# Akio Hong

James "Akio" Xiang (Chinese: 項明生) (born 12 Sep 1969) is a travel writer, broadcaster, TV host and columnist from Hong Kong.

## Education

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.

## Career

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). He was awarded as 2006 Most Outstanding Marketer of the Year from HKMA due to his PSP marketing campaign.
He was promoted as the first Chinese in the Board of Director in Sony in 2011.
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.
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.

## TV works

Hong later jointed TVB, Now TV and Cable TV to host a series of travelogue programs.
| Premiere | Title | Translation | Role |
| 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, Producer Co-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, producer Co-host with Chip Tsao |
| 3, Aug, 2019 | 明日世遺 | UNESCO World Heritage in Tomorrow | Host, research, copywriter, producer |

## Publications

Major works by Hong.
| Title | Translation | Publication On | ISBN | Publisher |
| 足足五千年 | 5000 Years of Adventure | 2009 | ISBN 978-988-18-4512-2 | 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 | ISBN 978-962-14-4619-0 | Wanli Book |
| 十天敢動假期：秘魯 | 10 Stunning Days in Peru | 2012 | ISBN 978-962-14-4950-4 | Wanli Book |
| 十天敢動假期：巴西 | 10 Stunning Days in Brazil | 2013 | ISBN 978-962-14-4678-7 | Wanli Book |
| 十天敢動假期：南極、阿根廷、烏拉圭 | 10 Stunning Days in Antarctica, Argentina, Uruguay | 2013 | ISBN 979-988-216-286-9 | Wanli Book |
| 異色‧北韓 | Colors of North Korea | 2013 | ISBN 978-988-219-892-0 | Cosmos Books |
| 足足五萬年 | 50,000 Years of Adventures | 2013 | ISBN 979-988-216-286-9 | Crown Publishing Co |
| 足足五萬年：西遊記 | 50,000 Years of Adventures: India | 2014 | ISBN 978-988-216-330-0 | Crown Publishing Co |
| 快樂到極點：從北極到南極 | From Pole to Pole: Arctic to Antarctica | 2014 | ISBN 978-988-8254-89-7 | Cosmos Books |
| 足足五萬年：世界通史精華遊 | 50,000 Years of Adventures: Travel in General History | 2014 | ISBN 978-988-216-332-4 | 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 | ISBN 978-962-14-5452-2 | Wanli Book |
| 足足五千年(簡體字版) | 5000 Years of Adventures (Simplified Chinese) | 2015 | ISBN 978-7-80768-051-2 | Joint Publishing |
| 日本東北花見紀行 | Sakura journey in Tohoku, Japan | 2015 | ISBN 978-988-13350-4-3 | 豐林出版 |
| 提前退休, 坐郵輪遊世界 | Cruising around the world after earlier retirement | 2015 | ISBN 978-988-8255-63-4 | 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 | ISBN 978-988-216-381-2 | Crown Publishing Co |
| 人生若只如花見 | Sakura journey in Tohoku Japan (II) | 2016 | ISBN 979-988-77196-0-1 Parameter error in {{ISBN}}: checksum | 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 | ISBN 978-988-8257-25-6 | 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 | ISBN 978-7-80768-112-0 | Joint Publishing |
| 《十天敢動假期：巴西、秘魯》簡體字 | 10 Stunning Days in Brazil, Peru (Simplified Chinese) | 2016 | ISBN 978-7-80768-113-7 | 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 | ISBN 978-7-80768-115-1 | 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 | ISBN 978-7-80768-114-4 | 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 | ISBN 978-988-8258-09-3 | Cosmo Books |
| 天地之旅 | Voyage of a lifetime | 2017 | ISBN 978-988-165-477-9 | 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 | ISBN 9789888547029 | Cosmo Books |
| 明治憑什麼 | Meiji Restoration 150th Anniversary Travelogue | 2019 | ISBN 9789888548200 | Cosmo Books |
| 明日世遺 | World Heritage of Tomorrow | 2020 | ISBN 9789888548798 | Cosmo Books |

## Radio Programme

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.