In the heart of Cheung Chau, a cultural park bearing the name of Cheung Chau Cinema has opened to the public. But the movie theatre itself – a Grade III historic building dating back to 1931 and one of Hong Kong’s two remaining pre-war cinemas – remains fenced off.

Since its closure in 1997, the 555-seat cinema has been largely abandoned and left to decay, but will be transformed into a restaurant while retaining its original structure, according to the developer.

Passers-by peeped curiously into the recently opened park when an HKFP reporter visited the dumbbell-shaped island southwest of central Hong Kong in mid-September, but were hesitant to enter. Some said they had not been consulted about the privately-run restoration project while others welcomed the plan, hoping it would bring back some life – and tourists – to the venue that existed only in their childhood memories.

“[The Cheung Chau Cinema] illustrates why it’s important to focus on conservation but not preservation,” conservationist Fredo Cheung told HKFP in Cantonese. “Its abandonment was due to its failure to meet the needs of the community. By introducing a new purpose, it can serve the community again… while being retained as much as possible.”

HKFP talked to Cheung Chau residents and experts to understand the challenges facing such cultural heritage projects and their connection to the collective memory of the community.

26 years of decay

“The last film I watched [at the Cheung Chau Cinema] was Stephen Chow’s Hail the Judge,” Kong, an island resident for over 40 years, told HKFP in Cantonese. Hail the Judge was a 1994 comedy starring Stephen Chow and directed by Wong Jing.

Throughout its six decades in operation, the Cheung Chau Cinema was one of the island’s few entertainment venues. “There were only two cinemas on Cheung Chau back then, and the other one closed even earlier… [so] many people liked to watch films here,” Cheung, an indigenous resident, said in Cantonese.

According to Hong Kong Memories, a digital archive that documents the city’s history and culture, Cheung Chau Cinema’s only rival, the Golden Dragon Theatre, brought down the curtain in the 1980s, and the site was used for a residential complex.

“I loved to go there as a kid… [the Cheung Chau Cinema] would screen Wuxia films starring Walter Tso and Yam Kim-fai, and I would trail behind the adults to sneak inside, standing in the aisle to watch,” said local resident Cheung, now aged 76.

Tso and Yam were both household names and Chinese opera film icons in the mid-20th century.

After the cinema closed down, the building was neglected for years; projectors and theatre seats became tarnished as nature gradually reclaimed the site. Kong, who ran a photo studio opposite the cinema in the 1990s, said residents were unclear about its future back then.

“Its roof collapsed! Roots grew into the walls and windows were broken,” Kong said. “I personally would like it to have been developed sooner.”

A decade of revitalisation plans

Things began to change after the government classified the cinema as a Grade III historic building in 2011.

Under Hong Kong’s three-level grading system, Grade I is the highest, meaning the structure could potentially become a declared monument protected by the law, Fredo Cheung, chief director of the Conservancy Association Centre for Heritage, told HKFP.

“But being Grade III doesn’t mean it’s less valuable, and the Cheung Chau Cinema has great historical and social value,” he said.

The difficulty in conserving Grade III historic buildings lies in the fact that many were private properties, and often the owners could not afford to conserve them, Fredo Cheung said. Demolition and redevelopment would almost certainly yield greater commercial value.

“From the perspective of a private property owner, having [the cinema] left idle for so long is like burning money,” Wendy Ng, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Architectural Conservationists (HKICON), told HKFP in Cantonese.

Local media reported in 2012 that an application to build an 11-condominium complex at the site was withdrawn. Plans to develop a shopping mall were also retracted.

In 2015, the now defunct pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily reported that the former cinema may be transformed into a restaurant while minimising alterations to its structure.

According to Cheung Chau Culture Company, which is managing the revitalisation, historical artefacts dating back 5,000 years were unearthed during the restoration process. This discovery led to a three-year exploration, further delaying redevelopment.

In August, when the company opened the first phase of the revitalisation plan – an information centre, a piazza, and a studio offering activities such as film screenings and concerts – CEO Eric Chiang told media that the whole project had cost an undisclosed nine-digit sum.

As for the actual cinema building, which remains inaccessible, its main block will be turned into a “Chinese-themed restaurant.” It is expected to launch in 2025, according to the company’s plan.

‘Manage change, not prevent change’

When asked how he felt about the revitalisation plan, Kong said he welcomed a new restaurant in the neighbourhood. “I could hang out with my friends, and it’s one more option for the tourists,” he said, his wife nodding beside him.

But asked whether residents would like the cinema to retain its original function, Kong – and other locals who spoke with HKFP – said they had no say in the project.

“For private heritage owners, the top priority is inevitably to sustain its properties,” Ng of HKICON said. “If it remained a cinema, would enough moviegoers visit? The fact that it closed in the first place implies the opposite. If changing its function could sustain the historic building, it is already meaningful from a conservationist point of view.”

Ng added that the government could increase assistance to private heritage owners, including streamlining the application process for funding schemes.

“Heritage is not just about the building itself,” Fredo Cheung said, “and Hong Kong is still using a rudimentary approach to heritage conservation that sometimes overlooks the contextual values of a building in its community.”

He said he hoped that the “most important features” of the Cheung Chau Cinema would be conserved, but said there should be some leeway for it to adapt to new uses.

“We should manage change, not prevent change.”

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Dressed in pink overalls with a matching lollipop in her mouth, mainland Chinese tourist Zeng crouched down next to a red Hong Kong taxi parked outside a waterfront coffee shop in Kennedy Town on a Friday afternoon. 

Her friend, Su, took out her phone and directed Zeng on how to pose as she composed each photo. Satisfied with how the images turned out, the pair went in search of other photogenic locations around the white café, distinguished by its floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

Their place was quickly taken by another group of stylishly dressed tourists, who assumed position and began to strike different poses. 

Zeng and Su were among 30-odd visitors gathered at Kennedy Town’s New Praya waterfront that cloudy August afternoon. Had the weather been bright and sunny, the crowd would probably have spilled into the road. 

The area in the western part of Hong Kong Island has become a favourite among mainland Chinese tourists, who have been returning to Hong Kong since the city reopened its border and dropped its tough Covid-19 restrictions earlier this year. 

Instead of lining up to shop in luxury stores in Hong Kong’s commercial heart, many visitors have turned their attention to local neighbourhoods, thanks to tens of thousands of travel guides on Chinese social media and e-commerce platform Xiaohongshu, nicknamed the Little Red Book.

Lin Jian, a digital cultures and platform studies scholar at Chinese University of Hong Kong, told HKFP earlier this month that the site, which launched in 2013, had grown in popularity during the Covid-19 pandemic, when people had to stay home under strict anti-epidemic policies. 

According to Lin, while people have long used the app to find out information about particular products, they were now turning to it for travel advice. Xiaohongshu’s algorithm was “straightforward,” Lin added – by packing four posts into the screen instead of showing one at a time like other social media apps, it was able to feed more targeted content to its users.

“This is how algorithms work in general, they keep pushing related content to you, based on previous activities online, but Xiaohongshu does it in a more aggressive way,” the scholar said.

‘Citywalk’

Exploring areas on foot, either aimlessly or along a designed route to visit unique locales, has become a popular mode of travel and discovery among young mainland Chinese in the post-pandemic era. Known as “citywalk,” it places an emphasis on wandering at a slow pace, and has already amassed more than 1 million posts on Xiaohongshu.

In Hong Kong, Kennedy Town has been identified as one of the best destinations for tourists to roam, with some Xiaohongshu users calling it “the most romantic neighbourhood” in the city.

People on the app have also shown interest in the book Hong Kong Strollology by Hong Kong urbanist Sampson Wong, one of the creators behind a YouTube channel about wandering around the city “when in doubt.” The book recommends 10 routes which Wong said would make readers realise “Hong Kong is really beautiful.” 

Suzanne, a 35-year-old blogger with more than 630,000 fans on Weibo, who spoke to HKFP under a pseudonym, said that last year’s frequent Covid-19 lockdowns in mainland China may have contributed to the rise of the citywalk phenomenon. 

The Beijing-based content creator said she found comfort in walking around her neighbourhood and speaking to others when she was not forced to stay at home. 

“During quarantine last year, I found it really relaxing when I got to go out to walk around, do some reading and interact with other people,” Suzanne, who requested anonymity due to fear of reprisal, said. “The opportunity for us to go out was very limited last year because the whole city was on lockdown,” she added.

“Following the stay-at-home order… I really wanted to go out and visit the park and the riverside. I really wanted to be outdoors.”

Outdoor activities such as rock-climbing, camping and fishing had also became increasingly popular in China during and after the pandemic, she said.

Mainland Chinese tourist Sue Chang, a solo traveller who also visited New Praya in August, also said the pandemic prompted people to appreciate the beauty of their neighbourhoods more, and focus on “living in the present.” 

“After experiencing the pandemic, my friends and I started thinking life was rather fragile. We realised we should go out whenever we can and try to live our lives well,” the 28-year-old said in Mandarin. 

Strolling became a global trend during and after the pandemic, Wong, who also teaches urban cultures and cultural geography at CUHK, told HKFP. Touring a city by roaming could help visitors’ appreciate the city’s environment more and feel its pulse, he said.

The scholar regularly monitors searches on Xiaohongshu related to walking in Hong Kong. He said his book was often mentioned when people wanted to “go deeper” with citywalk, which critics say describes consumerist behaviour of checking off certain spots and taking photos at photogenic locations.

Walking down a carefully curated route in a city often prompts people to “think more,” Wong said, such as the purpose of the walk and the route design, which would in turn deepen people’s understanding of the city.

“In the past, people may have simply shared locations for shopping and eating. But sharing a route feels like a level-up in a way, it is a more culturally sophisticated way of travelling,” he said in a Cantonese phone interview with HKFP.

‘Special forces’ travel

While sharing photographs of visually captivating destinations is common among travellers worldwide, some mainland Chinese have taken it further by adopting what they call a “special forces” itinerary.

This is an exceptionally demanding schedule that requires the traveller to brace for physical exhaustion, as they strive to cram in a multitude of activities. In extreme cases, some may even forfeit sleep to squeeze in a few more stops.

Tourists Zeng and Su, who were on a day trip to Hong Kong following a business trip in Shenzhen, told HKFP outside the café in Kennedy Town they needed to keep the interview brief. They had to cross off a few more places on their checklist before heading back to Jiangxi.

“I guess our itinerary today amounts to 50 per cent of those special forces schedules, because we are not feeling extremely tired yet,” 28-year-old Su said. 

Special forces travel, a variation of low-cost travel, has become a buzzword on mainland Chinese social media sites. Controversy about this travel mode emerged in Hong Kong last month, when the Chinese University of Hong Kong refuted online claims that tourists could stay at some of its facilities overnight for free.

The “unfounded” recommendation stemmed from a guide to “free accommodation” in Hong Kong on Xiaohongshu, with the content creator pointing to places at the university with sockets for charging and a 24-hour study space where people could stay overnight.

Both CUHK scholar Lin and blogger Suzanne said China’s struggling economic recovery in the aftermath of Covid could be one reason behind a rising demand for budget travel tips.

China’s recovery was “losing steam” following a post-pandemic reopening boost, the International Monetary Fund remarked in its quarterly World Economic Outlook published in July.

Although China’s manufacturing activity and consumption services rebounded at the beginning of the year after leader Xi Jinping abandoned the zero-Covid policy, unresolved real estate problems were impacting economic revival, the international financial institution said.

Inflation in China was described by the IMF as “well below target,” as key lending rates were cut by the Chinese central bank in a bid to spur growth.

But the country saw deflationary pressure ease slightly last week as consumer prices rose by 0.1 per cent in August year-on-year compared to a 0.3 percent decrease in July. 

China said on Wednesday that its economic recovery “will be a bumpy and tortuous process,” but insisted Western critics “will for sure be proven wrong.”

See also: Mainland Chinese flock to Hong Kong for higher interest rates, financial security, amid growing economic woes

The mainland’s slow economic recovery has aggravated the social phenomenon of “involution,” said CUHK scholar Lin. The Chinese term “neijuan,” popularised by anthropologist Clifford Geertz in the 1960s, was used to describe an agrarian society in which increased labour did not result in a proportional output. In the context of China, it has been used to describe the intense – and sometimes unhealthy – competition among young people in the labour market. 

Many people believed they did not have a choice but to “overexploit” themselves and “accept inequalities” as they strove to build a decent life, the associate professor said.

“Covid-19 really made a lot of people realise that this is not sustainable,” Lin said.

Hong Kong’s charisma

The changing preferences of mainland Chinese tourists in the post-pandemic era were noted by the Hong Kong Tourism Association last month, when its executive director Timothy Chui said visitors were now drawn to the city’s local customs, culture, and character. 

Blogger Suzanne observed that the allure of Hong Kong for mainland Chinese tourists went  beyond its reputation as a shopping paradise. Many individuals born between the 1980s and 2000s were deeply influenced by the city’s television dramas and films, which prompted them to want to personally experience the iconic locations showcased on screen.

“Hong Kong is a very charismatic city, with its history and its cultural industries, such as television dramas and films. Also the cityscape – it is a beautiful island, it is very different from other cities in mainland China,” she said. 

Scholar Lin agreed that many people in mainland China formed their impression of Hong Kong based on films from the 1990s. Such nostalgic “Hong Kong aesthetics” could definitely be a reason why people wanted to visit the city, he said. 

Although the portrayal of Hong Kong on Xiaohongshu may only highlight certain qualities of the city, Lin said the rise of this platform could help narrow the gap between Hongkongers and mainland Chinese, as discussion on various topics – including more controversial issues such as Hong Kong’s identity – could take place. Even if the discussion gets heated, it could still be beneficial to bridging understanding between people, the scholar said. 

“[A]s long as you have this sort of communication, you have a place for people from different backgrounds to share their different experiences on this platform. I believe communication can really help narrow down the gap and misunderstanding,” he said.

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Part of a series on Hong Kong’s historic place names.

Hong Kong’s street names offer a glimpse into its rich history as a former British colony on Chinese soil and a global trading hub. They tell a compelling story about its past and its connections to the wider world, showing that perhaps Hong Kong does – after all – deserve its self-proclaimed title of Asia’s World City.

This is the third part in a series about street names in Hong Kong. Click here for Part One, which explores how transliterations resulted in some bizarrely named roads, and click here for Part Two, which focuses on anglicised street names with no British origin.

British influence

London transplants

As a former British colony, it is no surprise that many street names bear British influences. In the early days of the city’s development, some street names were directly borrowed from London, based on their similar functions. 

One of the first priorities for the British was law and order. In 1842, they completed Victoria Gaol in Central, which later became Victoria Prison and is now part of Tai Kwun. The British not only brought their judicial system from their homeland but also named the new streets around the prison after two streets in London.

Old Bailey Street (奧卑利街) was named after the historic institution in London, also known as the Central Criminal Court. Chancery Lane (贊善里) is a small street behind Victoria Prison that got its name from a street in West London where the Court of Chancery and many law firms are located. Perhaps the name was chosen to symbolise the right to a fair legal defence for those undergoing trials near Victoria Prison.

When a cattle quarantine depot and slaughterhouse were constructed in Kennedy Town in the 1890s, the area was given the name Smithfield (士美菲路), after a street market and meat wholesale centre in London.

Other transplanted street names include Great George Street (記利佐治街) in Causeway Bay, after the same street in Westminster which houses the headquarters of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and Lambeth Walk (琳寶徑) in Central, after a street in South London, which has its own song from the musical Me and My Girl.

Hills and rivers

Up in the New Territories, a British surveyor and his team of Indian technicians conducted a comprehensive survey of the area in 1901. They incorporated a mix of British and Indian place names into the region. Over time, many of these names have either fallen out of use or have been replaced with local names since the city’s Handover from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

Certain areas were named after geographical similarities, for example, the region around Tai Mo Shan was designated as Cheviots due to its resemblance to rolling hills on the Anglo-Scottish border. Fanling became known as Cotswolds, inspired by a hilly region in Gloucestershire, England. San Tin’s lowlands and hills were respectively named North Downs and South Downs after areas in southern England. 

Lin Ma Hang was named Mendips for a range of hills in Somerset, England. Ngau Tam Shan (大牛潭峒) and Hung Fa Chai (紅花寨) were named Snowdon and Ben Nevis, after the highest peaks in Wales and Scotland respectively. 

They didn’t forget India either. The largest rivers in the New Territories were once named River Indus, River Jhelum, River Chenab, River Sutlej, River Beas, and River Ganges, influenced by the Indian connection.

Located in Lok Ma Chau, Mount Kirkpatrick is a curious case. Although it shares its name with the highest point in the Transantarctic Mountains in Antarctica, discovered and named by the British Antarctic Expedition in the early 1900s, further investigation suggests that the mountain was actually named after George Macaulay Kirkpatrick, a Canadian who served as the Commander of British Forces in China from 1921 to 1922. The two other mountains in the area were named after his successors, John Fowler and Charles Luard.

Under control

Streets near government and military establishments in Hong Kong often have names of British locations. For example, the roads surrounding former government quarters on the Peak, such as Mansfield Road (文輝道), Watford Road (和福道), and Guildford Road (僑福道), are named after British towns.

Route Twisk (荃錦公路), once a military road, passes through the former Shek Kong Camp, with streets nearby named Northumberland Avenue (諾森伯倫路), Shropshire Road (史樂信路), and Staffordshire Avenue (士達福信路).

For all the adventure-seekers out there, the World War Two tunnels in the Shing Mun Redoubt offer a fascinating exploration opportunity. This defensive position played a crucial role during the ill-fated Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941.

The tunnels, part of the Gin Drinker’s Line, were constructed by the British military in the late 1930s. Each entrance, passage, and exit bears the name of a street in Central London, such as Regent Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, and Charing Cross. 

Garden city

In the 1920s, Legislative Council member Charles Montague Ede led a group of British merchants to develop the land near Kowloon City into a “Garden City.” As most of the investors were British, the streets were named after English counties such as Essex Crescent (雅息士道), Rutland Quadrant (律倫街), and Kent Road (根德道). 

When the Hong Kong government developed the then-barren area of Kowloon Tsai into a residential area in the early 1950s, the streets were also named after English counties, such as Oxford Road (牛津道), Cambridge Road (劍橋道), and Durham Road (對衡道).

Naval side quest

Located on Ap Lei Chau, London Lane is a small and inconspicuous alley that holds a hidden story of a naval encounter. The area was once a harbour busy with fishing boats, sampans, shipyards, and warehouses. Residents would unload goods like grain, oil, and groceries in a sandy area called Tozai Tau (渡仔頭), from where they could be transported to various shops on Main Street.

In the 1960s, a group of British sailors from HMS London visited the area and decided to build a rudimentary pier. To mark its completion, the locals erected a cast iron sign reading “London Pier.” Sadly, the pier fell into disrepair after a few years but the road leading to it was later renamed London Lane (倫敦里) in honour of that little naval adventure.

Chinese connections

Watery paths to Kowloon’s streetscape

As you walk through the lively streets of Kowloon, you will come across many names that transport you to mainland China. However, it all began with two streets on the other side of the harbour. 

In the mid to late 19th century, Wan Chai became a hub for maritime trade and business. Companies established offices, docks, and warehouses along the coast. One of them, Dent & Co, mainly traded with Chinese ports like Xiamen and Shantou.

When the original dock area shifted inland due to land reclamation, Amoy Street (廈門街) and Swatow Street (汕頭街) were created. These names were derived from the Romanisation of Hokkien and Teochew dialects spoken in those cities, and these two streets were among the first in Hong Kong to be named after cities in mainland China.

Seeing double

In 1860, after the British claimed the Kowloon Peninsula, road construction began in the bustling district of Tsim Sha Tsui. Several new roads sprouted up, starting from what is now known as Nathan Road.

However, many had the same names as their counterparts on Hong Kong Island, which caused some issues with postal delivery. To solve this problem, the government renamed several important streets in Kowloon in 1909.

Many of these new names were chosen to represent mainland provinces and cities closely connected to Hong Kong’s trade. In Tsim Sha Tsui, Chater Road was renamed Peking Road (北京道) and MacDonnell Road became Canton Road (廣東道).

In Yau Ma Tei, First Street, Second Street, and Fourth Street became Kansu Street (甘肅街), Pak Hoi Street (北海街), and Ning Po Street (寧波街), respectively, and Station Street became Shanghai Street (上海街), among others.

This naming practice continued throughout Kowloon’s development, leaving its mark on Sham Shui Po and Hung Hom too.

Laying Hung Hom’s foundation

Two streets in Hung Hom tell the story of the area’s early development. In the early 20th century, the expansion of the Whampoa dockyard and the presence of companies like Green Island Cement Company and China Light and Power Company drove the area’s development.

The Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company was established in the 1860s. Over the following decades, the company acquired various docks in Hung Hom, expanding its operations. “Whampoa” in the company’s name originates from the harbour at what was then known as Whampoa Island in Guangzhou.

It was the chief anchorage for ships engaged in Guangzhou’s foreign trade, and the company owned another dockyard there.

In 1897, the Green Island Cement Company relocated from Ilha Verde, Macau, to Hong Kong. The following year, it partnered with the Whampoa shipyard to undertake a substantial land reclamation project, establishing a cement factory in the newly reclaimed area. When the area was redeveloped in the 1980s, traces of these companies could still be seen on streets such as Whampoa Street (黃埔街) and Tsing Chau Street (青州街), meaning “Green Island Street.”

Honouring the ancestral home

In the early 20th century, Chinese businessman Lee Hysan acquired land in Causeway Bay and constructed numerous commercial buildings, including Lee Garden and Lee Theatre. To pay homage to his ancestral home, the streets in the area are named after places in his hometown, Siyi (四邑) in Guangdong.

As you stroll through the area, you will find yourself immersed in the four counties of the Pearl River Delta via Sun Wui Road (新會道), Hoi Ping Road (開平道), Sunning Road (新寧道), and Yun Ping Road (恩平道).

Poetic connections

Some streets in Hong Kong that are named after Chinese cities have no direct connection to their namesakes. In Aberdeen, a businessman opened the Tai Shing Paper Manufacturing Company (大成紙廠) in 1905.

A reservoir was also constructed on the hill behind the mill to store water for powering the machines. Although the paper mill is no longer operational, the street on which it was located is named Lok Yeung Street (洛陽街), after the poetic idiom “Luoyang paper is expensive” (洛陽紙貴).

Subsequently, several new streets in the area were named after provinces and cities in mainland China, despite having little trade or historical connection to Aberdeen in Hong Kong.

These streets include Sai On Street (西安街), Chengtu Road (成都道), Fung Tin Street (奉天街), Wu Pak Street (湖北街), Wu Nam Street (湖南街), Nam Ning Street (南寧街), and Tung Sing Road (東勝道).

The ones that have been lost

Over the years, large-scale land reclamation and redevelopment projects have led to the disappearance of many streets in Hong Kong. Fuk Ts’un Heung (福全鄕) next to Tai Kok Tsui, was a settlement for local fishermen and farmers in the early 19th century.

Located near the border and the bay, it served as a port for cargo transportation and business activities, with streets such as Newchwang Street (牛庄街), Chungking Street (重慶街), and Foochow Street (福州街).

The three main streets in Fuk Ts’un Heung, however, became infamous due to neglect and the prevalence of illegal activities and were even given the nickname of the “three infamous alleys” (三陋巷). Around 1926, the area started to merge with parts of Tung Chau Street (通州街), Tai Kok Tsui Road (大角咀道), and the extended sections of Boundary Street (界限街). The old remaining street was later renamed Fuk Tsun Street (福全街) to commemorate Fuk Ts’un Heung.

Other streets that have disappeared over time include Hainan Street (海南街) and Lin Chau Road (連州道／廉州道) in Sham Shui Po, Nanning Lane (南寧里), Suchow Lane (蘇州里), Tientsin Street (天津街), Wuchow Terrace (梧州台) in Yau Ma Tei, Fukien Street (福建街) and Honan Street (河南街) in To Kwa Wan / Hung Hom, and Kwang Tung Street (粵東街) and Kwangsi Street (粵西街) in Kowloon City.

From Hong Kong with love

Remembering the lives lost

Hong Kong has places named after unexpected locations, some of them chosen by the British military to pay tribute to fallen personnel. Streets in Tsim Sha Tsui, such as Minden Avenue (棉登徑), Minden Row (緬甸臺), and Blenheim Avenue (白蘭軒道), were named after Royal Navy ships that were themselves named after German towns where battles took place.

In Yau Ma Tei, Waterloo Road (窩打老道) and Pilkem Street (庇利金街) were named after Belgian towns where the Battle of Waterloo and the Battle of Passchendaele took place, with many British soldiers losing their lives.

The British military camps and training areas in the northern New Territories were named after major battles that Britain fought in both world wars, such as Gallipoli Lines and Vimy Ridge from the First World War, as well as Cassino Lines and Burma Lines from the Second. 

A distinctive feature of Burma Lines is the Hindu temple, which, though vacant since 1996, remains almost intact and was once used by the camp’s Gurkhas for worship. The temple is dedicated to Shiva, the Hindu god of destruction, and is organised in a hexagonal structure with five entrances, resembling a lotus flower — a symbol of beauty and holiness in Hinduism.

Asia calling

Hong Kong’s history as a trading hub is evident in streets named after partners in Asia. One significant trading partner during the 19th century was Indochina, with Vietnam being particularly important.

During the French colonial period, trade relations between China and Vietnam were maintained through three main routes: the Lao Cai-Yunnan railway, the Hai Phong Port to Hong Kong and Guangdong, and the Saigon Port connecting to Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

During the renaming of Kowloon streets in 1909, Hong Kong paid tribute to the connection by renaming three streets after Vietnamese cities. Elgin Road became Haiphong Road (海防道), East Road was changed to Hanoi Road (河內道), and Third Street became Saigon Street (西貢街).

In Sham Shui Po, Tai Nan Street (大南街) was named after Danang, a port city in Vietnam. Tonkin Street (東京街) may confuse some readers as it translates to “Tokyo Street” in Chinese, but it is actually named after the northern region of Vietnam.

The term “Tonkin” is a Western adaptation of Đông Kinh, which means “eastern capital” in Vietnamese. Although historically used in China and neighbouring countries, it now specifically refers to Tokyo, the capital of Japan.

Other streets named after port cities include Ki Lung Street (基隆街) in Sham Shui Po, named after Keelung in Taiwan and Malacca Street (馬來街) in Hung Hom.

Going Dutch

Despite its small size, the Netherlands has left its mark. Dutch Lane (荷蘭徑), a path situated above Bowen Road and below Peak Road, dates back to 1902 when Dutch shipping company Java-China-Japan Lijn (JCJL) opened a branch in Hong Kong. JCJL’s staff quarters were situated on Peak Road and employees probably used the path to walk from their homes to their offices.

The story of JCJL did not stop at Dutch Lane. After the Second World War, JCJL, which had become the Royal Interocean Lines, built its head office in North Point. The adjacent road became Java Road (渣華道), reflecting the Dutch colonial period’s association with the Indonesian island of Java.

The origin of Holland Street (荷蘭街) in Kennedy Town is still a mystery. It first appeared on a map along the coast in 1889. Since this was before JCJL officially had a branch in Hong Kong, it is unclear whether the street was named after the area where Dutch ships used to unload or after Holland Street in London’s Kensington district.

Selling units

Developers understand that choosing the right name for their projects is crucial in attracting potential buyers. To create a sense of sophistication and prestige, they have been using English, French, or Latin names for the past few decades.

In Hong Kong, where potential buyers often can’t physically see the finished product, the name holds particular significance. In the New Territories, you can find streets named after locations such as California, Rome, Kensington, and Versailles.

Jardine Matheson has been a prominent figure in the international business community since the British arrived in Hong Kong in 1841. The company constructed a pier, warehouses, factories, offices, and residences along the western shore of Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island.

Following World War Two and the subsequent changes in the commercial market, Jardine started selling or redeveloping its properties, transforming them into commercial and residential buildings. Streets such as Houston Street (厚誠街), Cleveland Street (加寧街), and Kingston Street (京士頓街), were named after North American cities that held trade relations with the company.

Located in Kowloon, Mei Foo Sun Chuen is home to a few surprises. It was built between the 1960s and 1970s and was the first large-scale private housing estate in Hong Kong. At one point, it held the title of the largest private housing development worldwide.

The estate was built on land that was previously a petroleum-storage facility of Mobil and was redeveloped by Mei Foo Investments Limited, a subsidiary of Mobil Oil. Two streets within the complex are named after the company’s New York origins — Broadway (百老匯街) and Nassau Street (蘭秀道).

However, the origin of the third street, Humbert Street (恒柏街), remains a mystery. While there is a Humbert Street in both New York and New Jersey, it appears to have little significance.

Time For A World Tour

Throughout Hong Kong, you can find street names reflecting the global influences that have shaped its identity, from British and Chinese cities to trading partners and even some unexpected locations.

In fact, if you head to the New Territories, it’s just a 10-minute ride from Zurich to Rome.

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Hongkongers have bid farewell to another iconic shop sign after the one for Leung Tim Choppers Factory in Cheung Sha Wan Road was taken down on Wednesday night – the latest to fall foul of government regulations.

Citizens took pictures of the sign, with some posing under the enormous “knife” which had been part of the street furniture of Sham Shui Po for over 40 years.

It was just the latest such Hong Kong icon to be removed. In 2015 a giant cow-shaped Sammy’s Kitchen neon sign on Queen’s Road West was taken down while a neon sign for the 79-year-old Tai Tung Bakery in Yuen Long was removed last month.

After the Minor Works Control System was launched in 2010, many overhanging signboards, a feature of the city which appeared in international films, were deemed to be illegal structures subject to removal.

On Wednesday, people gathered outside the shop to take photos of the sign. Mr. Tim, whose grandfather founded the shop, climbed up with his family and captured their last moments with it.

While pedestrians on Cheung Sha Wan Road will not longer be able to view the sign, it will be displayed as part of an art exhibition later this year.

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Photographer Justin Hui spent days wandering in the New Territories for his new photobook, seeking to document the changing landscape of the northern part of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s northern districts are often a meeting point between rural and urban – the natural parts start to disappear as villages are demolished to make ways for new developments like the Northern Metropolis.

An ever-shrinking border separates the region from the sprawling mainland city of Shenzhen.

Hui’s photobook portrays the idea of absence – there are no people in his pictures, but there is evidence of a human presence.

“The trace of human activity and objects left behind [were] more interesting to me than showing, say, the face of a farmer or what the home looked like before it was demolished,” he says.

People think of urban development as progress, Hui said, but they do not realise it is also an act of violence: “The rubble of a demolished village looks like a war zone without an actual ‘war’ taking place,” he said.

Exploring the New Territories, a part of Hong Kong that is close to the mainland border, Hui hopes to reconsider the meaning of home and land in a city.

The word “territory” in Chinese (界) in Hui’s photobook title signifies separation – nature vs. civilization, cohesive planning vs. fragmentary development, developer vs. village-held land, public vs. private, real vs. imagined etc.

Hong Kong constantly faces issues related to land – almost everything involves talking about land – so Hui explored facets of urban development that he felt had been overlooked.

“It’s easy to forget that development is not just the changing of the physical landscape, but the destruction and change of the many personal layers and associations which attach and occupy these spaces.”

The Shenzhen skyline as a motif that is driving change in the area. Its ever-constant presence in the area highlights both the region’s physical and also ideological proximity to mainland China.

Exhibition: 5 November – 28 December 2022. Event details.
Venue: Kubrick Cafe, Shop H2, Prosperous Garden, 3 Public Square St, Yau Ma Tei
Opening hours: 11:30 – 22:00.

New Territories 界 is available now from AsiaOne for HK$380.

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With walls covered in yellow and white geometric tiles and a storefront signage reading “rich coffee, cold and hot drinks,” Sheung Wan’s Wah Lok Cafe is one of a shrinking number of Hong Kong-style cafes striving to survive in a city where historical shops are gradually shuttering.

The eatery, founded in the 1940s, stands at the intersection of Tung Street and the quaint Upper Lascar Row. Its patrons sit just metres away from a stall selling memorabilia of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong and posters depicting old Hong Kong.

On Wah Lok Cafe’s wooden tables, QR codes that take customers to the restaurant’s recently-launched Instagram and Facebook accounts. Fried pork chop with spaghetti, satay pork bun and Hong Kong-style French toast are among the iconic dishes cooked and served by a rare all-female team and showcased on the eatery’s social media.

Traditional shops in Hong Kong have been trying to raise their online profiles in recent years, as the city has bid farewell to an increasing number of long-running businesses, including bakeries, cha chaan tengs, dim sum restaurants, herbal tea shops, stationery stores and more.

While some shops rely on second-generation proprietors to manage their digital presence, others have become more visible thanks to a growing number of pages that seek to document and conserve what they see as important cultural symbols of Hong Kong.

Among them is Hong Kong Historical Shops, a page founded by Ian Ma in 2018, which regularly shares photos and detailed biographies of businesses that began operating in the city in 1969 or earlier.

Ma, 40, told HKFP that the page usually features shops that are lesser-known and from different sectors, in the hope of broadening people’s understanding of the local historical shops landscape.

“Some previous books on historical shops focused on certain stores only – those so-called celebrity shops. This may give the general public a very stereotypical understanding of what Hong Kong old shops are,” said Ma, who works in the finance industry.

The page started off as a platform for Ma to share his nostalgia for shops at risk of shutting down due to a lack of successors, soaring rents and urban redevelopment plans. Four years on, Hong Kong Historical Shops – which boasts 15 contributors at present – has set its sights on a more ambitious goal of wielding its network to help struggling shops survive.

In September, the page shared a job advertisement for apprentices for bespoke tailoring shop Thumb Thimble. They also tried to help the famous Cheung Heung Tea Restaurant find new owners before the end of November, as the proprietor decided to emigrate. Despite their efforts, the Kennedy Town eatery – known for its mouth-watering egg tarts and rich milk tea – did not escape its fate, shutting down on November 30.

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The experience of assisting old businesses find new blood has opened Ma’s eyes to the obstacles encountered by traditional shops. Some have complained that media coverage and public support only came they were “nearing death,” but Ma sees the potential of stepping up from this “burial-style conservation” if stores have better channels to inform people about their challenges.

“Some people only found out about the closing shops at the very last moment, but they were still willing to travel all the way there to show support. It shows that people do care,” he said.

Some shops told Ma that they had noticed more customers after being featured on his page. Wah Lok Cafe even put up a logo of Hong Kong Historical Shops at its shop entrance, with a QR code to promote the growing page.

Ma’s team does not escape controversies, however, especially when they write about old restaurants. Readers often expect the page to act like online food guide OpenRice when they introduce cha chaan teng and bing sutt, the administrator said, where only those with delicious food and great customer service deserve a mention.

A post about Mido Cafe in Yau Ma Tei – which closed in July after more than 70 years of operations only to reopen again last month – saw comments criticising the food quality, saying “it would not be regretful if this shop closes.” Some also called the restaurant a “blue shop,” referring to its supposed pro-government stance during the 2019 extradition bill protests, which often escalated into violent displays of dissent against police behaviour.

Ma said his team wanted to draw people’s attention beyond items on the menu and make the eatery a starting point for learning about the city’s history.

Mido’s cultural elements and physical structures should be preserved, the historical shop enthusiast argued, adding most people were unaware that the restaurant used to hold wedding banquets, where the bride and the groom would host separate meals.

“I think Hongkongers are not too mature when they look at the political stance of a shop. Even if a shop holds an opposite stance as them, if the shop manifests Hong Kong culture or is historically significant, there is no need to wish for it to close down,” he said.

Old shops in sketches

Although he shares a similar goal of drawing public attention to historical shops, 21-year-old Michael Kan has chosen a different medium to capture their charms.

The architecture student at the University of Edinburgh uses paper and a pen to document the details of the ever-changing urban landscape in Hong Kong. Old shops, as an integral part of the city’s streets, often became the subject of Kan’s sketches. He has also turned them into designs for postcards and tote bags.

When Kan returned to his home city this summer after almost two years of being stranded in the UK because of the Covid-19 pandemic, he was shocked to find a number of shops he once sketched had either been torn down or replaced by other businesses.

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“These old shops are visual characteristics that are unique in Hong Kong. It is very hard to replicate… when they start to vanish, it may signify the demise of the broader culture that they represent,” the artist told HKFP.

Carrying on the legacy

In the hope of preserving the city’s heritage, Hong Kong Historical Shops is preparing to publish a second book about old shops and their little-known stories. The page also has plans to organise guided tours around the Central and Western district, subject to Covid-19 rules.

For page founder Ma and his close friends who are also passionate about historical shops, they have a grander plan for continuing the legacy – becoming owners of a historical cha chaan teng.

They made a pitch earlier this year but were unsuccessful after the owner said the group had little experience in the sector, and the restaurant would likely remain in a deficit. But it remains Ma’s dream to run this traditional restaurant one day, a place where people can truly feel the pulse of the city.

“We always say that we like the human touch. Well, they have it here,” he said.

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Interior designer and photographer Sacha Yasumoto spent time during the pandemic exploring abandoned structures in Hong Kong, France and Italy. Images of these once cherished places – peeling paint, forgotten furniture, and tableaux frozen in time – are exhibited at Asia Society Hong Kong Center until December 18, and immortalised in an accompanying book, LovedThenAbandoned.

The exhibition also features a piece of original music composed to complement the photographs, and a specially created scent to complete the sensory experience.

• Date: Until December 18, 2022.
• Location: Asia Society Hong Kong Center, 9 Justice Drive, Admiralty.
• Times: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Full details here.

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For Pokfulam villager Tam Sau-wa, the short walk from her home to The Pokfulam Farm just across the road is like travelling back through time to her childhood.

Tam, better known as Wa Nui, grew up in the senior staff quarters of Hong Kong’s first dairy farm, now classified as a Grade I historic building and the cornerstone of a recent conservation campaign. Tam’s mother worked for the farm’s last manager, and the family lived on the complex until the company halted operations in the 1980s, almost a century after it was established in 1886. 

Tucked behind two towering culinary schools, the farm’s main building resembles a cosy cottage complete with a brilliant white façade, sky-blue window frames and a tiled rooftop. Built in 1887, it complements the neo-gothic style Béthanie Chapel just next door. 

On a hot and sunny September afternoon, Wa Nui was joined by her older sister Anka Tam – wearing a blue-and-white striped top that twinned with the building – to show HKFP around the revitalised farm. Restoration began in 2019 under a Development Bureau scheme and was completed earlier this year.

“There used to be a gate here – the main entrance – and as you walked inside, here was the ‘rose road, ’ which had roses planted on both sides of the path and was paved with stones. It was very beautiful,” said Wa Nui. 

Childhood memories 

Instead of ascending the stairs to the main building, where the farm manager and his family lived, Wa Nui and Anka turned to the former staff quarters where they spent most of their time, eager to tell their own story.  

Pushing open the first door to the single-storey structure, which now serves as offices, the sisters quickly found the old kitchen where their mum would cook big meals and make food for festivities. 

Although the room now resembles a pantry with a round dining table and other kitchen equipment, the sisters’ memories of its former iteration live on.

“Here was where we put the bucket of rice grain… The stone stove was here – we burnt firewood for cooking in the past, quite quaint,” Anka said as she gestured around the room. 

Wa Nui, meanwhile, remembered the long nights they spent there helping their mother at the stove. 

“When we were young, we liked tailing our mum to make rice cakes during the Lunar New Year. They took a long time to make… so we would sit here on some hay. Because we needed to keep adding firewood, we would spend the whole night in the kitchen,” Wa Nui recalled.

The sisters were equally eager to share memories about the room next door, where a total of six of them – five children and their mother – used to sleep. Anka recalled the packed environment. She estimated the room was no bigger than 150 square feet and likened it to the subdivided flats of today.

Five of them slept on a double bed made bigger by a wooden board, while their eldest brother would sleep on a camp bed, she said. The set-up made entering and exiting the room a challenge. 

“Basically past evening time, we would not leave the bedroom. We would place a spittoon inside,” Anka said with a laugh, implying that the metal container would have been used as a makeshift toilet if necessary. 

The dairy dietary

One of the perks of living on a dairy farm was being able to taste fresh milk.

The Dairy Farm Company was founded by Scottish surgeon Patrick Manson in the 19th century “to provide a regular supply of hygienic fresh milk for Hong Kong people” and “to reduce the price of cow’s milk so as to make it affordable by the city’s growing population,” according to an Antiquities Advisory Board document.

The farm at Pokfulam occupied a 120-hectare hilly site that was initially home to a herd of 80 cows, later growing to more than 1,000 animals. During the Japanese occupation, milk was reserved for Japanese consumption and cattle were shipped to mainland China.

In the post-war years, the government acquired land around the farm to build vast housing estates, and by the 1980s, dairy farming had fallen out of official favour.

“The milk we drank was usually ‘first-hand’ because it was brought to the manager for tasting right after milking and sterilisation. We usually benefited from that,” Wa Nui recalled.

The milk was so good that the sisters would mix it with rice and call it a meal.

“Sometimes we snuck out to play and came home late. We would be given a plain bowl of rice – no other food – as punishment. So we thought of adding some milk to go with it and [found out] it was actually quite tasty,” Anka recalled.

When asked if they grew tired of dairy products, the sisters were quick to say no. There were fewer choices of snacks back in the day, they said.

“Sometimes our mum would make cake with it,” Anka said. “And there was something she would knock up – I don’t quite know what that was – but she would heat the milk until it was viscous, then add some sugar to it and make it almost like a paste. That was really yummy.”

After years of training their palettes with fresh milk, both women agreed that the dairy products nowadays taste much blander; “like drinking water,” as they put it. It was not only the milk itself but the experience of living on a farm that added to their perceptions.

“We saw how the cows were raised, how the workers cleaned them, fed them and herded them,” said Anka, who like her sister is now in her late 50s. “Compared to other people, we witnessed the whole process of a calf growing and becoming a cow, being raised and eventually being milked… So we cherished every single drop of milk and would not waste any.”

Revitalisation scheme

The sisters’ childhood home was abandoned and left unattended for more than two decades before receiving its Grade I historic building status in 2009.

A decade later, The Pokfulam Farm revitalisation project run by NGO Caritas Hong Kong and a group of Pokfulam villagers began, subsidised through a government scheme to conserve heritage buildings. Wa Nui, who has lived in Pokfulam village since the farm ceased operation, is a part of a group called Lok Gun Yuen that co-organises workshops for visitors to the farm to learn more about the village and its traditions.

“For Pokfulam villagers, the Dairy Farm company carried a lot of memories. Many of them grew up here when the farm was in operation. Some may have family members who worked for the company, or they played near the farm, as if it was their backyard,” said Hazyl Lam, the heritage and business development manager at The Pokfulam Farm.

Lam said she hoped The Pokfulam Farm could act as a gateway to get people interested in the history of the village, as well as the area’s cultural landscape.

Meeting modern requirements

One of the hardest parts of revitalising the century-old buildings was achieving a balance between keeping the original structure and making alterations to ensure they met present day regulations.

Trying to recreate the main building’s original hip roof was the biggest challenge. Lam said the building had a flat roof for years, but old documents and photos suggested the initial design was a tiled hip roof.

To meet the requirement under Buildings Department legislation, multiple steel bars were added for support.

Although the additional structure did not blend that well with the classic interiors, it was a compromise that had to be made.

Another major additional structure was an accessible entrance for wheelchair users, which Lam said “accidentally became a hot spot for watching and photographing the sunset.”

Keeping a piece of history

For the Tam sisters, it means a lot that a part of their childhood is being preserved.

“At first, I thought this place was going to be torn down because it was sealed off… Once I learned that it would be conserved, I was so happy. I could not describe my excitement. Because what I experienced there while I was young can be passed on and learned by the next generation,” Anka said.

Wa Nui, meanwhile, hoped Hongkongers would cherish the heritage people fought so hard to protect.

“In Hong Kong, many things were torn down [to make way for development]. When everything is gotten rid of, it is gone forever. But now, these things have been [preserved] for people to see,” Wa Nui said.

“It’s just quite fun to do this together as a group, so I kept doing it,” she said, referring to her work with Lok Gun Yuen. “It made me feel like I helped a little, so that’s nice.”

The Pokfulam Farm had its soft opening in April, offering limited guided tours and workshops. Its official opening is slated for later this year.

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Taurus Yip’s interest in history was kindled when he lived in the University of Hong Kong’s Ricci Hall. Many years before, he discovered, soldiers who fought in the Battle of Hong Kong had lived there too.

Troops from many countries and backgrounds shared in the defence of the city from the invading Japanese, he learnt. For Yip, it was a watershed moment – so he founded an organisation dedicated to educating Hongkongers about their city’s history, and called it Watershed Hong Kong.  

That was in 2015. Now Yip is busy planning his next grand re-enactment of the Battle of Hong Kong. The group has been staging these each year since it was founded, and each year it focuses on a new aspect of the battle in December 1941.

The first re-enactment – entitled “Living Monument” – was held across Tsim Sha Tsui, the Star Ferry Pier and Wanchai. Actors dressed in period military fatigues and carrying replica rifles were stationed at these sites to show passers-by where the front lines may once have been.

Last year, the re-enactment drew attention to the suffering of women, many of whom were sexually assaulted and even murdered by the Japanese in Stanley during the last days of the battle and the subsequent occupation. 

“A few years ago, an elderly man told us that the sirens we were playing at re-enactment took him back to his childhood, when the very same sirens were being played,” said Yip. “So these re-enactments can bring us down the memory lane that we have collectively forgotten.”

These days, a different battle is being fought. Not with guns and grenades but with words, over who gets to set the narrative of Hong Kong’s history. Hongkongers who are critical of the government fear political leaders want to marginalise, or even eventually erase, history that doesn’t chime with the official narrative, as the Communist Party has done on the mainland. 

Recently, the government introduced school textbooks which claim that Hong Kong was never a British colony. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has vowed to “protect young minds” from views outside the party lines. Analysts argue that the textbooks are part of the central government’s plan to align Hong Kong’s institutional values with the official Communist Party narrative. 

What Yip tries to do with Watershed’s re-enactments is to pick up the narratives that the government overlooks. He’s not against people who view history in a different light to himself. After all, historical narratives are about informing people where to find the right information and what questions to ask.

Rather, he wants Hongkongers to be able to distinguish between narratives through becoming more knowledgeable. 

“History is made up by different stakeholders in society, and these days social media is driving the discourse. Bringing fact-based history into everyday life should be something that any history lover should welcome,” he told HKFP.  

Bloody 18-day battle

The Battle of Hong Kong was fought between December 8-25 in 1941, one of the first conflicts of the Pacific War. On the same morning as Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong, then a British colony and barely a city yet, where they fought a garrison consisting of British, Indian and Canadian units, the Auxiliary Defence Units, and the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps.

The hastily-assembled defenders held off the battle-hardened Japanese for 18 days, as Commonwealth troops retreated from Gin Drinkers Line near the Jubilee Reservoir and from Wong Nai Chung Gap on the island before making their last stand in Stanley. 

The battle officially came to an end when governor Sir Mark Aitchison Young surrendered to Japanese forces at the Peninsula Hotel on Christmas Day. Then began an occupation period rife with humanitarian disasters and brutalities, commonly known as “three years and eight months.” 

Some escaped Commonwealth prisoners of war along with Communist-led guerrillas, together known as the East River Column, continued the resistance until Japan’s unconditional surrender in August 1945.

Hong Kong marked Liberation Day as a public holiday until it was abolished in 1998 to make way for other public holidays. War memories from different perspectives remain preserved in Hong Kong’s public library, and a permanent exhibition detailing the battle is installed in the Museum of Coastal Defence. 

The government has refurbished a series of historical sites in recent years, including trails near Pinewood Battery at Lung Fu Shan, which the British forces used extensively when fending off the Japanese. However, experts worry that the government’s conservation work may not be enough.

At a Legislative Council session in June 2022, Jack Chan Jick-chi, Acting Secretary for Home Affairs, said the bureau would promote a “correct understanding of history” through patriotic education. In language peppered with phrases taken from Beijing’s rhetorical handbook, he praised the East River Column and emphasised that it was “led by the Communist Party”, for “dealing a severe blow to the Japanese invaders in various parts of Hong Kong.” 

“In the Xi approach to history, facts are merely incidental. Only interpretation matters. And only one interpretation is allowed,” Steve Tsang, a Chinese politics specialist at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, told the Associated Press.

Runners’ remembrance

A group of runners has found an original way to remember the battle. Mark Lee, the chairman of Sai Yau Running Club, partnered with Ken Lai, a Western District resident, to organise the Hong Kong Comrades Run, an 18-kilometre trek from Quarry Bay to the Stanley Military Cemetery. Runners pass an array of sites where some of the most desperate battles were fought.

The event is intended to teach runners about Hong Kong’s “hidden history,” said Lee. 

The pair, like Yip, acknowledge the importance of the East River Column in battling the Japanese invaders. But they are concerned that the government is cherry-picking certain elements of history for political purposes, with the goal of eventually erasing whatever does not fit the official narrative.   

“Many of the Commonwealth soldiers had no obligation to fight for a foreign land,” said Lee. “If we don’t remember their deeds, who will?”  

At past Remembrance Sunday commemorations, together with the Royal British Legion and local veterans’ groups, the group laid a wreath at the Cenotaph. But Lee said political leaders brush off the sacrifices of Commonwealth soldiers.

“When I last visited the Sai Wan war cemetery, there were dignitaries from different Commonwealth countries laying wreaths,” Lee said. “Our government sent none.” 

Living through history

Wartime monuments have been a catalyst for some to understand the city’s history. When Bryan Ong first visited the Sai Wan War Cemetery near Chai Wan some 20 years ago, he was mesmerised by the insignia on the graves. 

“The Battle of Hong Kong is important because it was the only battle fought on the city’s soil. It was also the first time that different nationalities and communities stood together against a common evil,” Ong told HKFP. “It’s rather melancholic to think about it, and that deserves a special place in our memories.”

After diving into the history books, Ong decided that he wanted to contribute in his own way and started collecting badges and artefacts from different Commonwealth military units as a hobby. Some 11 years ago, he turned it into a business, creating his own replica badges and selling them as souvenirs.

After starting as an online business, Ong opened a shop in Causeway Bay and eventually a second and more sophisticated shop in Central, which doubles as a small museum where he showcases original historical artefacts. He also runs tours on Hong Kong’s history, including the Battle of Hong Kong. 

In recent years, Ong has noticed a trend among visitors: awareness of the city’s history is much higher, young people are showing increased interest, and there’s a new eagerness to preserve colonial history. 

“Many young people are keen to preserve Hong Kong history and stories as part of their identity. The new generation is taking a stronger role,” Ong said. 

“Back in our day, reading and being interested in history was rare, but nowadays, there is a growing enthusiasm. There’s the internet and social media, and people are taking our city’s history more seriously. Most of my customers and friends are youngsters eager to discover history on their own.”  

Ong does not want to discredit different narratives. Rather, he believes community initiatives like his and others are helping Hongkongers rediscover who they are and what they stand for. At a time where identity is a precarious thing, people look to the past for clues. 

“All communities have their histories, and as Hongkongers we must pass ours on to future generations – whether one finds them good or bad,” he said. “It all starts with having respect for history.”

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While many people remember Hong Kong as a bustling and crowded metropolis, photographer Cody Ellingham has taken a step back and portrayed a silent city bathed in neon and moonlight.

Ellingham, who is currently based in the New Zealand capital Wellington, said in a media release that he had been a regular visitor to Hong Kong before the Covid travel restrictions.

The photographer said his artwork arose from “a deep yearning for travel,” and served as a retrospective of the way Hong Kong has changed since he was last here in 2018.

There are two Hong Kongs in Ellingham’s mind – the reality and the one which exists in people’s fond memories. “I often wonder how we can get back to that other Hong Kong, of which only dreams remain,” he said.

For Ellingham, the once crowded, noisy and full of life Kai Tak Airport personified the old Hong Kong and memories of it are featured in his latest photographic book – Fantasy City by the Harbour.

The collector’s edition will include a plane ticket with the long-defunct Kai Tak printed as its destination and “by using it as a focal point to the artwork I feel like it is a way to travel back to that old Hong Kong that lives on in our memories.”

The photographer said the colour renditions and compositions in his new book were also inspired by the golden age of Hong Kong cinema between the 1980s and early 2000s.

Fantasy City By The Harbour- click for details.

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Lantau Peak, Hong Kong’s second highest mountain after Tai Mo Shan, is a gentle giant worth tackling even if you’re not an avid hiker. The 934-metre peak also known as Fung Wong Shan (Phoenix Mountain) looks daunting but the climb is doable for anyone with a little willpower and patience.

The peak offers vistas of rolling mountains with the ocean all around and a great view of the airport. It’s as far away from the city as you can feel with a 40-minute MTR ride.

It’s also worth noting that Lantau Peak looks completely different depending on the season. During the summer it’s lush and green, with the top often hidden in low clouds and a gentle breeze rolling across the back of the mountain.

During the winter it turns an autumnal orange-brown, covered in tall grass which attracts photographers. it’s definitely worth doing the climb in both seasons to see it in all its glory.

The total distance is around six kilometres depending on the route you follow down, and it takes most people three to four hours to complete. While it’s often classified as a difficult hike, it’s not dangerous or overly steep. If you are a beginner simply pick a day with cooler weather and leave more time. The hike doesn’t start at sea level, giving you a head start. The total ascent is about 600 meters from Pak Kung Au bus stop.

There are several ways up Lantau Peak. The easiest one is Lantau Trail Section 3, which starts from Pak Kung Au and ends by the Big Buddha in Ngong Ping. It’s also possible to ascend from the other side of the mountain up West Dog Tooth or Middle Dog Tooth, also known as the Dog Teeth Range or Kau Nga Ling. Known for sharp, rocky ridges that are much like fangs, the Dog Teeth routes are challenging and not for the faint of heart.

Pak Kung Au or Tung Chung Gap is easy to reach by public transport. Either take bus 3M to Tung Chung from Mui Wo ferry pier, or bus 3M or 11 from Tung Chung Bus Terminus. If you’re coming from Tung Chung, at Pak Kung Au you will see Sunset Peak to your left and Lantau Peak to the right.

Both are a part of the 70-kilometre Lantau Trail that traverses the whole island and it’s possible to do them both in one day, though we suggest you start with one at first.

Pak Kung Au bus stop has vending machines, public toilets and a BBQ area, which you way want to make use of since there’ll be no more such amenities for the rest of the hike.

The start of the trail itself is well marked: simply follow the signs up to Lantau Peak. A few minutes into the climb you’ll reach a viewpoint that commemorates the crew of a helicopter which crashed at this location during a rescue mission in 2003.

The ascent consists of three levels, or three sets of stairs followed by a flatter part, each bringing you closer to the top. The view gets better and better as you climb, giving you plenty of excuses to stop for photos and catch your breath.

Already from the top of the first hill there’ll be great views of the airport and Sunset Peak behind you. From the base of the third and final hill you’ll see the sharp ridges of the Dog Teeth Range with paragliders and hawks circling above. As you prepare for the final ascent take comfort in the fact that you’re not scrambling up the rocks of West Dog Tooth, but walking up a decent, albeit steep, set of steps.

Once you reach the top, take photos with the Lantau Peak sign and make sure to also peek over the other side of the mountain to see the Dog Teeth and Shek Pik Reservoir. Depending on the day, the peak might actually be above the clouds.

The weather on top of Lantau Peak can be fickle and change at short notice, especially during the summer, so there’s a shelter for emergencies. At almost one kilometre above sea level it’s often cooler so it may be a good idea to bring a sweater or a thermos with tea.

There are two options for the way down. Either follow the same route you came up or cross over to the other side of the mountain and follow the signs to Ngong Ping.

Both take about the same time but offer different views.

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Hong Kong’s annual university entrance examination is not until late April, but hundreds of thousands of people have already taken an alternative and equally challenging quiz which puts their knowledge of the city’s streets and landscape to the test.

The “exam paper,” the “Hong Kong Geography Expert Challenge,” features 105 multiple choice questions split into 11 levels of difficulty. It begins with straightforward ones such as asking about the city’s English name and its time zone, and gradually advances to locating particular streets, buildings, housing estates and shopping malls.

“Candidates” are also quizzed on places with peculiar names, as well as the historical development of Hong Kong. Questions at level zero were said to be simple enough for tourists to answer, while people who ace level nine and 10 are admiringly called “Mad man” and “God” for their exceptional knowledge of the city.

The quiz has taken the internet by storm since its launch on March 17, with more than 340,000 people completing it as of Monday morning. Social media platforms were swamped with results of the test, as people challenged their peers to have a go at the 13-page assessment, often described as “insanely hard.”

The quiz designer and map enthusiast Kieran Ho, better known as Xotarios, told HKFP the average score was around 300 out of a maximum 1,000 marks. He set the pass grade at 150 instead of 500, as difficult questions carried more weighting and he did not want to discourage people.

“Some people thought they might not find the quiz as difficult [as their friends]… they started it out of curiosity, but finished it feeling a bit disheartened,” he said, laughing.

The 26-year-old came up with the idea of the online quiz as entertainment for his friends – some were geography and map-reading whizzes – who he could not meet in person due to a fresh and deadly wave of Covid-19.

He first shared the test as a Google form on his personal Facebook account and later on his page with public access. Staring at the back end of the online form, Ho was astounded to see new responses to his questions when he refreshed the pages every minute. Responses kept rolling in well after midnight, with answers still being submitted at 5 a.m.

The part-time research assistant at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University woke up at noon the next day to find his inbox flooded with messages, ranging from a secondary school geography teacher asking permission to share the quiz with his students, to a media interview request. Ho was taken aback by the popularity of his work.

“It felt as if the world was different, but the first thing that came to my mind was how come people didn’t have to sleep… it was a Thursday night,” he recalled.

The viral test took Ho around three days to compile, as he devised unique types of questions that intrigued many quiz-takers. For instance, he asked people to put 10 streets in Mong Kok in the correct order based on their positions from east to west. He also inserted a photo of Tai Wai in the New Territories and asked people to identify a location shown in the image.

None of the options provided — Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon Bay, Clearwater Bay and Tung Lo Wan — seemed right at first glance. But the correct answer was Tung Lo Wan, a district whose name in Chinese reads the same as the Hong Kong Island commercial district known in English as Causeway Bay. It was an obscure fact that few Hongkongers knew.

“I was very happy that many people told me they learned a lot from the quiz. It was very unexpected that I ended up sharing this niche knowledge with hundreds of thousands of people,” Ho said.

The success of Ho’s geography challenge has inspired dozens of spin-offs. From tests about Cantopop music and local films to Hong Kong public transport, to how much one knows about the city’s leader Carrie Lam, Hongkongers were eager to prove their expertise in areas that had not been formally assessed academically or professionally.

Some even challenged themselves to tackle more than 30 of these quizzes, slotting them into a timetable as if it was an actual examination week. One was independent artist and urban history researcher Lam Siu-wing, who completed 38 tests over the past two weeks.

The 36-year-old was one of the few people who scored 700 or above in the geography quiz, earning himself the honorific of “God of Hong Kong geography” according to Ho’s marking scheme. Like Ho, Lam has been reading maps since he was a child and knows the streets of Hong Kong inside out. He previously walked across the city and is part of a popular YouTube channel known for encouraging people to take a walk “when in doubt.”

“Among all online quizzes, I thought the questions in the geography one were set well,” said Lam, a Hong Kong Design Institute lecturer teaching Communication Design. “The parts where I found to be challenging, those were really things that I did not know.”

Others tests were not as well-designed, Lam opined, saying some omitted crucial elements or iconic figures in the field. The Cantopop music quiz , for instance, had no mention of the late lyricist James Wong. He is a household name in Hong Kong for classics such as “Below the Lion Rock,” which is said to represent the core values and “can-do” attitude of Hongkongers in the 1970s.

“It is like writing a quiz on Chinese history that does not mention Emperor Qin,” Lam said, referring to Qin Shi Huang who was considered the first emperor of a unified China.

Nevertheless, the newly emerged quizzes were a leisure activity that Lam looked forward to after a long and exhausting day at work. The Ming Pao columnist would add them to his rotation of web-based games to play before going to bed, including word puzzle Wordle that recently found global fame.

Entertainment aside, Lam said the quirky tests also opened up discussions on knowledge and skills that “did not fit into the structure of traditional academia and professional qualification.”

“These are very concrete skills, such as the ability to recognise streets. There was never an official test, so [the geography challenge] felt like the very first assessment for us,” he said.

Map enthusiasts like Lam should keep studying, as quiz designer Ho released the “Hong Kong Geography Expert Challenge 2.0” on Friday. The brand new question formats using street view images, maps and aerial shots would hopefully stretch the minds of quiz-takers, Ho said, and perhaps make them scratch their heads on April Fool’s Day.

“People always say they love Hong Kong. Maybe they can find out to what extent they love and know about Hong Kong,” Ho said.

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Located at Bishop Hill in Shek Kip Mei, the Ex-Sham Shui Po Service Reservoir lay dormant and forgotten for decades.

But the disused century-old subterranean structure was thrust into the limelight after a government demolition plan led to the discovery of its rare Romanesque architecture in late 2020, eventually altering its fate to become one of the most popular heritage sites in the city.

Built in 1904, it was the first locally built circular underground service reservoir to provide fresh water to residents who lived in Kowloon Tong, Sham Shui Po and Tai Hang Tung. It ceased operations in 1970, after the Shek Kip Mei Fresh Water Service Reservoir – which had a storage capacity of 30 million gallons – was commissioned.

The Water Supplies Department (WSD) originally planned to tear down the retired reservoir citing structural risks as its roof had been pierced by tree roots. But the demolition was halted after red brick arches and granite piers were unveiled in online images in December 2020, sparking public calls to preserve the site.

In June last year, the city’s Antiquities Advisory Board rated the former water supply structure as a Grade 1 historical building. The government also arranged guided tours of the site, which opened in December 15 last year. The 90-minute tours cover the reservoir’s design, architectural structure and the historical development of the fresh water supply system in Kowloon, the government said last November.

“The Government will carry out studies and consult the public, including making reference to the public’s views collected upon their participation in the guided tours, and look into the options of conserving and revitalising the Ex-Sham Shui Po Service Reservoir in the long run, with a view to enabling the public to enjoy this place,” the WSD said in a statement issued last November.

Owing to the latest Covid-19 outbreak, in-person visits are currently suspended, but a virtual tour is available online.

Check the government’s website on the retired service reservoir for more details.

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Built around 1906, this distinctive red brick structure once hosted religious services, was used as an educational centre, and also found purpose as a storage space. The HKURBEX ventured to the abandoned cottage for a look around.

“[It] is located near one of the oldest Protestant churches in Hong Kong, a place Christians have been meeting at for over 100 years,” HKURBEX wrote. “When it was first built, the area it is in was still rural, and the church and these exterior buildings served as a boundary marker of the extent of occupied development for the city.”

The abandoned cottage’s extensive decay defies its Grade II listed heritage status. Buildings with the historical label are defined as having “special merit” for which “efforts should be made to selectively preserve” – but no such efforts are apparent.

The cottage features red brick with granite detailing, which stands out alongside the arched doorways and a traditional tiled roof.

There are also sealed tunnels in the cliff behind the building, which once served as air-raid shelters.

“The neglect this heritage building has suffered becomes even more shocking given that the rest of the ensemble of buildings on the site all underwent a massive renovation recently,” HKURBEX wrote.

“The million dollar refurb also unsurprisingly caused controversy a few years ago when they applied to construct a subterranean auditorium within the historic compound, one of the first to ever do so in Hong Kong.”

Disclaimer: Trespassing is against the law and we do not encourage others to do so.

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What could be better than a hike that starts at the beach and ends at the beach? Mui Wo to Pui O makes for a perfect summer day.

Start with a swim and a seafood feast in Mui Wo and end with a dip and dinner in Pui O, which is home to some of the best sunsets in Hong Kong.

But even during the winter season, Hong Kong waters are never too cold to swim in and the legendary Treasure Island Beach club is open year-round at the weekends. 

The Mui Wo to Pui O hike makes up Section 12 of the Lantau Trail. Totalling around eight kilometres, it’s a medium-difficulty hike that should take around two and a half to three hours to complete.

The highest point is Tai Ngau Wu peak at 275 metres, which is also the most difficult stint. 

How to hike from Mui to Pui O

The simplest way to start is from Mui Wo ferry pier. Either catch the Mui Wo ferry from Central Pier number 6 or take bus 3 or 3M from Tung Chung. The ferry runs roughly every half an hour at the weekends. 

Once you reach the ferry pier walk towards McDonald’s on your left and along the pier until you reach China Bear restaurant.

From here keep going straight, past a little bay with kayaks, which would be a great activity for another day. Just after the kayaks you’ll notice the entrance to Lantau Trail Section 12. That’s the starting point. 

The next few kilometres are easy and rewarding with beautiful coastal views. On a clear day you can see Hong Kong Island in the distance and Mui Wo bay’s blue waters.

Soon you’ll arrive at an intersection where one trail continues along the coast and the other turns into the forest.

For a longer, flatter hike, press on along the coastal route. For a shorter hike, with incredible views, follow the signs towards Pui O and turn right to head inland. As the trail continues, it becomes more challenging. Take your time and enjoy the scenery. There’s plenty of shade along the trail, which makes it fitting for even the sunniest summer day. 

After a few kilometres you’ll reach a short paved path. Once again turn right towards Pui O. Follow the road for a few minutes while keeping an eye out for signs to Pui O on your left. It’s a small dirt trail that’s easy to miss. 

In a short while you’ll reach Pak Fu Tin campsite. Take a breather here because the next part of the hike up to Tai Ngau Wu peak is the most challenging section.

Made up of a combination of steps and slopes, this one kilometre can be a killer. Take it slow and steady and remember that in less than an hour you’ll be relaxing on the beach. 

You’ll know you’ve reached the top of Tai Ngau Wu when you see a helipad and a grassy field. Enjoy the views of the surrounding mountains, Pui O straight ahead and Lamma to your left. It’s all downhill from here (in the best way). 

Continue along Lantau Trail Section 12 until you reach Chi Ma Wan road.

From here turn right and stick to the main road. In around 10 minutes you’ll reach Tin Hau Temple. From here you could continue along Chi Ma Wan road toward Pui O town, but we suggest you take off your socks and shoes, head down to the beach and walk the rest of the way to Pui O in the water. 

Pui O beach is grand and beautiful, with a long sandy patch and mountains in the distance. Enjoy the fruits of your labour and stick around for the sunset. There are hot showers and toilets available, and Treasure Island Beach club opens at 10am on weekends for dine-in and takeaway.

There’s also a campsite and barbecue pits near the beach if you want to turn this day hike into a camping trip.

Catch a bus or taxi from the main road to head back to Mui Wo or Tung Chung for onward transport.

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Is it possible to say you are a Hongkonger if you’ve never hiked the Dragon’s Back at least once? One of the city’s most popular hikes, this easy-to-moderate trail offers breath-taking views of Shek O, Tai Tam, the outer islands and more, and is easily accessible by public transport.

Because it’s so well-loved, hiking during the week is advisable since at the weekends it gets very crowded. But even in mid-week you will rarely be alone on this well-trodden trail.

How to get to Dragon’s Back

The best and easiest way is by MTR to Shau Kei Wan station. Take exit A2 (some say exit A3 is best but taking that exit will confuse you if you’ve never been to Shau Kei Wan) and just outside the A2 exit to your left you’ll find the minibus waiting to take hikers and sunbathers to Dragon’s Back and Shek O. (Look for the minibus with a Dragon’s Back and Shek O sign on the back of it.)

Be sure to have cash on you (HK$8 per person, exact change is preferred) because this minibus does not accept Octopus payments. Pay as you alight but make sure to tell the driver before you board that you’ll be getting off at Dragon’s Back or they will fly past the stop en route to Shek O.

Dragon’s Back is part of Section 8 of the Hong Kong Trail, and there are three ways to complete it. The first trail is a shorter route, which is a loop (about 5.2 kilometres, which will take around 1.5 hours to complete). The second is similar in length and time to the loop, but it is more of an “S” shape leading back to Shek O Road. The third and longest route leads to Big Wave Bay (about 8.5 kilometres and 2.5 to 3 hours).

The loop and short trail

Once off the bus you’ll see clean and well-maintained bathrooms and steps on the left leading to Dragon’s Back. The trail is clearly signposted, so only those who can’t read or don’t pay attention will get lost. To start, walk up the uneven steps through a beautiful bamboo forest and craggy rocks.

You’ll reach a sitting area at the top – again, signposts will direct you towards Dragon’s Back. Turn right toward the path and eventually you’ll see glorious views of Shek O. There will be several “peaks” along the way, each with views more spectacular than the previous one. It gets quite windy and cool up at the top, and, because the path is not shaded, the fresh air can be a welcome relief. But on a cool day, it’s a good idea to bring a jacket.

Continue along the route, stopping at each peak to soak in the seascapes, until you reach the top of Dragon’s Back, which will offer photo-worthy panoramic views of Tai Tam west and the Shek O peninsula, and, on a clear day, Lamma Island in the distance and Chai Wan’s cityscape. Once you’re done marvelling at Hong Kong’s beauty, continue along the path and make your way down to another junction.

Here, you have a choice. You can do the “loop” route by turning left toward To Tei Wan. Turn left again at the junction, which will bring you to the trail where you first started. Go right to get to the To Tei Wan bus stop (where you’ll catch bus number 9 to Shau Kei Wan terminal).

Or take the route we prefer. Turn right at the junction towards Tai Tam Gap and Shek O Road. The trail here becomes flat, and you’ll walk through a mostly shaded rambling, rocky trail pockmarked by tree roots and stones. If you’re lucky you may see a waterfall or two, depending on how much rain Hong Kong has had recently.

Follow the path until you reach a paved road. This road will lead you down to another junction, where you can either turn right towards Big Wave Bay (2.5 kilometres) or turn left toward Tai Tam Gap and Shek O Road (1/4 kilometre).

If you turn left towards Shek O Road, a short distance ahead you will see a set of stairs on the left (again, clearly marked with a signpost that points in the direction of Shek O Road). Take those steps down and at the bottom cross the road and walk to the right to the Shau Kei Wan bus stop. Catch city bus number 9 (this one allows you to use your Octopus) which ends at the Shau Kei Wan bus terminal where you started.

Hiking Dragon’s Back to Big Wave Bay

Follow the same instructions heading to Tai Tam Gap and Shek O Road, but at the very last junction, rather than turn left towards Shek O Road, turn right towards Big Wave Bay. This section is a long walk along a mostly flat and shaded path. There will be another junction – turn right towards Big Wave Bay.

Keep an eye out for stunning views of the eastern island. Soon there will be a long set of steps down to the bay – take those to the bottom (pause for more amazing views) and you’ll end at the beach. Cold beverages and snacks await you at various restaurants and cafes.

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Local photographer Matt Teague has launched his Hong Kong series on his platform “SoulSoil” – to showcase some of what he calls the “exquisite beauty” that the city has to offer. 

Matt’s approach to capturing Hong Kong is through “Natural Photography” – photoshop-free, minimally edited and naturally lit – to show Hong Kong in its rawest and most natural form. 

His love since childhood for the city’s beautiful peaks and valleys has inspired him to look closely at the intricacies and uniqueness that abundant nature provides.

“It’s rare you see people out at sunrise on the hills, but these are really the most magnificent hours for capturing the exquisite beauty that Hong Kong has to offer,” Matt says. 

His colourful approach also filters into capturing city scenes in their unique vibrancy, creating snapshots of industry and edges that appeal to the eye.

Matt’s background is in sustainable systems, food and ecological awareness – and his hope is that his photography can inspire people to preserve and respect both Hong Kong’s heritage and the natural environment. 

“As times require us to be more still and spend more time, energy and awareness on our immediate environment, I’m glad that people are venturing out and exploring the hidden crevices that Hong Kong has to offer,” he says.

“With 7.5 million people in this city, I hope more people take to the hills and see Hong Kong in the light it has always deserved to be seen.”

“Sea-level in the city can be very consuming and repetitive, and can only offer us so much. It’s really from the height of the hills we gather perspective and inspiration.”

Matt’s limited-edition prints are available for sale at SoulSoil.

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Perched at the foot of Hong Kong’s Lion Rock for about half a century, Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK’s Educational Television Centre (ETV Centre) will soon be demolished following its sale to private developers.

Built in 1971 by famed architect Eric Cumine, the studio produced programmes for the city’s now-defunct ETV channel. The channel kept generations of school children occupied on weekday afternoons, leaving them with fond memories of the beloved shows, child actors and songs.

While many children who grew up with ETV are now having children themselves, the classic channel aired its final episodes last June, and the building was vacated in September ahead of its reincarnation.

The ETV Centre used to neighbour the offices of Hong Kong television channels TVB and Rediffusion — which later became ATV. But the building is now sandwiched between two luxury real estate properties, according to a Facebook post written by the Urban Studies Institute last week.

“Similar to a lot of modern Hong Kong architecture, [the ETV Centre] was not assessed for its heritage value because its history does not date back long enough,” the institute’s post read. “And because research on local architectural history remains scant, the unique value for some symbolically significant architecture [projects] is only discovered when they are about to be demolished and redeveloped. But mostly, it is too late.”

“But even if they were discovered earlier, in Hong Kong a place where only economic efficiency can triumph, conservation always gives way to development – even though they are not mutually exclusive,” the institute wrote.

And so, the ETV Centre will soon join the fate of its neighbours: the government is now seeking a buyer for the 2,217 square-meter lot at 79 Broadcast Drive to replace the two-storey facility with an 80-unit residence. Tendering is set to open on Friday and end by October 22, local media Stand News reported.

Before it disappears, photographers behind the Facebook page Hong Kong Reminiscence took a look inside the studio that shaped the collective memories of a generation of Hongkongers.

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Hong Kong reopened one of its oldest wet markets after three years of construction, rehabilitation and preservation costing more than HK$500 million thus far.

The project retained 13 out of the more than 200 market stalls, with much of the rest of the space transformed into open storefronts. The urban exploration team Empty City captured the Grade 3 Historic Building in the latter days of its decay, just before revitalisation work began…

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Hong Kong has reopened one of its oldest wet markets after three years of construction, rehabilitation and preservation costing more than HK$500 million so far, but one leading local conservationist has given it only a guarded welcome.

The Central Market Revitalisation Project has sparked controversy since it was announced by the then-chief executive Donald Tsang in his policy address in 2009, six years after the market closed.

The 82-year-old building is jointly operated and managed by the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) and the Chinachem group. HKFP visited the market on Wednesday, two days after it reopened, to check out the new look for the building constructed in the Bauhaus style.

Two of the main features of the Central Market before its revitalisation were its small stalls built of terrazzo and two grand staircases at either end of the structure.

The revitalisation project has retained 13 out of the more than 200 market stalls, with much of the rest of the space transformed into open storefronts. Metal railings have been installed on the stairs to comply with modern safety regulations.

Chinachem said that along with the URA it hoped to turn the Central Market into a “playground for all,” and a location catering to local brands and start-up businesses.

“Upholding the spirit of innovation, the Grade 3 historic building has been transformed into a vibrant community hotspot that fully embraces the ‘Approachable, Energetic and Gregarious’ approach in its operation,” it said in a statement.

With around half of its units rented out, the Central Market offers artisan cafes, higher-end grocery stores, food stalls and exhibition space for events. A sushi and sashimi set at a Japanese fine dining restaurant in the Central Market costs HK$1,000, while another sells wagyu beef rice at HK$248 a bowl. Snacks on offer range from vegan ice cream to egg waffles.

The market also displays information panels on the history of the building as well as QR codes explaining certain features of the structure.

‘Nothing related’

Dating from 1939, the current modernist building is the fourth version of the Central Market, a fact described as “very rare” by Katty Law, conservationist and convenor of the Central and Western Concern Group.

Law said that her group had fought to preserve the structure of the market, following initial proposals to add more floors to the four-storey building, and a Central Market Concern Group was set up in 2015.

“Specifically we wanted to suggest that the URA try their best to keep more market stalls, and rent them out to small businesses, instilling the vitality and spirit of a market into the Central Market,” said Law.

The conservationist visited the market on its opening day on Monday but said she failed to see many stores with local characteristics, and the preserved stalls were scattered across the market.

“I’m not sure if it’s the case that they have not found enough stores yet, as it is only partly open, but I think there was not a large variety,” said Law.

“In my expectation, the Central Market is most suitable for stores such as wonton or fish ball noodles. At the moment there’s sushi and red wine.”

Ms. Lam, a visitor to the market, told HKFP that while she felt it would be popular with youngsters as the building as been “modernised,” the market had lost its features.

“I think they just kept the architecture, the outlook of the building, but inside it’s totally nothing related to the market aspect,” said Lam.

Lam and her husband said Wednesday was their second visit to the market, after their first one on opening day when crowds prevented them making a proper tour.

The couple said they had not been sure what to expect. “It was a wet market before. Now we want to understand how so-called revitalisation has transformed [the market],” said Mrs. Lam.

“Ghost” – an HKURBEX team urban explorer who visited the derelict building just before the redevelopment again – told HKFP that the revamp was disrespectful to the markets legacy: “It’s a completely missed opportunity, and quite astounding that it took them over a decade to come up with this result… [T]he project was cursed by bureaucracy from the start – we’ve already seen what happened to Wan Chai’s Lee Tung Street (Wedding Street) and PMQ in Soho, so it’s no surprise really,” he said.

“It’s just a real shame they couldn’t keep the soul or character of Central Market – every city needs a vibrant market that encapsulates the creativity and energy of its people.”

The conservationist said the project shared one of the core problems with redevelopment efforts in Hong Kong – gentrification.

Many of the URA’s projects focus on older districts with a more grassroots demographic. Law said that often residents were displaced and neighbourhoods would disappear during redevelopment.

“In exchange, usually the finished products are luxurious residential buildings, and people who are attracted or able to afford to buy them are of a different class. The pre-existing residents of the neighbourhood will not be able to enjoy it.”

In the case of the Central Market, Law raised questions about rent levels and who would be able to afford a stall in the market, as well as the criteria which the URA and Chinachem used when choosing tenants.

Law said she thought the Central Market should have been a “socially beneficial” project, instead of one for “profit maximisation.”

While there were parts of the market worth praising, such as the courtyard where she was able to have a seat with a friend, “I think there is so much room for improvement.”

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Blue Lotus gallery will soon showcase “The Labyrinth,” its latest exhibition of photographs by Christopher Button.

The exhibition – which is due to open in September – consists of a selection of late-night photos Button took in deserted Hong Kong MTR stations and presents “a glimpse into the oddly-quiet side of one of the busiest locations in Hong Kong,” the gallery said.

“When everyone else calls it a day, when the stations are deprived of their regular flock, he immerses himself in the vastness of Hong Kong’s confined underground channels, and embraces a rare moment of solitude in what is usually hectic,” the gallery added.

The city has seen more than a year of restrictions imposed because of the coronavirus pandemic, and Button’s work might “…reflect how some of us are feeling trapped in a changed environment charged with new restrictions and rules.”

“The Labyrinth” will open at Blue Lotus Gallery in September.
Date: September 10 to October 10, 2021.
Address: Blue Lotus Gallery, G/F, 28 Pound Lane, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Opening hours: Wednesday to Sunday, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

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Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden (KFBG) was initially founded by Sir Horace Kadoorie in 1956 to offer agricultural advice to farmers and enable them to live more independently. It provides local farms with vital skills, agricultural supplies and cheap, or interest-free, loans.

The experimental agricultural project grew over the years, with themed gardens designed and carefully planted from the 1960s onwards. The project has become a green haven for leisure and an opportunity to educate the public about the amazing biodiversity that Hong Kong has to offer. 

Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden now comprises over 148 hectares of land near Tai Po in the New Territories.

Kadoorie Farm animal exhibits

Most of the animals you will discover have been rescued and rehabilitated by the Kadoorie Farm Fauna Conservation department. Since the 1990s they have hosted a Wild Animal Rescue Centre where the rescued animals are treated when they first arrive. The centre is not open to the public, but it serves as a hospital and recovery space to take vital care of each animal on the farm.

Here are our top five animal exhibits at Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden:

1. Wildlife Walkthrough – a mixed exhibit of flamingos, alligators and turtles as well as wild birds that visit the enclosures. The flamingos are not rescued animals; they were gifted to KFBG many years ago and are now over 25 years old.
2. Native Mammal Display – home to two leopard sisters and one masked palm civet. These mammals, which were once native to Hong Kong, have sadly lost their natural environments as a result of deforestation.
3. Butterfly Garden – over 171 butterfly species and 1,300 moth species have been recorded at KFBG. Peak months to see the best butterfly displays are April to June.
4. Monkey Haven – all the macaques you will encounter here were rescued as orphaned infants, or had been kept as pets and were abandoned. As they are used to interaction with humans, they cannot be released into the wild. Do not feed them or give them a chance to steal food from you.
5. Streamlife Display – home to aquatic animals that inhabit the upper, middle and lower sections of Lam Tsuen River. You can discover dragonflies, mayflies, caddisflies, toads, frogs and more.

Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden has many more unique animal exhibitions, see all of them here.

Top Trails In Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden

Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden has created this super handy downloadable of eight kilometres worth of self-guided trails. They have separated the hikes into 3 suggested walking routes:

• Little Fish Loop – a 2-3 hour route of 4.37 kilometres which follows the ancient stream-side route through the forest. Wear your hiking boots for this route as it is the longest of the three.
• Woodland Loop – an hour-long walk of 1.82 kilometres is the shortest of the three and passes through the Monkey Haven up to the Rainbow Pavilions where you will find amazing views over the Great Falls. You can also shorten this hike to 40 minutes by walking down from the top of the Woodland Trail.
• Sky Loop – a 1.5-2 hours walk of 2.7 kilometres. It is the highest of all three, but does offer the best views as well as philosophical quotes along the way up. This path is for the experienced hiker as the trail is rough in places. You can shorten this hike to 45 minutes by starting at the top of the Woo Steps.

Visitors may wish to take the park bus to the top of the park then work their way downhill through the forests and attractions.

Picnic areas & restaurant at Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden

This is a truly magical place for a picnic, so make sure to fill your baskets before coming here as they have six allocated picnic areas:

• The Plaza – have your picnic against the greenest background of orchids, trees and the mountain. Don’t forget to get a snap with the sculpture of Sir Horace Kadoorie, the founder, who especially loved children and orchids.
• Art House – here you will find outdoor tables and seating places where visitors can enjoy a picnic under the pleasant shade of the trees. Make sure to visit the Art House after lunch; all the art is made by visitors and, if you wish, you can borrow some materials to create your own.
• Walter Kerr Garden – home to a beautiful stream that is the centre of the garden, it also has an array of unique heritage features, and the richest ex-situ conservation collection of native plants in Hong Kong.

• Cascade Garden – blended with nature you will find some unusual art here – make sure to spot the fish mosaic and the painted wall mural. From here you can meander your way up through the Butterfly Garden and Rainbow Pavilion. 
• Convent Garden – this gorgeous green patch is named after the Nun Orchids that used to grow here, and it is a fantastic location for a picnic under the shade of the forest trees. 
• Dragon Pavilion and Little Falls – this is arguably KFBG’s most unique spot. The stream beside the pavilion gets transformed by heavy rain into a cascading torrent of white water splashing over rocks and pools. Just up the hill, above the falls, and past a small maze of paths, lies an even more secluded and charming picnic site.

If you don’t want to haul a picnic basket with you, head to the Sun Garden Café where they serve delicious vegetarian meals from 9:30 am to 4 p.m.

How to get to Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden, admissions & opening hours

From the centre of Hong Kong, it takes about an hour by public transport. If you take a taxi or have a car, it will take about half an hour.

The East Rail Line Route:

• Take the East Rail Line to Tai Wo station.
• Leave by Exit B, walk to the bus stop at Tai Wo Plaza.
• Take bus 64K in the direction of Yuen Long (West).
• Get off at Kadoorie Farm bus stop opposite the main entrance.

The Tuen Ma Line Line Route:

• Take the Tuen Ma Line line to Kam Sheung Road Station.
• Leave by Exit C, and walk to the bus stop across the road.
• Take bus 64K in the direction of Tai Po Market.
• Get off at Kadoorie Farm bus stop opposite the main entrance.

Visitors between the ages of 12 and 59 pay an entrance fee of HK$40 and children between the aged 5-11 pay HK$20. Children under 5-years-old and senior citizens 60 and above, registered disabled individuals may enter for free.

The park is open every day from 9:30 am until 5 pm. It is closed on some holidays, as noted here.

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HKURBEX re-shares images of Central Market, ahead of its reopening on August 23, 2021.

For years, the Grade III historical structure was a captivating haven of grime and decay, vacant since 2003.

The four-storey concrete structure in the heart of the city had 200 market booths arranged around an open-air court.

Developers claim the 122,00 sq ft new-look venue will be a “playground for all” with over 100 leasable units for retail and F&B outlets.

HK URBEX – Visual creators and storytellers on a mission to unearth Hong Kong’s derelict abandoned sites. 

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The demolition of Eiver House, one of the last remaining cornerhouses in Hong Kong, began earlier this year as part of the redevelopment of To Kwa Wan.

Cornerhouses are walk-up buildings with rounded corners. “While there are still a number of these corner buildings left, few are positioned on such a perfectly curved horseshoe bend and few hug the road as fittingly as this one,” said a member of HKURBEX.

“To tackle the growing need for land, the government allowed these buildings to serve dual functions as a way to maximise space at the time. Thus, they were not built to be aesthetic, but utilitarian.”

“The distinctive corner of To Kwa Wan which this curved building fronted will change forever. Hundreds of residents and shop owners were displaced and evicted by the Urban Renewal Authority (URA).”

“While urban renewal is important in old districts like this in Hong Kong, the URA should work more with communities to lessen the displacement pressures.”

“The burdens of the displacement are particularly notable for the elderly, ethnic minorities and immigrants.”

The group said that while Eiver House was demolished, some other cornerhouses, such as Lui Seng Chun in Prince Edward, were preserved.

“While one structure has succumbed to an architectural death, others have been given a new lease of life. Long live the curve,” said HKURBEX.

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Hong Kong is an urban jungle uniquely set amid mountains and sea. HKFP shares a set of aerial images celebrating both natural and concrete wonders of the city.

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Hong Kong through photographer Carrie Yu’s lens is a vibrant city filled with unexpected colour. She shares her unique shots with her 2,000-odd Instagram followers. “I want people see what I see, the beauty of Hong Kong from nature to city… I always visit new locations to explore unique scenery. And I take my camera everywhere and use it on everything I am interested [in],” Yu told HKFP.

From deserted bus depots to striated sunsets, HKFP Lens showcases a selection of Yu’s most picturesque scenes.

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Following his popular model of a Temple Street building, Australian artist Joshua Smith has once again drawn inspiration from Hong Kong and created a model of a Mahjong shop.

The shop, Biu Kee Mah-jong, which creates handcrafted Mahjong tiles, is on Jordan Road in Yau Ma Tei.

Smith told HKFP that these particular premises were chosen for their style and history after a client in the UK approached him last year looking to commission a model of a small shop. His creation is 20cm high, 13cm wide and 30cm deep.

“After some research and finding out about the history of the shop and that it was one of the last shops that handcarved mahjong tiles, it was decided that it would be the basis of the miniature,” said Smith.

The miniature took Smith three months to complete, and the most difficult part was recreating the shelves in the shop.

“The shelves are so full of items so it took a while to replicate all of the different items,” he said.

Smith was able to complete the model even during the Covid-19 pandemic, because he mostly relied on photos and did not have to travel to the actual shop.

“In most cases I get my followers to take reference photos for me but in this case it was based entirely off reference images sourced from the internet.”

Smith has an upcoming project also based on a Hong Kong building: Lai Kwong, an electrical supply store in Sham Shui Po.

And his favourite part of the miniature? The lighting.

“Replicating the fluorescent lights just right was so satisfying and it is so great to have the lights working inside the miniature.”

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Our tone-deaf government finally heard the voice of the people and Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor wants the century-old underground service reservoir in Shek Kip Mei preserved for public enjoyment. But if she and her administration think this alone will calm the disillusioned public and end the city’s longstanding heritage controversy, they’re wrong. 

Ten images of the Roman-style arches posted on social media early on December 28 went viral within hours, inciting people to research the reservoir’s history online and stop the bulldozers despite the threat of being sued for trespassing and violating social gathering rules.

The whole episode shows a total lack of trust in the official conservation mechanism. People decided to take the matter into their own hands.     

In the evening, after meticulously examining archives and drawings, and rounds and rounds of exchanges via communication apps, conservation enthusiasts declared on social media that the reservoir was completed in 1904. It is the second oldest service reservoir in Kowloon and was part of the Kowloon Waterworks Gravitation Scheme.

The service reservoir was built to increase water supply for Kowloon’s expanding population after the first one in Yau Me Tei proved inadequate. The structure, built with 100 granite columns and arches, has not been used since the 1970s.  

As we can expect, such information was missing from the assessment by the government’s Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO), giving the Water Supplies Department the green light to start demolishing the reservoir. Although demolition has now been halted, parts of the structure have already been knocked down. The Commissioner for Heritage Ivanhoe Chang Chi-ho revealed in his apology that the AMO thought it was “an ordinary water tank.” 

Conservation-conscious Hongkongers can easily list examples of how the AMO has failed over the years to properly grade and protect historic structures, and enumerate the flaws in this outdated heritage grading and conservation system.  

Back in 2006, the AMO failed to reveal that an assessment report had warned against demolition of the Star Ferry Pier in Central. The city-wide campaign to save the Star Ferry and Queen’s piers was a collective wake-up call about the absurdity of the antiquities and monuments grading and conservation system. In 2007, Queen’s Pier was demolished even though it was a Grade I historic structure. Pledges to have it rebuilt elsewhere are still unfulfilled 13 years later. 

Several months later, King Yin Lei, a private mansion in Stubbs Road completed in 1937 and famed for its Chinese Renaissance style, was partially defaced by its new owner. Public outrage prompted the government provisionally to declare the site a monument. To induce the owner to surrender the mansion for conservation, the government granted him a nearby site, valued at HK$500 million, for development. However, back in 2004, the Conservancy Association had appealed to the AMO to declare it a monument.

Though preserved in 2008, the mansion is still closed to the public. Repeated attempts to find a new use for it under the Revitalising Historic Building through Partnership Scheme have failed. 

In 2016 the AMO rejected calls by the Central and Western Concern Group to assess the historic value of the ruins of tenement buildings in Cochrane Street and grade the remaining walls. Research by the group suggests it was the former home of Ng Akew, a prominent protected woman in 19th century Hong Kong. The ruins tell the story of this group of women, mostly Tanka, in early colonial days.

In 2017 the State Theatre in North Point, now preserved by New World Development, received Grade I historical building status — but only after Walk in Hong Kong campaigned to save it by conducting thorough research about its architectural, social and historical importance. 

There have been attempts to reform the system and in 2004 and 2007 the Home Affairs Bureau conducted public consultations. But the flaws were not fixed and the system became increasingly out of touch with the aspirations of the public. The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) is still an advisory body without an independent secretariat. The AMO still monopolises the system to decide which buildings and structures are worthy of assessment. 

The importance of the underground service reservoir might have been understood if heritage impact assessments for all works projects were compulsory — something the Conservancy Association had proposed back in 2007. The AAB might have been informed of the Roman-style arches had the secretariat been independent from the civil service. The reservoir might already have been graded had the system provided for the public to nominate sites to be saved, as can be done online in England.   

The actions taken by conservation enthusiasts — digging up the history of the underground service reservoir, coming up with a narrative about its importance, alerting the news media and pressuring the government — show Hongkongers are highly intelligent, don’t trust the system and will unite to preserve the city’s heritage.

In the age of social media, the government will have very limited time to react to public outrage if it still refuses to reform the system.

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Hong Kong has a problem with history and the recent incident of official vandalism at the more than  century-old Roman-style underground reservoir at Bishop’s Hill in Shek Kip Mei serves as a timely reminder.

As ever it was ordinary citizens who have saved the day – not the high and mighty officials who are supposed to be keeping an eye on these things. 

The notably lax folk who run the Antiquities and Monuments Office sound very much like a recalcitrant schoolboy explaining his lack of homework by claiming that it was eaten by the dog. They are also full of excuses. On the one hand, officials have tried to shifted blame to the Water Authority for not alerting them to the existence of this wonderful piece of utilities architecture, while on the other saying that because it was below ground it was really hard to investigate.

Meanwhile a part of this structure has been destroyed but thanks to local initiatives, not least by district council members, work has been called to a halt while an assessment is made of historic value.

Were this the worst case of official heritage vandalism it would still be bad. However, as I discovered in writing a small book called ‘Colonial Hong Kong’, there is a long history of demolition, neglect and re-writing of the past. 

What remains of Hong Kong’s main thoroughfare, Queen’s Road? Who allowed the historic Hong Kong Club to be pulled down and replaced by an aggressively ugly sky scrapper? And why are such extraordinary efforts made to obscure Possession Point, now buried in a mundane park but is a place of immense significance, marking where the Union Flag was first hoisted prior to the establishment of the colony?

Often the reasons for allowing Hong Kong’s built history to disappear are explained by either sheer negligence or by a fever for profit which puts selling off the heritage ahead of preserving it.

Overshadowing the government’s ambiguous relationship with preservation is the heavy colonial associations of most historical places.

Only a regime that does not feel comfortable in its own shoes will be nervous about remembering the past. And only idiots will have difficulty distinguishing between preserving history and passing a value judgement on it. 

Obliterating memory of the past is a speciality of dictatorships whose mantra is that they are building a new future unencumbered by the past. Yet, even on the Mainland where destruction of the past reached a heady pitch during the Cultural Revolution, there is growing recognition that history did not begin in 1949 and that there is much worth preserving. In these circumstances treasuring the distant past is always safer than acknowledging more recent moments in history but, as it turns out, even more contemporary history, in places like Shanghai, is being brought back to life.

The quislings who run Hong Kong quiver in their boots when they hear the word colony and, unlike the more self-confident cadres in the North, are extremely nervous of doing a single thing that might suggest nostalgia or even recognition of the past.

Early on after the SAR was established they got into a tizzy over the letter boxes painted red, often bearing the royal insignia. Vats of green paint were rapidly ordered to change their appearance. Instead of preserving the Legislative Council building to do the job it has performed for some years, it was shifted over to the new Tamar complex, a new seat of government for a new era and, fittingly, designed to be as dull as possible. And, as we have recently discovered, to give physical form to the notion that Hong Kong does not enjoy separation of powers.

There is no need to make a fetish about preserving history but there is a need to provide context in all historical preservation efforts. An example of how this can be done is evident in the creation of the Tai Kwun complex which used to be the Central District Police Headquarters. So, it’s not as if Hong Kong lacks expertise in this matter. What is more substantially lacking is the courage to accommodate the past.

This may also explain official reluctance to enact an archive law for official documents, not to mention a proper system for releasing archive material. Bureaucrats everywhere have a dismal record for favouring secrecy over transparency and even in jurisdictions where elected governments prevail they have to be forced kicking and screaming into allowing access to official records. 

Hong Kong not only lacks an elected government but is increasingly run by a system that lacks accountability, so there is only a slim chance of the long-awaited archive law coming into being or being inaugurated in a satisfactory manner

It is often said that the victors have the privilege of re-writing history, in Hong Kong, the quislings are not exactly victors, more like people who are afraid of their own shadows.

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Demolition work by Hong Kong’s Water Supplies Department of a huge underground reservoir dating back to the early 1900s has been halted after online images sparked public calls to preserve it as a heritage site.

The brick and stone arched structure attracted widespread attention.

District Councillor Kalvin Ho Kai-ming, who visited the site on Monday, wrote on his Facebook page that he had asked the Water Supplies Department to halt demolition and preserve the reservoir. “We urged the Secretary for Development to list the Bishop Hill reservoir as a proposed monument for 12 months… and request the Antiquities and Monuments Office to start full assessment,” he wrote.

Records show the initial work was completed in 1904.

Ho found a disused pipe showing the year 1909 and another with the year 1932.

The department initially planned to demolish the site and fill the underground reservoir with concrete, citing structural dangers after tree roots had pierced the roof.

Located on top of a mountain in the Sham Shui Po district in Kowloon, the service reservoir fell into disuse in the 1970s.

A 1903 report to the colonial Director of Public Works shows it was designed to hold two million gallons of water.

The Water Supplies Department later confirmed it had suspended demolition work pending an assessment by the Antiquities and Monuments Office.

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