When the British first arrived in Hong Kong, they landed in a small inlet to the south that they later named Aberdeen. It was the beginning of Hong Kong as a colony, as well as the growth of Hong Kong from a small fishing village into today’s vibrant metropolis. It is exactly this beginning which gave Aberdeen its Chinese name: “Heung Gong Jai” – or “Little Hong Kong”. Dong is the patriarch of the Cheng family. A descendant of generations of fishermen who once made a living off of the riches within Hong Kong’s harbor, Dong experienced the end of his family’s profession when they were forced to move off of their boats into housing estates in the late 1960s. With their livelihood no longer possible, the family sent Dong to become a Taoist priest to perform rituals for the deceased. Dong’s two children are Ching, the elder daughter, and To, the younger son. Ching retains the beliefs and superstitions of the older generations, but is haunted by her difficult relationship with her parents, especially her mother. To, on the other hand, has long embraced the values of modern, capitalistic Hong Kong – from a luxurious house and maintaining his good looks to his fascination with collectibles such as Star Wars figures. Ching is married to a doctor, Cheung, who is having an extramarital affair. Like Ching, he is also undergoing a crisis – stuck between a wife obsessed with the past and a young nurse who is in too much of a hurry to build a future. To, likewise, is also married. His wife, Ceci, is a model who is at the twilight of her career. Insecure about her aging and her moribund career, she is further rattled by her husband’s insistence that their daughter, Chloe, does not look like them. The truth about Chloe conceals a secret Ceci is unwilling to reveal. Chloe, meanwhile, is fond of her doting father but is unwilling to tell him that she is being bullied at school. She is also attached to her pet chameleon Greenie. And it is this attachment which will lead her into a world of imagination that nowadays barely exists in a place like Hong Kong. The extended Cheng family, like Aberdeen’s namesake, represents today’s “Little Hong Kong” and its myriad of contradictions between traditions and modernity; superstitions and materialism; family and individuality.
