An unusual venue for a picnic – Under the HSBC building in Hong Kong

When you plan to go for a picnic, you usually go somewhere scenic, off the beaten track and away from hustle and bustle of urban life.

In fact, to quote the definition of a picnic from the Collins Online Dictionary; “When people have a picnic, they eat a meal out of doors, usually in a field or a forest or at the beach”.

Sunday Picnic in Hong Kong 

So when I went on a Sunday stroll in Hong Kong, I was curious to see  hundreds of people having a picnic under one of the largest skyscrapers in the city.

Sunday Picnic at the HSBC building in Central Hong Kong

In most cities the conventional idea of picnic spaces are plazas, parks, squares, but not for hundreds of people in Hong Kong. Every Sunday crowds gather for picnics under the Hong Kong and Shanghai building in Central District, Hong Kong.

Picnicing Under the HSBC Building 

There are approximately 130,000 Filipino domestic workers in Hong Kong. Since Sunday is their only day-off they take to this public spaces to reconnect with their community.

Sunday Picnic at the HSBC building in Central Hong Kong

The underbelly and environs of Norman Foster’s HSBC building is certainly an unusual venue for a picnic, but it is one of the shadiest spots in the centre of Hong Kong.

Sunday Picnic at the HSBC building in Central Hong Kong

Images from my Hong Kong Sketchbook