Closed-circuit TV helps the infamous Tsim Sha Tsui landmark take on new lease of life
Once one of Tsim Sha Tsui's most vice-riddled estates, Chungking Mansions has cleaned up its act so much that now even the clergy are happy to stay there.
The complex was infamous for the colourful types attracted to its low-cost guesthouses: some of its former occupants were simply undesirable.
Now the prostitutes, drug dealers and gangsters who used to ply their various wares amid the warren of guesthouses are gone, replaced with closed-circuit televisions, security guards and a fresher, cleaner image.
Assistant property manager Ko Ka-lok said: 'We started the project of restoring order to Chungking Mansions three years ago because there were simply too many crimes occurring here.
'It was so complicated. We had drug dealers and gangsters producing and selling fake banknotes living in the building.'