The heritagization of milk tea: cultural governance and placemaking in Hong Kong

Abstract

This article uses the heritigization of milk tea making technique as a lens to explore post-colonial cultural governance, placemaking and identity building in post-colonial Hong Kong. Based on the data and information collected through ethnographic study, personal interviews, and media researches on milk tea production and consumption, this study investigates how the Hong Kong government, the entrepreneurs and consumers interactively commodify tradition and culinary skills in tea-making for city branding, economic development and identity politics. This paper reveals that the meaning of milk tea in the official narrative supports the government vision of a harmonious society with docile labor. In contrast, the younger generation considers milk tea an icon representing an alternate Hong Kong spirit of rebelliousness, indicating a widening gap in the interpretation of cultural values and political orientation between the Hong Kong government and the younger generation under the background of Hong Kong’s rapid political change.