Uploaded on 2014-11-28 by DB94

![Bambooscaffolding][1] Construction is and has for a long time been a massive industry in Hong Kong. Originally the locally mined stone served as the main construction material, but now the quarries are mostly exhausted and used for landfill and reclamation, as construction materials are increasingly imported glass, steel and concrete which are the ingredients for modern-day skyscrapers the world over. It is not just materials that are imported - In my neighbourhood the Japanese firm Nishimatsu are building the subway extension and the Swiss firm Liebherr provide the cranes for a new hotel. One bastion of (semi) local construction material still in use in Hong Kong is bamboo scaffolding - this is sourced from southern China as a local alternative to the steel or aluminium used elsewhere. However its usage faces threat from its difference - its use would be illegal in many non-Asian countries, and because it requires different skills to metal, there is a shrinking pool of expertise. This photo shows bamboo scaffolding originally grown in Southern China being taken down from a newly extended building made of concrete. All of the cement used in Hong Kong is imported. [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14171698701536843.jpg