>>214609373
I work in Guangzhou actually so I can't speak to HK too much since I only visit from time to time, so take my take with a grain of salt. It feels emptier than it was and it probably is, many people have left and its economy become super financialized. A lot of the traditional small shops have gone out, cheaper to buy online or go to Shenzhen. To some degree Mainlanders have come personally but mostly just for business, and the business areas have always had lots of foreigners. The rest are tourists who come for luxury shops and a taste of the West, these seem pretty numerous. Much of the elite are ingratiated with the mainland now, both financial and political. More cops too, they'll bust your balls as a foreigner now, wasn't like that a few years ago.
Still a cool place and I never regret going, its still its own thing but there is definitely a shadow over it, even if you don't always see it.
