The walk down Shanghai Street, which stretches from Mong Kok to Jordan, can be a hike in the heat, but for Simon Go Man-ching it's a stroll down memory lane. There's a sense of time warp as many shops are old-style businesses that retain their original layouts and practices. Sauntering through a rundown stretch in Yau Ma Tei, Go greets proprietors as if they're old friends.
For the past four years, Go, photo editor at a Chinese-language newspaper, has spent his free time combing old city districts to photograph shops that look and operate much as they did decades ago. His black-and-white images were recently published in a book, Hong Kong Old Shops, and will feature in an exhibition starting on Saturday.
Go, 41, embarked on his project to celebrate a less glamorous but more human side of Hong Kong, which is why his book features mainly family businesses.
'I like how they keep it together as a family unit and treat people with a heart of gold,' he says. 'There's a strong sense of community and a human touch you won't see when you go to supermarkets and shopping malls. I wanted to capture the long lost values epitomised by old shops.'
Published with a subsidy from the Arts Development Council, his book features about 90 shops, each accompanied by a short article. Businesses range from old-style grocery stores and Chinese herbalists to kettle and umbrella repair services.
It took a lot of legwork to find shops that had somehow survived frantic redevelopment, rent increases and design trends.
