Lensman revisits childhood haunts before they are lost forever

Simon Go Man-ching (pictured) is hardly the only photographer to focus his viewfinder on the old shops that have been dying out from the city's rapidly changing landscape, but the former journalist has certainly taken it personally.

'I started the project because many of the old boutiques I usually visit since childhood disappeared through time. I feel like an important part of my memory was gone,' said Go, who grew up in an old neighbourhood in Wong Tai Sin. His latest exhibition, The Vanishing Romance, which features 20 monochromatic photos, will be staged on Friday at Harbour City's art gallery.

During the past seven years, Go visited almost all of Hong Kong to capture the old shops, from the umbrella repairman in Sheung Wan to the noodle shop in Mong Kok. He even founded an organisation called Hulu Culture to promote local culture as well as hosting tours for locals to visit old shops and streets. 'Almost one quarter of the shops I pictured had gone in the past two years. I felt like photography will be the only means to document evidence that they've once existed,' he said.