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So we mobilized the team of journalists pictured on the previous page, scoured the local streets, bars, shops, racetracks and archives, and came back with a stack of pictures, documents and first-hand reporting as tall as Central Plaza (world's largest poured concrete structure, page 44). The most obvious product of that enterprise is the issue's remarkable cover, a collage of 754 historic photos (some appear more than once) arranged by artist Mitchell Confer to resemble the Hong Kong skyline. Deputy editor Adi Ignatius recruited a distinguished group of guest essayists--movie megastar Jackie Chan, fashion mogul Joyce Ma, novelist Louis Cha, Governor Chris Patten, legislator Emily Lau, actor/singer Andy Lau--to tell us what their city means to them. In addition, we held a contest for the schoolchildren of Hong Kong to design a postcard in the form of a Time cover celebrating their hometown. We received more than 2,000 entries, and tucked inside are the winners--in the form of postcards you can tear out and mail to your friends. As you peruse these pages--designed by art director John White--you'll meet the tycoons and snake-killers, doormen and Canto-Pop stars, fishermen and currency traders who animate Hong Kong, as well as the King of Kowloon (page 58). You'll learn about bamboo scaffolding, topless bars and killer air-conditioning. We'll tell you where to find the best curry and the rudest waiters, the most acrobatic water fountain and the men's room with the most spectacular view. For help gathering these tidbits of wisdom, we turned to the editors of HK Magazine, the local weekly that does for dining, entertainment and the finer things of Hong Kong life what Time does for the world's news. Visitors to Hong Kong, as well as longtime residents, will want to carry HK's list of "97 Reasons to Love Hong Kong" (page 42) with them wherever they go. On a more serious, but similarly useful note, correspondent John Colmey has compiled a list of important facts you really should know about the legal system, the use of English, the population and all the other things about Hong Kong that will--and won't--change after the handover.
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