Beijing vs. Hong Kong

I think that getting the opportunity to experience both Beijing and Hong Kong was really amazing for a few reasons. Beijing was a very traditional Chinese city with a very rich history. Hong Kong on the other hand seemed very fast-paced and modern. Within China, these cities were almost polar opposites. It was fascinating to experience two very different places and lifestyles while visiting one country. That was not something that I really expected, because no matter how different big cities are in the United States, the cities are always evolving and they generally evolve together so that much of the culture is uniformly American. There is diversity in the culture of course, but many of the major cities share many similarities in the arts, food, and even politics. Hong Kong and Beijing still seemed very different from the religion and politics to the attractions within each city. In my mind, it was pretty much like visiting two different countries.