| Akio Hong | |
| Native Name: | 項明生 |
| Birth Date: | Sep 12, 1969 |
| Birth Place: | Chengdu, Suchuan, China |
| Education: | BA in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Hong Kong in 1992. Master's in Marketing from Chinese University of Hong Kong. |
| Occupation: | travel writer broadcaster TV host columnist |
| Television: | TVB travelogues Cable TV Hong Kong and Open TV travelogues |
| Boards: | Sony |
James "Akio" Xiang (Chinese: 項明生) (born 12 Sep 1969) is a travel writer, broadcaster, TV host and columnist from Hong Kong.[1] [2] [3]
Hong was born in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. He moved to Hong Kong when he was 15 years old with his family. He attended HKSYCIA Wong Tai Shan Memorial College during 1985 to 1989.
In 1992, he was awarded a BA in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Hong Kong. He also studied German in Bremen University in 1990, and Japanese language from 1989 to 1992. Then he completed his master's in marketing at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.[4]
Hong began his marketing career in two Japanese brands, namely Fujifilm Hong Kong (1992 to 1997) and Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong (1997 to 2013).[5] He was awarded as 2006 Most Outstanding Marketer of the Year from HKMA due to his PSP marketing campaign. [6]
He was promoted as the first Chinese in the Board of Director in Sony in 2011. [7]
He moved from marketing to travel writing from 2009 when his first book《5000 Years of Adventure》(足足五千年) was published and raised HK$500,000 for Heifer International Hong Kong. The electronic version of this book was ranked No. 1 at the Hong Kong eBook Chart for a consecutive 13 days.[8]
Hong started to write columns for various newspaper since 2009 including Oriental Daily, The Sun(太陽報, 已關閉), HK Economic Journal, Metro Daily, am730, Sky Post 晴報, Headline Daily, etc.[9] [10]
Hong later jointed TVB, Now TV and Cable TV to host a series of travelogue programs.
| TVB | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18, Feb, 2013 | 叻哥遊世界-巴西篇 | Nat Around The World (Brazil) | Guest host | |
| 25, May, 2015 | 一路向東非 | Heading to East Africa | Host and writer | |
| 18, June, 2016 | 日韓台櫻花三角戀 | Sakura Blossom in Japan, Korea and Taiwan | Host, research, copywriter, and Producer, Co-host with Chip Tsao | |
| 12, Nov, 2016 | 日耳曼的天空 | Under the Germanic Sky | Host, research, copywriter, ProducerCo-host with: Chip Tsao | |
| 8, June, 2017 | 京都奈良夢華錄 | Dreaming about ancient China in Kyoto and Nara | Host, research, copywriter, Producer | |
| Cable TV Hong Kong, Open TV | ||||
| 28, Oct, 2018 | 明治憑什麼 | Meiji Restoration 150th Anniversary Travelogue | Host, research, copywriter, producerCo-host with Chip Tsao | |
| 3, Aug, 2019 | 明日世遺 | UNESCO World Heritage in Tomorrow | Host, research, copywriter, producer | |
Major works by Hong.
| 足足五千年 | 5000 Years of Adventure | 2009 | Soleil Marketing Co. Ltd | ||
| 足足五千年-電子版 | 5000 Years of Adventure - EBook | 2010 | Innopage Ltd | ||
| 十天敢動假期：墨西哥、古巴 | 10 Stunning Days in Mexico and Cuba | 2011 | Wanli Book | ||
| 十天敢動假期：秘魯 | 10 Stunning Days in Peru | 2012 | Wanli Book | ||
| 十天敢動假期：巴西 | 10 Stunning Days in Brazil | 2013 | Wanli Book | ||
| 十天敢動假期：南極、阿根廷、烏拉圭 | 10 Stunning Days in Antarctica, Argentina, Uruguay | 2013 | Wanli Book | ||
| 異色‧北韓 | Colors of North Korea | 2013 | Cosmos Books | ||
| 足足五萬年 | 50,000 Years of Adventures | 2013 | Crown Publishing Co | ||
| 足足五萬年：西遊記 | 50,000 Years of Adventures: India | 2014 | Crown Publishing Co | ||
| 快樂到極點：從北極到南極 | From Pole to Pole: Arctic to Antarctica | 2014 | Cosmos Books | ||
| 足足五萬年：世界通史精華遊 | 50,000 Years of Adventures: Travel in General History | 2014 | Crown Publishing Co | ||
| 十天敢動假期：天空之鏡、復活節島 | 10 Stunning Days in Bolivia, Chile, Easter Island | 2014 | Wanli Book | ||
| 足足五千年(簡體字版) | 5000 Years of Adventures (Simplified Chinese) | 2015 | Joint Publishing | ||
| 日本東北花見紀行 | Sakura journey in Tohoku, Japan | 2015 | 豐林出版 | ||
| 提前退休, 坐郵輪遊世界 | Cruising around the world after earlier retirement | 2015 | Cosmo Books | ||
| 足足五萬年：跟達爾文去進化島 | 50,000 Years of Adventures: Galapagos with Charles Darwin | 2015 | Crown Publishing Co | ||
| 人生若只如花見 | Sakura journey in Tohoku Japan (II) | 2016 | 5000 Years Adventure Co | ||
| 提前退休2：坐河船遊世界 | Cruising around the world by river cruise (Earlier Retirement II) | 2016 | Cosmo Books | ||
| 十天敢動假期：墨西哥、古巴(簡體字版) | 10 Stunning Days in Mexico, Cuba(Simplified Chinese) | 2016 | Joint Publishing | ||
| 《十天敢動假期：巴西、秘魯》簡體字 | 10 Stunning Days in Brazil, Peru (Simplified Chinese) | 2016 | Joint Publishing | ||
| 《十天敢動假期：阿根廷、南極》簡體字 | 10 Stunning Days in Antarctica, Argentina, Uruguay(Simplified Chinese) | 2016 | Joint Publishing | ||
| 《十天敢動假期：玻利維亞、智利》簡體字 | 10 Stunning Days in Bolivia, Chile (Simplified Chinese) | 2016 | Joint Publishing | ||
| 提前退休3：坐郵輪遊冰島、大西洋、太平洋 | Crusing to Iceland, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean | 2017 | Cosmo Books | ||
| 天地之旅 | Voyage of a lifetime | 2017 | Buddhist Compassion | ||
| 提前退休 4：坐河船遊多瑙河、巴爾幹及意大利 | River Cruising to Danube, Balkans, Italy | 2018 | Cosmo Books | ||
| 明治憑什麼 | Meiji Restoration 150th Anniversary Travelogue | 2019 | Cosmo Books | ||
| 明日世遺 | World Heritage of Tomorrow | 2020 | Cosmo Books |
Hong has hosted a radio programme on Commercial Radio Hong Kong named Global Explorer (全世界嚮導) since 2018 that runs on Fridays from 10:30pm to 11:00pm.[11]