Hong Kong, China
Vertical Purgatory Harbour
"Where Your Flat Costs More Than Your Life Expectancy"
Official Coat of Arms
A shield depicting a single 400-square-foot flat besieged on all sides by bamboo scaffolding, above crossed dim sum steamers, with the Peak Tram rendered as a diagonal band representing both social mobility and the actual 27-degree incline. The motto beneath reads, in tiny cramped lettering to save space, 'Up Is The Only Way Left To Build'.
TripAdvisor Review
★★★★☆ 4/5
"Stayed in a 'cosy studio' in Mong Kok that was technically smaller than the suitcase I brought. The Star Ferry ride across the harbour was genuinely magical, but then I got back to street level and remembered I have to dodge bamboo scaffolding and humidity that fogs your glasses instantly. Dim sum was incredible, my hotel window looked directly into someone else's living room, ten out of ten would sweat through my shirt again."— Gary Pemberton-Wallace, Surrey, England
Property Listing
Bijou 180-square-foot 'executive sky suite' offers breathtaking views of your neighbour's bathroom window and unbeatable proximity to seventeen different dumpling establishments within a two-minute walk! Rare opportunity to own a literal shoebox for the price of a mansion elsewhere, with complimentary humidity included year-round at no extra charge.
Twinned With
Monaco — Both are tiny, absurdly expensive playgrounds where nobody blinks at a car costing more than a house.
Supporting Evidence
Hong Kong has more skyscrapers over 150 metres tall than any other city on Earth, largely because there was nowhere left to go but up on a peninsula squeezed between mountains and the sea.