“NANA” is the name of a Japanese anime about two girls with contrasting personalities. “That’s me,” Nana told me. “I’m a Pisces—I feel like I live with two sides inside.” Once a journalist for over ten years, she moved from Shenzhen to Hong Kong with her husband. We first met through an online event, and I was immediately drawn to her cheerful and optimistic presence.

In Hong Kong, she’s a food lover, a curious wanderer, and an art enthusiast—constantly exploring new places and documenting her passions. The first route she led me on felt like the city’s central spine: under construction on both sides, yet lined with flowerbeds, trees, and the occasional bird call. Halfway through, she removed her headphones. “Monitors amplify everything,” she explained, “but with my own ears, I can focus on what I love—like birdsong. The human ear naturally filters out the things we don’t want to hear.” Although the construction noise was present, she saw it not as a nuisance, but as a necessary prelude to the city’s future. “These sounds,” she said, “exist to build something better.”

Na describes herself as a “very practical person” who enjoys vibrant cities. Yet through our walks, I saw how she was always seeking sonic purity amidst the chaos—not avoiding noise, but searching for clarity within it. Her second route took us to a park nestled in the heart of a busy district—filled with trees, relaxing adults, and playing children. This time, she put on her headphones to listen closely. “It’s not easy to find a space like this downtown,” she said. “I can hear the wind, the rustling of leaves.” She described the soundscape as harmonious—a blend of foliage, laughter, and distant traffic. “Normally, I find children’s voices too noisy,” she admitted, “but in a park, that’s where they belong. The right sound in the right place feels just right.”

Having spent years in the less dense urban layout of Shenzhen, Nana is now adapting to the compact density of Hong Kong. She welcomes the city’s layers and is gradually finding a space where she feels at ease—her own sonic comfort zone within the vertical concrete.

As a food blogger who spends a lot of time in different cafes and restaurants, Na enjoys a bit of peace and undisturbed in this City. Na took me on a walk around the K11 MUSEA, I’ve been to K11 a few times before and was impressed by the design, gorgeous décor, and wide array of products. Na’s life is often like unpacking a blind box, she doesn’t like to explore repetitive places in her life, she likes to discover novelty and beauty, and she is constantly searching for new places to satisfy her professional needs in this city. As usual, she searched for a coffee shop online that she had never been to there before, in her most familiar and favorite environment, she settled down to listen to the sounds in this café shop. She enjoyed the sound of the music, enjoyed this private time of her own without being disturbed by others, and only in this quiet sound environment she was able to think deeply about what she should do afterward.

As a food blogger, Nana spends much of her time in cafés and restaurants, cherishing the calm and the solitude they offer. On one of our walks, she brought me to an area near K11 MUSEA. “My life feels like opening blind boxes,” she smiled. She rarely revisits the same place and loves discovering something new each time. That day, she had searched online for a café she’d never been to. In that familiar-yet-new setting, she quietly listened to the space around her—the music, the murmur of others—and allowed herself a moment of stillness. “Only in peace like this,” she said, “can I truly think about what comes next.”

Later, we walked along the waterfront by K11. She kept taking her headphones on and off, as if searching for a sound she couldn’t quite name. The overlapping layers of the sea, footsteps, and ambient mall music created a moment of serenity. “I don’t need to hear everything clearly,” she said. “I just want to find the sounds I love.” In these moments—while her partner is at work—she becomes an adventurer of the everyday, freely navigating the city’s soundscape on her own terms.