Photos of Hong Kong, from hard times after World War II to resurgence in 1960s and ’70s, show city’s incredible transformation

Hong Kong’s rise after World War II and the resilience of Hong Kong people are front and centre in the Recovery; Resilience; Resurgence exhibition

The photos, taken by Lee Fook Chee, Hedda Morrison and Brian Brake, show the city and its people during a time of great change

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This photograph, probably taken at Sheung Wan’s Poor Man’s Night Club’ in the early 1970s, features in an exhibition of images of Hong Kong showing its transformation from the hard times of the post-war years to the 1970s. Photo: Brian Brake courtesy Wai-man Lau

Published: 12:45pm, 13 Dec 2021Updated: 1:35pm, 13 Dec 2021

In 2010 Australian photographer and writer Edward Stokes, who grew up in Hong Kong, crossed paths with a fellow artist. It was an encounter that would change his life.

“My brother and sister were visiting Hong Kong, so we decided to head to The Peak,” says Stokes of the popular tourist spot that provides stunning views of Hong Kong Island. “While there, I noticed an old man selling his prints of 1950s Hong Kong and, as a photographer myself, I was curious.

“We chatted for a bit – me in my broken Cantonese and he in his broken English – but after our initial encounter I didn’t really think about him until I received an email from his niece asking if I would like to see his negatives.”

The rest, as they say, is history.