Hong Kong’s bustling city streets and towering skyscrapers will fill a budding journalist with a hunger to explore and report. The giant metropolis is a fast-paced multicultural environment filled with stories ready to be told. Moreover, the experience working alongside established Hong Kong professionals while navigating a brand new culture will give interns a leg up in interviews and job applications for years to come.
Roles
The Intern Group’s journalism and media internships in Hong Kong include incredible roles that will help future journalists prepare themselves for career in the competitive media industry. Previous interns have worked with many local magazines, including luxury lifestyle magazine HK Tatler and EntrepreneurHK. Broadcast interns in the past have worked with HKGFM, a variety radio station targeted at Hong Kong’s expats. In any role, journalism and media interns will meet daily professional challenges that will teach them about what it’s like to work in journalism, preparing them for their future career in media.
Housing
Journalism and media interns in Hong Kong stay in the city’s safest areas. Previous interns have been placed in housing on either the Hong Kong Island or the Kowloon side. Interns stay in quality shared apartment accommodations located in areas like Wan Chai, Sheung Wan, Sai Ying Pun and Jorden.
Learning Mandarin or Cantonese
Mandarin is the most popular language on the globe with some 955 million speakers worldwide. A journalist looking to get ahead in their career would be wise to take advantage of their internship abroad by learning Mandarin. Though internship roles are in English, the Intern Group program offers classes in either Mandarin or Cantonese for journalism and media interns in Hong Kong. After class, interns will be able to put lessons to good use on the ground, conversing with locals on the streets of Hong Kong.
Yin and Yang
The philosophy of Yin and Yang adeptly explains the two great opposite forces at play in Hong Kong. The perhaps contradictory beliefs in capitalism and Buddhism complement each other in the city, best exemplified in the local structures. Alongside Hong Kong’s sweeping skyscrapers, an intern abroad will notice temples and areas of worship tucked away as serene sanctuaries – an escape from the loud, bustling city streets.
One of Hong Kong’s most famous Buddhist complexes is the Chi Lin Nunnery, which encompasses statues, temples, gardens and ponds. The site was founded in 1934 and has since been renovated. For escapes into tranquility an intern in Hong Kong can also visit the Mo Man temple, Ten Thousand Buddha Monastery and Big Buddha on Lantau Island. These notable Buddhist structures offer a sense of peace and calm separate from the chaos of noisy city streets.
Newcomers to the city will certainly feel their jaws drop after getting their first glimpse of Hong Kong’s sublime skyline. Sanctuaries to the financial world, Hong Kong’s modern beauty is found in its many sparkling towers. The Center, for example, is Hong Kong’s fifth-highest skyscraper and quite the site to see. The architectural wonder is also part of a nightly light show beside the Victora Harbour called the “Symphony of lights”. Over 40 skyscrapers participate in the massive nightly lights and music presentation. It has even been dubbed “World’s Largest Permanent Light and Sound Show” by the folks over at Guiness World Records.
Beyond the metropolis
While living in Hong Kong, journalism and media interns have opportunities to venture outside the urban jungle. A tour of the beautiful Lantau Island is included in The Intern Group program. Lantau is Hong Kong’s largest island and is located at the mouth of the Pearl River. The mountainous island includes Hong Kong’s largest country park, Lantau South Country Park, a serene getaway from the loud city. Other notable attractions on the island include the Tian Tan Buddha, a 85-foot bronze Buddha statue and the Po Lin Monastery.
A day trip to Macau, or “the vegas of Asia”, is also included in the journalism and media internship program. Though its beautiful casinos are world famous, the city is also characterized by a unique blend of Chinese and Portuguese culture. Once a colony of Portugal, Macau is now in Chinese control though it maintains a variety of elements of its Portuguese roots. The city’s colorful architecture and spicy Macanese food are also part of the city’s charm along with its many multicultural events, including the Macau Grand Prix, the Macau Arts festival and Chinese New Year.
Food culture
Hong Kong’s diverse multicultural cuisine is something to be explored. Like its architecture, the city’s gastronomy has been influenced by a number of different cultures. Both Cantonese and non-Cantonese Chinese cuisine are common in Hong Kong, along with foods from the West, Japan and Southeast Asia.
Served by one or two people pushing around a food cart, hawker is Hong Kong street food and usually includes dishes like fish balls, a pudding cake called put chai ko or roasted chestnuts. Open-air food stalls called dai pai dongs are another way to dine casual in Hong Kong. These stalls usually cook up inexpensive dishes like a rice porridge called congee, rice and noodles, sweetened condensed milk toast and wonton noodles.
The Cantonese tradition called dim sum is an important element of Hong Kong food culture. Comparable to Spanish tapas, dim sum is Cantonese or Hokkien food prepared in small, individual portions. Some typical dim sum plates include har gow shrimp dumplings, pot stickers and barbeque pork.
A journalism and media internship in Hong Kong is a ripe opportunity for future media professionals looking for a unique, multicultural experience that will give them a competitive edge in the field. On top of getting to know a diverse, multifaceted Chinese city, journalism and media interns in Hong Kong will develop their skills alongside established professionals that will help prepare them for a dynamic media career.
Apply now and boost your career!
Sources: Frommer’s Wikipedia, discoverhongkong.com, HKTDC Research
Photo 1. based on Hong Kong by Barbara Willi, CC-by-2.0
Photo 2. based on Morning Monks in Hong Kong by Jonathan Kos-Read, CC-by-2.0
Photo 3. based on Hong Kong Rush Hour by Andreas, CC-by-2.0