Since normal travel resumed in 2023, the flow of people between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland have been increased, enhancing personnel exchanges between the two places.
With a mobile phone
and a stand, self-media bloggers used simple equipment to shoot three to five minutes of short videos, sharing their experience and observations in Hong Kong and the mainland, promoting a two-way cultural dialogue between the two places.
"A fat boy born and raised in Hong Hong who loves to eat." This is self-media blogger Saidorsi's self-introduction on his self-media homepage.
Saidorsi released videos, most of which are about eight to 10 minutes long, from the perspective of Hong Kong people and in the language closest to them, introducing tips of eating and having fun in the mainland, as well as electronic payment and bank account opening.
"My goal is that after watching my videos, the audience will be able to visit the mainland themselves," Saidorsi, who is in his thirties, worked in the design area before becoming a self-media blogger, said.
In 2017, Saidorsi decided to become a full-time self-media blogger after witnessing the development of the self-media market. In August of the same year, he posted a video recommending a hot pot restaurant in Shenzhen, a neighbor city dubbed the commercial hub in South China. The video achieved 100,000 views in five days and made a splash. Since then, he has started his self-media journey of introducing Shenzhen to Hong Kong people.
"My previous job required frequent business trips to mainland cities, which gave me a certain understanding of the lifestyle in the mainland and I was greatly inspired," Saidorsi said.
Over the past seven years, the video blogger has created more than 1,000 videos and the content has expanded from Shenzhen to other mainland cities. By filming the changes in Shenzhen, Saidorsi hoped to open a window for Hong Kong people to understand the development in the mainland.
"Many people told me that after watching my videos, they realized that there were so many interesting places in the mainland, which gave me a great sense of accomplishment," Saidorsi said.
According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the number of visitors to Hong Kong in 2023 was about 34 million. It is widely believed in the Hong Kong tourism industry that in recent years, visitors to Hong Kong have begun to focus on the urban space outside scenic spots, and Hong Kong's rich artistic activities are attracting tourists from different places.
Chen Ziyu, who lived in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong province, since childhood, has been operating self-media accounts on different platforms since 2016. Because of her love for Hong Kong's cultural works, she chose to introduce Hong Kong's art information as the main content.
In 2017, Chen came to Hong Kong to study art education and visited almost all art institutions in the international financial hub, and she shared her knowledge and visiting experience on social platforms.
"The route I designed brings together the small-scale and scattered galleries in Hong Kong, so that visitors can experience the artistic environment of Hong Kong in a short time," Chen said.
In addition, Chen also shared her experience as a volunteer in art institutions such as the Hong Kong Palace Museum.
"Seeing the world in Hong Kong and being seen by the world," Chen said, in recent years, a series of major events have been held in Hong Kong that combined tradition and modernity, art, culture and technology, giving countless art lovers a feast for their eyes. At the same time, the infinite potential of Hong Kong's cultural and artistic development has also been seen by the world, making her feel proud.
This is the first Lunar New Year after the Hong Kong society has returned to normalcy and the festive atmosphere throughout the territory was exceptionally good. Chen used her mobile phone to record the Hong Kong-style Lunar New Year.
In the new year, Chen hoped that artists from the mainland and Hong Kong will have more exchanges, bringing their hearts closer with their works of art.
