Game over for Hong Kong shop selling hand-carved mahjong tiles for 47 years
Kung Yau Cheung Mahjong in Mong Kok will close on March 28
A shop selling hand-carved mahjong tiles will close for good this week after nearly half a century, marking the demise of one of Hong Kong’s few remaining traditional handicraft stores.
Kung Yau Cheung Mahjong, founded 47 years ago, announced it would close on March 28.
Owner and artisan carver Ko Yun-kan, who entered the trade aged 18, said the closure of the Mong Kok shop was not due to poor business but because the landlord had decided to take back the street-corner premises earlier this year.
Ko, now in his sixties, said the shop on Shanghai Street was his first job and had been his life’s work.
He said he had tried to find a new location but could not secure a suitable site, and had decided to retire for now. Ko added that having devoted himself to the craft every day for years, he lost the work overnight and felt a sense of loss.
The shop was founded by his master, with Ko taking over in the 1990s. He said he grew up along with the business, witnessing both the evolution of Mong Kok and the decline of traditional craftsmanship.