What's old is new again on walls of new Hong Kong MTR station at Sai Ying Pun

Sai Ying Pun's old shops will be immortalised on the walls of the new MTR station slated to open at the end of this month, as the real shops above ground close down due to development.

Residents and shop owners in Sai Ying Pun - one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Hong Kong - lamented the rent hikes after the announcement a few years ago that the new station was to be built, which led to the demise of the neighbourhood's small businesses and local shops.

"We reap the 'benefits' of high rent, before we reap the benefits of convenience [from the MTR]," said a 72-year-old man who runs a store selling pipe parts and tools on High Street, below one of the three main exits. "We're moving out in two months - can't afford the doubled rents."

It makes it somewhat ironic that the Sai Ying Pun MTR station will exhibit traditional street scenes as they vanish due to the growing development encouraged by the station.

Scheduled to open on March 29, the station has the "largest space for art" among all the corporation's stations - with its central theme of "old neighbourhood culture" featuring images of dried-seafood traders, market stalls and shops.

More than 800 sq ft of space is dedicated to artwork at the new station, including a collage made up of 450 vintage photos of neighbourhood scenes, as well as six bas-relief friezes painted by a local artist, depicting daily life.