A setting question

Hi, am I putting this in the right place? Um...I'm writing a story about some little's girls street life in a city, a girl who has been abandoned a a rich mother. Since I live in Hong Kong and I don't know enough about foreign cities(like London...), do you feel it's okay to put some touch of Hong Kong in the story? Like, what would you prefer?
Would you rather like a foreign city instead?
Or maybe, if you're interested in having Chinese styles in the settings, what would feel right? Food? Ways of speaking and acting?
Thank you.

Hey, Lorraine!

A lot of your readers--especially if you're posting on YWS--come from different backgrounds. Personally, I don't know a lot about big cities in general, so a Western or an Eastern city would still be rather interesting. Do whatever's easiest for you! If you write about something that's familiar to you, it'll feel a lot more natural and be easier to write.

The only thing that I would caution you on is the speaking/acting, simply because Chinese society is a lot different from, say, the United States. (I have a friend who's lived here for six years and she still acts relatively 'Chinese', not to mention, she's never eaten chicken soup. ) If you're writing for a western audience, some behaviors are going to have to be explained. It'll still be really cool for us to read, though. ^_^

I say write what you know. Don't try to write in a country you know nothing of just because you think it'd be more interesting. To the contrary, I'd much prefer to read it if it was set in Hong Kong. If you set it somewhere you don't know, a localer would be able to red it and probably point out a bunch of things wrong with it, unless you did A LOT of research.

Thank you. I think I'll probably set it in a place I'm familiar with.
Sam: Chicken soup? The Chinese have chicken soup but is that different from the United States? Would love to try^^)

Well...I suddenly thought about explaining things, as Sam just told me...How much should I explain? I'm afraid to become a kind of "Travel agency" girl who tells you lots of stuff about our place.
Thanks for your attention!