Hong Kong, The City In Love With Cats
In the West, it is certainly not common to find a postcard with a kitten in a store. But in certain neighborhoods of Hong Kong this is very normal. A Dutch photographer was fascinated by the city, in love with cats. That’s why he didn’t hesitate to put these photos in a book and make an exhibition with the images.
A universe where animals reign
Source: chinesewhiskers Instagram
Marcel Heijnen has lived in Asia since 1992. He took it upon himself to portray with his camera several issues that reveal a culture very different from ours.
That’s how he brought together in images the traditional shops of the Sheung Wan and Sai Ying Pun areas of Hong Kong and their peculiar inhabitants, the cats.
What for us today would be an unthinkable situation, in addition to being prohibited, due to various sanitary regulations, in these places is something common.
So do n’t be surprised if you walk into these commercial places and find the adorable kittens sleeping on the shelves and passing through the various merchandise.
See the best pictures of a city in love with cats
In the book “Hong Kong Shop Cats” ( Cats of Hong Kong stores , free translation into Portuguese), Heijnen meets many of these photographs. Also, you can find the photos on your Instagram account. The book also reveals the stories of the kittens and the stores where they live.
The artist marvels at being a witness to the primitive reason why cats and humans began to live together a few centuries ago. We learn to live with cats because of their ability to hunt rats and the company they make us.
As such, the symbiotic relationship between people and cats was embodied in beautiful images that also document the quirky shops in these areas of the Asian city.
There’s always at least one kitten in Hong Kong’s traditional stores
Most of the kittens photographed live in Sheung Wan and Sai Ying Pun stores. In these places, it’s very difficult to find a store that doesn’t have at least one meowing friend.
In many cases, the owners of these places buy the little animals. But when it comes to cats, it’s almost obvious to say that, in most cases, it’s the kittens themselves who choose a store and decide to move into it.
And although most of these animals are likely to have lost a good part of their hunting skills, it is believed that just by their presence – or perhaps by their smell – rodents stay far away.
A tour of Hong Kong’s traditional shops through feline friends
But in addition to capturing the images of the beautiful kittens, Heijnen’s camera invites us to enter the traditional family businesses of Hong Kong. These places are characterized by surviving the competition of big brands and serial products.
This is how, through its talented lens, it is possible to dive into a chaotic and, at the same time, organized universe. Here, time seems to have stopped before the arrival of “modernity”.
In this way, the photos of this city in love with cats represent a local culture that deals with rice, dried fish, canvas and paper. And also from ancestral activities.
A little bit of the virtual world is not bad
Source: chinesewhiskers Instagram
However, not everything is part of the tradition in the relationship of Hong Kong and its cats. Kittens have also become famous on social media;
One of the best known kittens is Brother Cream. This feline became known after being lost and found 26 days later, thanks to the mobilization of its neighbors.
From that moment on, the kitten began to gain followers on Facebook. But in addition, it was part of several advertising campaigns and, of course, it attracted more customers to its owner’s business.
Photo source: Instagram account of photographer Marcel Heijnen
