Letters | Revive nightlife for all in Hong Kong – with poor man’s nightclubs

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The government and the business community seem to be firing on all cylinders to revive nightlife in Hong Kong – or more precisely, to get people to go out more at night. The following are some thoughts on how this could be achieved.

Remember the old days when we had places like the Poor Man’s Nightclub where everyone could wander around for hours without spending anything and yet be entertained by streetside storytellers and fortune-tellers, while mixing with all sorts of people, including tourists? The venue could be a vacant, open-air car park hastily converted into orderly rows of stalls lit by kerosene lamps. Hawkers needed no licence, other than lamp rental. Cooked food and herbal drinks were sold. In general, there was an atmosphere of a carnival. This, if revived, would present a real and true picture of Hong Kong nightlife – for everyone.