Photos of haunted mansions, deserted schools and abandoned village homes turn the lens on Hong Kong’s grittier side
- Photo exhibition “Vanishing Hong Kong” showcases the city’s decaying and abandoned buildings, including one mansion where it is believed seven people drowned
- Other images includes Hong Kong’s only single residential building listed as a Grade I historical building – but its location cannot be revealed
Hong Kong is often defined by its neon skyline but beneath the surface is a grittier side: deserted schools and tong laus – tenements constructed in the late 19th century – as well as decayed mansions and abandoned village homes, some with furniture and household goods including family portraits still inside.
Many are earmarked for demolition. But before parts of the city’s history are lost forever, camera-wielding urban explorers are documenting them.
“From grand Hakka mansions to century-old European villas, gorgeous heritage buildings in Hong Kong are being bulldozed and redeveloped into shopping malls and high-rise luxury apartments as we speak,” says Hong Kong photographer Pit-hing Yang (P.H. Yang).
Yang is an administrator of Hong Kong Abandoned Villages, a Facebook community that shares photographs and videos of abandoned houses and other buildings.
To bring their images to a wider audience, Yang has organised “Vanishing Hong Kong”, a photo exhibition at the Asia Society Hong Kong Centre, in Admiralty, from August 17 to 29 (free admission).
