‘One City One Book Hong Kong 2023’: Eco-writing Connects People from Different Communities

‘One City, One Book’, a community reading initiative, aims to encourage as many people as possible to read and discuss a single book at around the same time. The goals are to build a sense of community and to promote reading, discussion, and civic engagement.

Our featured books for 2023 include short story collection Bison by Hong Kong writer Ng Hui-bun or Xubin and picture book Yōkai by Spanish illustrator Manuel Marsol. Bison is a classic of Hong Kong literature. Its focus on the binding, mutable connection between humanity and the planet instead of urban scenes or the local situation makes it a unique title. Xubin’s stories take characters from deserts, to mountains, to the depths of the jungle, constantly inquiring about how we can be in connection with, rather than alienated from, the world of nature. The same themes are also examined in Yōkai, in which a lorry driver who stops in the mountains has a series of transformative encounters with spirits in the forest. 

From September to December, 2023, the project brought about a variety of activities attended by people from different communities in the city. These activities included reading groups and dialogues presented by literary writers, translators, scholars and artists, literary classes taught by our student ambassadors to primary/secondary school students, storytelling and creative writing workshops in collaboration with Inter-Island Festival 2023 at Peng Chau, Cheung Chau and Mui Wo, as well as guided tours to Island House, Shui Hau and Nam Chung exploring local eco-stories.

 

 

School reading event in Wa Ying College

 

 

(Welcome to) the Planet of Orchids: Thinking with Nature film sharing session - a collaboration between the Green Hub, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, and One City One Book Hong Kong (EdUHK)

 

 

Guided tours to Shui Hau, exploring local eco-stories

 

 

Collaborative reading activity with Hong Kong Metropolitan University

 

 

Nature reading and writing activity in EdUHK’s Eco-garden, organised by the Department of Literature and Culture Studies and SEC and the Department of Science and Environmental Studies