I quit my lifelong media job in Hong Kong and moved to Vancouver to be a devoted dad escorting my child through high school. Although I had visited Vancouver twice before, living here still feels like entering a completely different world. The contrast between Vancouver and Hong Kong is strikingly jaw-dropping.
From the moment I set foot in Canada, Vancouver revealed its “true colors” to me: lush, abundant greenery.
We Hongkongers take pride in our natural spaces within the city and consider ourselves environmentally conscious. Our Legislative Council carefully scrutinizes construction plans in the suburbs to protect nature. Vancouver, however, is quite the opposite—green wilderness dominates, making an urban person like me struggle to believe I’m still in a city. My son’s school in South Vancouver is said to be in a “downtown” area, but to me, it feels anything but “downtown”.
In Hong Kong, “downtown” means skyscrapers and postmodern symbols of urbanization and commercialization. While in Vancouver, however, “downtown” simply refers to an area with more settlements compared to the surrounding areas. Here, people focus on protecting human lives while embracing nature, especially when bears showing up at the yard of the houses in the suburb areas.
Around my rental places, trees, grass, flowers, and chubby, timid squirrels surround us; bold blossoms brighten the landscape, and mountains stand like guardians in the background, making the sky feel lower than it does in Hong Kong. There’s a Chinese saying mocking those who look for greener grass abroad—“the moon looks fuller in a foreign land”. I’m not one of those people, but I have to admit, the sky in Canada does feel lower than in Hong Kong.
This makes it a wonderful place for my son to enjoy flying his drone. Ten years ago, I bought him a drone thinking Victoria Park would be the perfect spot to fly it. However, before we could even unpack it, a park staff member stopped us. “We must protect passers-by!” the patroller explained. In contrast, Vancouver feels “empty” compared to Hong Kong, offering plenty of open (and low) sky for my son to fly his toy drone.
Sounds perfect, right?
Of course not—I didn’t bring a drone with me! They are all in Hong Kong!
為了小兒子安心讀書，三個月前辭了做了三十多年的媒體工作離開香港，來到加拿大溫哥華當陪讀家長。雖然以前多次到加拿大旅遊，對溫哥華並不陌生，但在這里裏生活，我才真正感受同為國際大都會城市，溫哥華和香港的各種不同……
港燦在溫哥華之一 綠
香港是一個人多地少的城市，香港社會對綠地的保護相當「執著」，政府如果要砍一棵大樹都需要小心奕奕，想在新界的廢棄農地搞發展也需要經過環境評估及立法會通過，更不用說動用郊野公園土地了。但即便如此，在大多數人的認知裏，香港是一個石屎森林城市，不論是商業區還是居民居住區，想找點綠色都是很難的，如果在市區擁有一個能見綠色的住宅，已可稱為「豪宅」。
不過，在溫哥華，「綠」則是居民生活的一部分，推窗見樹出門踏青是生活常態，不論是在由高樓組成的鐵路鎮居民住宅區還是溫哥華市商業中心地區，綠色也不會從視線中消失。
據官方的數據，溫哥華的「樹冠覆蓋率」即使在人口密度最高的Richmond也超過10%，有些地區的 「樹冠覆蓋率」更超過60%。溫哥華近年經常在各項世界最佳居住城市排名中名列前茅，其中一個最大的優勢就是有很好的空氣質素，而空氣質素的優劣則和綠化的程度息息相關。
為方便兒子讀書，我租住在溫哥華南的一個住宅區。由住宅出門，不論向南
或向北，走不到百米，都會見到一個公園。公園內有古樹，有兒童遊樂設施，有步道，還有足球場及棒球場。
來到溫哥華，為方便出行買了一輛車。一次自己想在家門口洗車，有鄰居見到阻止，「這是犯法的」，「在街上洗車是違法的，因為它會把化學清潔濟和油脂衝進路邊排水溝，污染下水道，也會破壞路邊的植物」。
在兒子五、六歲時，他特別喜歡遙控飛機，於是我網購了一架遙控戰鬥機。但買回來才認識到，在香港根本不太可能找到一個可以給初學者試飛遙控飛機的地方。在香港最大的城市公園維多利亞公園，管理人員明確警告，公園內不能施放遙控飛機，即使在中心大草坪上也不能，「會撞傷人」。香港有不多的幾個大型球場，但顯然球場內是不可能讓孩子去玩遙控飛機的。於是，至今十多年過去，孩子已出洋讀書了，那架遙控飛機依然躺在收納室的架子上，一次都沒有飛行過。
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