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There's ssssomething about sssnakes. The Lunar New Year fair at Victoria Park draws a crowd. Photo: Sam Tsang

The Year of the Snake kicks off with the launch of SCMP.com’s newest blog HKEye, where we take a look how the world’s media are covering Hong Kong. Stories about snake soup, snake fortunes and live snakes have been slithering around in recent days.

How charming

The BBC looks at the business of snake soup, a traditional winter dish, concluding that snake tamers are a dying breed.
In a similar story, Reuters points out that new blood is hard to find. The youngest employee at one shop has been there more than 30 years.
CNN Travel takes a tour of several old snake-serving establishments.
CLSA’s Feng Shui Index (not to be taken too seriously) was also widely reported, by CNN’s Andrew Stevens, China Daily and SCMP.
Feng shui also featured prominently in a Reuters markets outlook for Year of the Snake.
And don’t forget the 2,600 live snakes discovered by Hong Kong customs. The UK’s Telegraph, meanwhile, uses photos of Spring Festival celebrations in Beijing and Britain to accompany a story about Hong Kong’s growing interest in keeping pet snakes (they impress the ladies!).
Lastly, the Wall Street Journal discovers how vendors and festival organisers in Hong Kong are trying to make the snake marketable. Answer: bow-tie-wearing reptiles.

'The dark side'

Cage homes are not news in Hong Kong, but a recent feature by the Associated Press has made the rounds in international media. The article highlights the city’s housing problem, pegging it to Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s pledge to provide more flats amid soaring costs.
The Daily Mail has the story and photos.
The Vancouver Sun has a photo gallery.
 

Honkey Kong

Hong Kong photographs by Swede Christian Aslund have also popped up on various blogs. In the images, he creates 2-D video game scenes using city streets and a bird’s-eye view. (via Taxi, Hong Wrong

 

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