Photograph by Mark Leong

A fearless crowd holds a candlelight memorial in Victoria Park for democracy activist Szeto Wah, who died at 79 in 2011. Under China's "one country, two systems" policy, Hong Kong's citizens enjoy free speech, but voting rights are limited.

Photograph by Mark Leong

Fast-paced capitalism thrives in the Asian headquarters of the financial firm HSBC. Low taxes, limited regulation, and access to mainland China's market keep Hong Kong one of the best places to make money.

Photograph by Mark Leong

Beat-up armchairs await residents of a shantytown built on the top of a mixed-use building. With affordable housing hard to find in one of the world's most expensive cities, low-income workers colonize rooftops in industrial neighborhoods.

Photograph by Mark Leong

A neon-soaked district beloved by Hong Kong film directors, Mong Kok blazes with massage parlors and karaoke joints, conjuring visions of gangster shoot-outs. Triads, the local gangs, stay low profile, specializing in extortion and loan-sharking.

Photograph by Mark Leong

The real winners at Happy Valley Racecourse are members of the elite Hong Kong Jockey Club, whose perks include the right to enter restricted areas to size up horses. The city's biggest taxpayer, the club controls legal gambling and lottery sales.

Photograph by Mark Leong

Behind closed doors legal prostitution thrives in Hong Kong. Many sex workers come from the mainland—like "J," a 32-year-old who operates a one-woman brothel, the only type of operation allowed. In two years she has made enough to invest in real estate.

Photograph by Mark Leong

The dragon with phoenix wings is the tattoo for Sun Yee On, a powerful Hong Kong gang. Here it decorates a former "red pole," or enforcer. The gang has been reported to control an estimated 25,000 members. Some are getting into legal businesses, like taxicab and bus operations, to take the heat off their criminal enterprises.

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Photograph by Mark Leong

Security cameras eye the traffic in Chungking Mansions, a 17-story hive of market stalls, restaurants, and cheap lodgings where global traders do business. Yemenis, Nigerians, Pakistanis all show up, buying made-in-China goods to sell back home.

Photograph by Mark Leong

A forest of high-rises, many of them public housing projects, covers central Kowloon, one of the world's most crowded pieces of real estate. Despite Hong Kong's glittery reputation, almost half of its seven million residents live in subsidized housing.

Photograph by Mark Leong

The day before a major horse race, larger-than-normal crowds press into the Wong Tai Sin Temple to light incense sticks for luck. Daily visitors increasingly come from mainland China, part of the surge of shoppers, property buyers, and tourists who cross the border.

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Photograph by Mark Leong

Expensive tastes fire Hong Kong's economy. At a party for Chanel's new line of watches, a prospective buyer, his face lit by a camera sensor, tests the feel of a $6,000 timepiece. Many of Hong Kong's biggest spenders now come from the mainland.

Photograph by Mark Leong

An alley cuts behind shops, away from the hustling streets. The city's booming economy pleases Beijing. What rankles is Hong Kong's stubborn sense of independence, a trait that shows little sign of dimming.