Unfortunately for Hong Kong, May 14 was an utterly ordinary day. Tourists milling at one of the territory’s most famous lookout points – the Victoria Peak viewing terrace near the terminus of the Peak Tram – gazed down on a city bathed in heavy smog.

A picture map, snapped on one of Hong Kong’s rare clear days, depicted what they should have been able to see: the territory’s famous harbour, now resembling a river after numerous land reclamations; the Tsim Sha Tsui peninsula; and the Kowloon hills beyond.