes your bones feel chilled. The rain caused landslides in the mountainous sections of the New Territories and flooding that turned parking lots into lakes.

Repertory Films Ambler Theater 108 E. Butler Ave., Ambler; 215-345-7855. www.amblertheater.com . Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) $4. 3/24. 11 am. Broad Street Ministries Presbyterian Church 315 S. Broad St.; 215-735-4847. www.broadstreetministry.org . Bullet in the Head: Director's Cut (Hong Kong, 1990) $5. 3/23. 6-9 pm. Bryn Mawr Film Institute 824 W. Lancaster Ave., Bryn Mawr; 610-527-9898. www.brynmawrfilm.org . Going Gaga. $7. 3/28.

Last week, the Travel section centered on cruises, but you can also enjoy trips on the water when you visit land destinations. National Geographic (travel.national geographic.com/travel) offers this list of the Top 10 City Boat Trips. 1. Vancouver Ferries, Canada 2. Staten Island Ferry, N.Y. 3. San Francisco to Sausalito, Calif. 4. New Orleans to Algiers Ferry, La. 5. Star Ferry, Hong Kong 6. Brisbane CityCat, Australia 7. Bosphorus Ferry, Istanbul, Turkey 8. Venice Vaporetto, Italy 9. Naples to Capri Ferry, Italy 10. Mersey Ferry, Liverpool, England

Blackthorn Sam Shepard does a beautiful piece of acting - quiet, watchful, and sly - as he portrays a legendary old outlaw hiding out in the exotic hill country of Bolivia. Yes, he's Butch Cassidy, long believed dead, and no, this cinematic western bears little resemblance to the slick '60s fun of the Paul Newman-Robert Redford hit. R Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame Magic, majesty, and martial arts from Hong Kong maestro Tsui Hark, as ancient China's first female emperor recruits a strange sleuth to find out who, or what, is responsible for the fiery demise of palace bigwigs.

Frank Ching is a freelance writer based in Hong Kong The renowned Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei, held for 80 days without charge, was finally released last month under conditions that among other things forbid him to talk to the media. Ai has apologized to reporters, explaining that he is not allowed to talk about his case and, in fact, "I can't say anything. " But he went out of his way to pay tribute to Hong Kong, whose people had come out in great numbers to show their support for him after he was detained in April.

An angry march in Hong Kong HONG KONG - Tens of thousands of people vented anger over Hong Kong's skyrocketing property prices and government policies Friday at an annual march held on the anniversary of the former British colony's return to Chinese rule. People blew whistles, beat drums, and banged metal cups to express their unhappiness. Many waved flags calling for universal suffrage, while others chanted "Down down with property tycoons" and called for Chief Executive Donald Tsang to step down.

By Steven Conn I recently took a ride on the world's only commercially operating "maglev" train. As its name suggests, the train uses high-powered magnets to levitate above its track. There are no wheels and no friction, and it moves fast - really fast. The trip was about 19 miles long, and it took eight minutes, for an average speed of about 143 m.p.h. I rode the train in Shanghai, from the edge of the city's Pudong district to the airport. It felt like riding the future. So does China as a whole when one visits places like Shanghai and Hong Kong.

You've bought your plane ticket to Hong Kong, reserved a room, and purchased a guidebook to help you decide what to see, where to eat, and how to tip the cabbie. But what to do while you're waiting for departure day to arrive? You could do what we do, whether a foreign trip is on the horizon or not even an option: Take a virtual trip nearby, soaking up the ethnic atmosphere of whatever foreign land we're going to or pining for. Here's what we mean. Not long ago, before a trip to western China, we settled into the far end of a pew at the local Chinese Presbyterian Church.