Chinese used to escape to this former British colony. Now, cheap boba has turned the tables
CNN
Hong Kong used to be the place where Chinese would escape to, not from. What happened?
With Hong Kong’s sky-high cost of living, residents like Andy Tsui have been looking for alternative ways to have more fun and spend less. And he’s found one. Recent weekends have seen him shopping at glitzy malls, singing at swanky karaoke joints and dining on the freshest Australian crayfish. Add a cup of the trendiest bubble tea, and his bill for the day normally amounts to no more than $60. That’s the sort of money many of his friends have been paying for just one meal — and no boba. His secret? Rather than spending his cash in his hometown of Hong Kong, he’s been crossing the border into mainland China to splurge instead. “You can have half a Peking duck for as little as 60 to 70 yuan ($10), more than enough to feed three people, and on every corner there is a bubble tea place that sells a cup that costs just 10 to 12 yuan ($1.70),” Tsui told CNN, ahead of yet another weekend trip to Shenzhen. “The price difference is just so stark.” During the visits, he often finds himself surrounded by “more Hongkongers than locals.”
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