Sha Tsui Road, Tsuen Wan

If you were to leave the industrial blocks of eastern Tsuen Wan and cross Yeung Uk Road, you'd find yourself at the centre of a bustling new town. The once-fading Sha Tsui Road and Tsuen Wan Market Street have been given a new lease on life thanks to an influx of mainland tourists and the town's proximity to Chek Lap Kok airport.

As recently as the second world war, the former Hakka fishing village of Tsuen Wan had only about 3,000 residents. But its population boomed after the 1949 communist takeover across the border. By 1966, Tsuen Wan district had more than 200,000 residents - more than a third of the entire New Territories population.

The area west of what is now Texaco Road began to be reclaimed by the original settlers, the Chan clan from Guangdong, for agricultural purposes. Texaco Road got its name from the oil depot that was replaced by the gleaming towers of Riviera Gardens, which boasts a waterfront park and football pitch.

The industrial zone abutting Yeung Uk Road is being transformed into a residential area- the gleaming Chelsea Court, for example, stands on the site of a former Coca-Cola factory. Next door, H Cube and Indi Home have the kind of new but tiny flats young couples break the bank to buy as starter homes.

The six-storey tong lau built in the 1950s and 60s are being replaced by glittering skyscrapers. The Emperor Plaza stands on a corner of Chung On Street. It's where one of the area's many cinemas once stood, frequented by the mainly Shanghainese workers who populated Tsuen Wan's many textile sweatshops. The cinema may have gone but the skyscraper that replaced it is still given over to pleasure, with Neway Karaoke Box as well as massage parlours and video arcades on the upper floors.

Signs in local property agencies reveal the area's new clientele. Written in simplified Chinese they say: 'We have Putonghua-speaking staff to help you.'