TRAVEL
May 6, 2012
If you go WHERE TO STAY The luxury Harbour Grand Hotel, 23 Oil St., North Point; (852) 2121-2616, http://www.harbourgrand.com . Away from the bustle of the shopping and business district, but alongside the Fortress Hill subway stop, making it easy to reach hikes. Doubles from $178. Harbour Plaza 8 Degrees Hotel, 199 Kowloon City Road, Tokwawan, Kowloon; (852) 2126-1988, http://www.harbour-plaza.com/en/home.aspx?hotel_id=hp8d§ion_id=home&subsection_id=overview.
TRAVEL
May 6, 2012
If you go THE BEST WAY TO HONG KONG From LAX, Cathay Pacific offers nonstop service to Hong Kong, and Air China, United, China Airlines, Asiana, All Nippon, Korean, Delta and China Eastern offer connecting service (change of plane). Restricted round-trip fares range from $890 to $1,252, including taxes, fees and fuel surcharges. TELEPHONES To call the numbers below from the U.S., dial 011 (the international dialing code), 852 (the code for Hong Kong)
TRAVEL
May 6, 2012 | By Scott Kraft, Los Angeles Times
Hong Kong - India has the Taj Mahal. In France, of course, it's the Eiffel Tower. Russia has Red Square and South Africa has Cape Town's Table Mountain. Each a treasure, and each reason enough for a pilgrimage. In Hong Kong, the sight to see is not a single monument or even a majestic natural vista. It is the city's glittering homage to the modern skyscraper - a breathtaking skyline with verdant Victoria Peak as the picture-postcard backdrop. Still, when I arrived in Hong Kong for a long weekend last May, I was a bit worried that my first visit to the city of 7 million would be a disappointment.
TRAVEL
May 6, 2012 | By Margo Pfeiff, Special to the Los Angeles Times
Birds twitter and sunshine twinkles through groves of bamboo and banyan trees adorned with cascades of orchids. With every step, my Vibram boot soles crush hibiscus blossoms littering a pathway, while butterflies flutter around a group of elderly folks welcoming the morning with the gracious silent semaphore of tai chi. At a clearing where remnants of a World War ll gun emplacement rust, half-swallowed in greenery, an opening in the jungle reveals...
BUSINESS
April 21, 2012 | By Shan Li
--London has overtaken Dubai as the world's prime shopping destination, according to a new report. The British capital attracts the most retail brands among all the great shopping cities around the globe, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE. Last year, London and Dubai tied for first place and beat out shopping hot spots such as New York, Hong Kong and Paris. CBRE said London draws about 56% of all international brands, with Dubai close behind at 54%. In third place is New York, followed by Moscow, Paris and Hong Kong.
BUSINESS
April 13, 2012 | By David Pierson, Los Angeles Times
HUIZHOU, China — Tony Zhang used to make cents on the dollar churning out cheap sneakers for Wal-Mart. And like every other low-margin exporter in China's manufacturing heartland, he was struggling to keep pace with rising costs for labor and raw materials. Rather than run his business into the ground with ever-shrinking profits, the Taiwan-born Zhang decided to upgrade his operations. His factory just outside Shenzhen now makes specialty footwear, including fire retardant boots, steel-toed shoes and soccer cleats.