How a Hong Kong art charity is reminding Tsuen Wan of its legacy as a textile hub
MILL6 Foundation hopes to bring together craftsmen from a forgotten trade, with event that will weave into community an appreciation for area’s history
A non-profit art organisation in Hong Kong is offering a fresh take on the image of Tsuen Wan in the New Territories, by highlighting the area’s forgotten past as a textile hub in the 1950s.
The Mill6 Foundation hopes to salvage what is now a dying trade by finding a new meaning to textile arts, culture and innovation for local communities.
From the 1950s to 1980s, Hong Kong’s textile industry boomed, but increasing rents and labour costs forced manufacturers to relocate their businesses to the mainland, where China’s economic reform in the late 1970s provided favourable conditions for setting up factories.
Retired pattern maker Cheung Chi-mou, who worked in the industry for more than 40 years, said: “The impact of the textile industry on society was huge. Many people made a living by working in such factories back in the old days.”
Cheung, 60, pointed out that when the industry was at its zenith, he could make about HK$7,000 to HK$8,000 a month – considered a high salary at the time.
“Now, the industry is fading away and could disappear in the future. There is only a handful of skilled workers in Hong Kong, who are getting older and older,” he lamented.