https://www.scmp.com/rss/326885/feed Follow us as we take a historical tour of Hong Kong's districts, exploring the intriguing stories behind the city's different neighbourhoods. From Soho before the escalator, and the colonial elite's dancing parties in 1920s Repulse Bay to Hakka farms and prowling tigers in Tsuen Wan's early days, we'll show you a different side to Hong Kong's districts, revealing what they used to be like before the highways and slick skyscrapers appeared. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Lisa Cam Lisa Cam Kowloon Walled City, with its triad gangs and lawless reputation, remains a symbol of Hong Kong’s underbelly more than three decades after it was demolished in 1994. What many forget, however, is that it was also home to tens of thousands of ordinary residents who lived ordinary lives trying to make ends meet. Ha Ming Kee, a Chiu Chow-style fish ball noodle restaurant and manufacturer, was founded decades ago by Roger Ha’s parents, Ha Fan-ming and Chan So-hing, in the narrow alleyways of Kowloon... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3347100/how-hong-kong-fish-ball-maker-kowloon-walled-city-became-thriving-family-business?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3347100/how-hong-kong-fish-ball-maker-kowloon-walled-city-became-thriving-family-business?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Mar 2026 04:45:08 +0000 Dave Besseling Dave Besseling “Senior officials of the Royal Hongkong Jockey Club are investigating the possibility of holding night race meetings at Happy Valley […] another step on the professional road which will eventually lead to year-round racing,” reported the South China Morning Post on March 30, 1972. “A leading Hongkong architect has been engaged to draw up the plans for the installation of a floodlighting system […] In the words of one senior steward of the club: ‘We have only one major worry. The state of the... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3328353/when-hong-kongs-happy-valley-got-night-racing-and-running-1973?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3328353/when-hong-kongs-happy-valley-got-night-racing-and-running-1973?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 10:15:13 +0000 Annemarie Evans Annemarie Evans I WAS BORN in 1955, in Liverpool’s Sefton General Hospital. I grew up on the Wirral (in northwest England). My dad was in the Royal Air Force and after that he was a chemical engineer with Dunlop. They used to make golf balls and things. I know that because we had golf balls all over the house. I have a sister and a brother. When I was 13, I went to Wellington School (a private day school) and I spent a lot of time studying all the wrong things. I joined the Army Cadets at a young age. I enjoyed... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3326077/steve-vickers-50-years-battling-hong-kongs-criminal-underworld?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/passions/article/3326077/steve-vickers-50-years-battling-hong-kongs-criminal-underworld?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 Sep 2025 07:15:09 +0000 Dave Besseling Dave Besseling “A playground of massive, brightly coloured sculptures, for the children of Hongkong, which is being designed and made by an American sculptor, Paul Selinger, will be the first of its kind in Southeast Asia,” reported the South China Morning Post on October 29, 1967. “Instead of the usual steel pipe swings and slides embedded in a concrete or bitumened area, children will be able to play on the sculptures, made of coloured concrete and terrazzo set in turf. “Mr Selinger is planning eight to 10... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3325198/when-sculptor-designed-first-its-kind-playground-hong-kong-kids?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3325198/when-sculptor-designed-first-its-kind-playground-hong-kong-kids?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Sep 2025 22:15:08 +0000 Annemarie Evans Annemarie Evans Focus your eyes, there, across the road, at layers upon layers of cream paint on the opposite wall, and don’t blink. See that hint of green? It’s the remnants of an old advertisement for Green Spot, a glass-bottled soft drink once available at every family-run shop in town. These kinds of sightings have become less common in Hong Kong, but once you’ve seen one, it’s hard not to see, and seek out, other examples of these palimpsest survivors of humidity, rain or repainting. They can be small or... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3321209/ghost-signs-resurrect-bygone-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3321209/ghost-signs-resurrect-bygone-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 08 Aug 2025 10:00:10 +0000 Mabel Lui Mabel Lui In Hong Kong’s Clear Water Bay Peninsula, there is a small U-shaped bay flanked by mountains. Within it lies the little-known Po Toi O fishing village – so named for the cove’s physical resemblance to a cloth sack – where generations of Tanka people in Hong Kong have settled over the past century. Tanka are an ethnic group from South China who have largely acculturated to the dominant Han Chinese community. Their specific origins are somewhat ambiguous, but history indicates that they were... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3320883/how-one-hong-kong-restaurants-tanka-cuisine-has-been-community-favourite-35-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3320883/how-one-hong-kong-restaurants-tanka-cuisine-has-been-community-favourite-35-years?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Aug 2025 23:15:07 +0000 SCMP Reporters SCMP Reporters Hong Kong’s historic Central Market, which first opened in 1842, has been at its present site since 1858. Plans to sell the site for development were met with a public outcry and the government decided to preserve the market instead and give it a radical makeover reopening the Grade 3 listed building – now full of restaurants and small shops – in 2021. https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3318739/pictures-central-market-has-been-serving-hong-kong-almost-170-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3318739/pictures-central-market-has-been-serving-hong-kong-almost-170-years?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Jul 2025 07:15:11 +0000 SCMP Reporters SCMP Reporters Hong Kong is an ever-changing city and nothing exemplifies this more than the pace of development of its buildings, harbourfront and landscapes. Many buildings, once considered an iconic part of the city’s character, are no more, existing only in memories and photographs. https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3318083/pictures-hong-kongs-long-lost-landmark-buildings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3318083/pictures-hong-kongs-long-lost-landmark-buildings?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 14 Jul 2025 07:15:07 +0000 Claudia Hinterseer Claudia Hinterseer In the concrete and steel jungle of Hong Kong, bamboo remains a widely used building material. The organic material is shaped into rapidly constructed scaffolding that covers new developments or supports workers doing building renovations. Bamboo scaffolding even forms entire venues for pop-up Cantonese opera theatres and cultural events. Hong Kong is one of the last bastions of bamboo scaffolding in the world. The city’s enduring reliance on it is the result of a unique blend of heritage and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3317869/how-bamboo-scaffolding-helped-build-hong-kong-and-still-holds-despite-uncertain-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3317869/how-bamboo-scaffolding-helped-build-hong-kong-and-still-holds-despite-uncertain-future?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Jul 2025 01:45:07 +0000 Cat Nelson Cat Nelson Last weekend, I was riding the tram (I know – a dead giveaway that I’m new here and have a kid under five) when I noticed some old lettering on a building I’ve passed dozens of times. It was the name of a stamp company that occupied the space decades ago. There’s a lot of that in Hong Kong: traces of the past that fade into the background, until something makes you look again. In a way, this issue’s cover story picks up where last week’s feature on Hong Kong’s tiles left off. Both explore the... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3315180/week-postmag-art-deco-hong-kong-meditative-martial-arts-and-street-dance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3315180/week-postmag-art-deco-hong-kong-meditative-martial-arts-and-street-dance?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Jun 2025 05:00:08 +0000 Recent discussions in Beijing over Hong Kong’s tourism have emphasised the potential of its islands and coastal resources for the development of distinctive experiences. Returning from her visit, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Rosanna Law Shuk-pui said Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, spoke of how Hong Kong could innovate within the tourism sector. Indeed, Hong Kong’s islands and coastline hold vast tourism potential, their breathtaking... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3305876/how-hong-kong-can-tap-potential-its-island-economies-waiting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3305876/how-hong-kong-can-tap-potential-its-island-economies-waiting?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Apr 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Artist Chow Chun-fai first became aware of journalist Sharon Cheung Po-wah from her 2000 interaction with the then Chinese president Jiang Zemin. During a press conference in Beijing, when Cheung quizzed Jiang over the endorsement of Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee-hwa for a second term, the Chinese leader famously berated her, calling her questioning, as a journalist, “too simple, sometimes naive”. It is a moment that has since achieved meme status with the Hong Kong public, both in... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3303145/how-culture-politics-and-people-inspire-hong-kong-artist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3303145/how-culture-politics-and-people-inspire-hong-kong-artist?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Mar 2025 10:15:08 +0000 Ambrose Li Ambrose Li Bamboo pole noodles, dragon boat races and cheongsam-making are expected to be included in a new annual initiative to celebrate Hong Kong’s intangible cultural heritage and enhance the city’s appeal to tourists. The Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Month will debut in June, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department revealed on Friday in its preview for activities in the coming year. “It’s a very popular trend, many young people are interested in finding out more about history. The same goes for... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3303399/hong-kongs-intangible-cultural-heritage-be-celebrated-new-annual-initiative?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3303399/hong-kongs-intangible-cultural-heritage-be-celebrated-new-annual-initiative?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Mar 2025 12:41:58 +0000 Vivian Au Vivian Au Heritage advisers have given the green light for Hong Kong’s first maternity hospital for Chinese residents and a 130-year-old temple to be declared monuments. The Antiquities Advisory Board discussed on Thursday the Antiquities and Monuments Office’s proposal to upgrade the heritage status of the Old Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital’s main building in Sai Ying Pun and Sheung Wan’s Kwong Fook Tsz temple. The city’s heritage grading system has three tiers, with grade one sitting just under monument... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3302287/hong-kong-heritage-advisers-back-listing-temple-former-hospital-monuments?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3302287/hong-kong-heritage-advisers-back-listing-temple-former-hospital-monuments?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Mar 2025 13:25:01 +0000 Fionnuala McHugh Fionnuala McHugh One May day in 1884, a Japanese woman called Saki Kiya received a letter at her Hong Kong address. It was from her family, who said that her father was ill and asked her to return home to Japan. She did not have enough money for the voyage and soon, another letter arrived informing her that he had died. On a Sunday evening in June, she left her residence at 27 Graham Street. Some hours later, her body was found floating in the harbour with, as the China Mail put it, “a pretty heavy stone” tied... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3299893/unveiling-stories-hong-kongs-early-japanese-residents-happy-valleys-cemetery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3299893/unveiling-stories-hong-kongs-early-japanese-residents-happy-valleys-cemetery?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Feb 2025 05:15:07 +0000 Christopher DeWolf Christopher DeWolf Just south of PMQ is a neighbourhood that almost disappeared. A little more than 15 years ago, the cluster of post-war tenements along Staunton, Wing Lee and Shing Wong streets was slated for redevelopment by the Urban Renewal Authority (URA). Neighbourhood activists had been fighting the project for years, but as is often the case, there seemed to be little hope that this historic corner of Sheung Wan would be spared the wrecking ball. Then Echoes of the Rainbow was released. The 2010 film,... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/design-interiors/article/3297572/how-hong-kong-film-set-1960s-inspired-revival-9-post-war-buildings?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/design-interiors/article/3297572/how-hong-kong-film-set-1960s-inspired-revival-9-post-war-buildings?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Feb 2025 08:15:07 +0000 Hong Kong’s history is scarred by tragic accidents, from the devastating Happy Valley racecourse stand collapse fire in 1918 to the 1993 lift crash that led to the territory’s first corporate manslaughter conviction. Revisit these five stories from the South China Morning Post archives and learn how they shaped Hong Kong’s safety regulations and construction practices. 1. When 600 people were killed in Happy Valley racecourse stand collapse and inferno 100 years ago The catastrophic collapse of... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3292335/hong-kong-building-disasters-happy-valley-stand-collapse-and-inferno-construction-site-tragedies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3292335/hong-kong-building-disasters-happy-valley-stand-collapse-and-inferno-construction-site-tragedies?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jan 2025 19:15:08 +0000 Kylie Knott Kylie Knott In 2017, American photographer Austin Bell visited Choi Hung Estate, a public housing estate in Hong Kong’s Kowloon district that is also an Instagram hotspot popular with residents and tourists, who flock there to photograph its colourful facade. It was his first visit to the city and, like many, he was captivated by the vibrant hues of the estate’s buildings, which were named Choi Hung after the Cantonese for “rainbow”. But what really struck a chord were the bold patterns covering the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3295138/photos-hong-kongs-2549-outdoor-basketball-courts-passion-project-american?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts/article/3295138/photos-hong-kongs-2549-outdoor-basketball-courts-passion-project-american?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 18 Jan 2025 23:45:13 +0000 Having seen its fortunes rise and fall over a span of four centuries, the village of Kuk Po, in Hong Kong’s far north, is once again set for another transformation – this time, into an unlikely proponent of cultural and ecological exploration, with the debut edition of the Countryside Harvest Festival running until February 16. Founded as a Hakka village in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Kuk Po recorded a population of more than 500 by the late Qing and by the turn of the 20th century... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3295112/abandoned-village-brought-life-debut-hong-kong-festival?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3295112/abandoned-village-brought-life-debut-hong-kong-festival?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Jan 2025 04:45:08 +0000 Long before the Avenue of Stars and the West Kowloon Cultural District where Hong Kong residents land tourists congregate during the festive season, there was Tsim Sha Tsui East. The new business area emerged in the early 1980s after the strip of Victoria Harbour between Hung Hom and Tsim Sha Tsui was reclaimed. With common commercial interests the Tsim Sha Tsui East Property Developers Association was formed. In 1983, it launched the TSTE Festive Illuminations, with all the property owners... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3292879/how-festive-lights-hong-kongs-tsim-sha-tsui-east-reflected-its-rise-and-fall?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3292879/how-festive-lights-hong-kongs-tsim-sha-tsui-east-reflected-its-rise-and-fall?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 31 Dec 2024 09:15:07 +0000 Tsuen Wan and Sha Tau Kok don’t usually make the list of top Hong Kong neighbourhoods to visit, but that’s set to change thanks to Design District Hong Kong, a creative tourism project running until February 14, 2025. The initiative is organised by the Tourism Commission, which ran successful iterations of the scheme in Wan Chai and Sham Shui Po from 2018 to 2021. Resumed post-Covid last year, the latest event expands to Sha Tau Kok, a sleepy border-town inside the city’s Frontier Closed Area... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3291633/attracting-visitors-hong-kongs-lesser-known-districts-art-what-know-about-design-district-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3291633/attracting-visitors-hong-kongs-lesser-known-districts-art-what-know-about-design-district-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Dec 2024 10:15:10 +0000 The painting, rendered in successive dabs of watercolour, is utopian at first glance. A column of troops, clad in bright ceremonial colours, crests a ridge in orderly rows. Before them, a bucolic landscape unfolds: a plain quilted with rice paddies, bisected by a brook, a hamlet visible in the far distance, all enclosed by wooded mountains. But upon closer inspection, all is not as it seems. At the head of the column is a coffin belonging to a British navy commander and draped in the British... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3287758/little-known-history-one-hong-kongs-oldest-districts-happy-valley?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3287758/little-known-history-one-hong-kongs-oldest-districts-happy-valley?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Nov 2024 22:15:08 +0000 There are a few standard images of Hong Kong that can be found over and over again on postcards, in online search results and in movies. Shot from The Peak or from the Kowloon waterfront, these tend to be formulaic, unchanging views featuring a dense forest of skyscrapers that stand in dramatic contrast to the green hills behind them and Victoria Harbour in the foreground. But zoom in closer and the city is in a state of constant flux, so much so that even long-term residents struggle to find... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3279427/getting-lost-hong-kong-his-home-inspires-artist-paint-then-and-now-city-scenes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3279427/getting-lost-hong-kong-his-home-inspires-artist-paint-then-and-now-city-scenes?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Sep 2024 23:15:11 +0000 Lisa Lim Lisa Lim A highlight of Hong Kong’s celebrations for the Mid-Autumn Festival – also known as the Moon or Mooncake Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month – is the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance. The dance involves no ordinary dragon. This one is 67 metres (220 feet) long, is made of bamboo and straw, comes festooned with more than 10,000 burning incense sticks, and is handled by 300 performers. A fire dragon also dances every year at Pok Fu Lam Village. These performances are much more... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3278345/why-hong-kongs-fire-dragon-dances-part-mid-autumn-festival-celebrations-are-so-vital?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3278345/why-hong-kongs-fire-dragon-dances-part-mid-autumn-festival-celebrations-are-so-vital?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Sep 2024 00:15:12 +0000 Researchers in Hong Kong have unearthed what they have said are rare traces of an old shrine from the 1940s during the city’s Japanese occupation, but authorities have described the discovery as “conjecture” that requires “verification”. Historians argued the purported site, located in the popular Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, was significant because few artefacts had survived from that period in the city’s history and it could give a glimpse into the Japanese rule that lasted... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3276728/hong-kong-team-finds-japanese-occupation-era-shrine-officials-reject-conjecture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3276728/hong-kong-team-finds-japanese-occupation-era-shrine-officials-reject-conjecture?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Sep 2024 02:30:23 +0000 Well-maintained heritage buildings in Hong Kong are great places to visit because of their architecture, which is often the result of different cultural influences, and the rich history behind them. A prime example is the white-domed edifice that sits beneath a lush canopy of trees at the quiet end of Leighton Road in Causeway Bay. The headquarters of Po Leung Kuk – one of Hong Kong’s biggest charities – was built in 1932. Since then, the Neoclassical building has housed countless women and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3274161/tour-shows-how-hong-kong-charity-po-leung-kuk-has-cared-children-need-150-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3274161/tour-shows-how-hong-kong-charity-po-leung-kuk-has-cared-children-need-150-years?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Aug 2024 23:15:09 +0000 According to the Chinese Almanac, this weekend is good for going out (yay!) as well as for home renovation. Leave the kitchen alone on Saturday, however, because something might go wrong. And do not get a haircut until Monday. Besides that, other recommendations we have for you this weekend are as follows. 1. Singing bowl and gong bath sessions By the end of the working week, you might feel like tuning out all that stress and anxiety. Book yourself into a Friday evening singing bowl sound bath... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3273838/5-best-things-do-weekend-august-9-11-hong-kong-neon-netflix?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3273838/5-best-things-do-weekend-august-9-11-hong-kong-neon-netflix?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Aug 2024 07:15:08 +0000 Hong Kong is home to more skyscrapers than any other city in the world – 554 according to a list compiled by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, which counts buildings 150 metres tall or more. Shenzhen in southern China ranks second, with 413 skyscrapers. Hong Kong, which is only 63 per cent as big as Shenzhen in terms of area, remains mostly undeveloped; its many skyscrapers are packed into an extremely dense urban jungle, where open spaces are a rarity. But Southorn Playground, in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3272415/hong-kongs-southorn-playground-haven-sports-and-socialising-amid-urban-jungle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3272415/hong-kongs-southorn-playground-haven-sports-and-socialising-amid-urban-jungle?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Jul 2024 04:45:10 +0000 From Hong Kong’s mid-19th century urban beginnings until quite recently, major department stores such as Lane Crawford and Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co employed a dedicated European managerial staff member, colloquially known as a floorwalker, to circulate on their floors throughout the day. Mostly vanished from the modern retail world, floorwalkers were once ubiquitous, found in every sizeable establishment with pretensions to quality, everywhere from Manchester and Milwaukee, to Melbourne and... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3271145/remember-hong-kongs-floorwalkers-men-certain-bearing-paid-walk-round-department-stores?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3271145/remember-hong-kongs-floorwalkers-men-certain-bearing-paid-walk-round-department-stores?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Jul 2024 00:45:08 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification Hong Kong can do more to highlight to tourists the colonial and other history on its streets. Stories behind Hong Kong street names may be interesting not only to locals but to visitors. For... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3270882/how-hong-kong-can-give-tourists-smart-street-level-taste-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3270882/how-hong-kong-can-give-tourists-smart-street-level-taste-history?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Jul 2024 03:35:50 +0000 If you are a fragrance enthusiast, you may have heard of Shiu Shing Hong, a quaint shop in Hong Kong’s Sheung Wan district that has been around for more than 50 years. The store, which recently went viral on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu, not only sells house-made essential oils – must-have souvenirs for visitors from mainland China thanks to the exposure – but recreates the signature scents of popular malls and other venues in Hong Kong. On its shelves are familiar – sometimes odd –... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3270453/what-does-hong-kong-airport-smell-or-your-go-hotel-business-scent-branding?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3270453/what-does-hong-kong-airport-smell-or-your-go-hotel-business-scent-branding?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Jul 2024 10:15:08 +0000 Today’s travellers are more interested in immersing themselves in local culture and having unique experiences than simply ticking off tourist hotspots, according to many in the travel industry. Hotels in Hong Kong are meeting this demand by crafting heritage trails or compiling suggestions that allow visitors to venture beneath the skin of the city. The experiences each hotel suggests differ based on their brand identity and the type of guest that typically stays. Here we look at four hotels and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3270439/how-4-hong-kong-hotels-help-guests-discover-citys-culture-history-and-stories?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3270439/how-4-hong-kong-hotels-help-guests-discover-citys-culture-history-and-stories?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Jul 2024 04:45:08 +0000 Christopher Cowell, who describes himself as “an architect and accidental academic”, is a fan of alliteration. He has now written his first book, which is called Form Follows Fever. The title is a winking reference to American architect Louis Sullivan, who famously declared, in an 1896 essay, that “form follows function”. In this case, the prime mover is health. Cowell’s subtitle is Malaria and the Construction of Hong Kong, 1841-1849; and although he states in his introduction that it is not... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3270166/how-disease-disrupted-hong-kongs-uncertain-start-british-colony-author-new-book?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3270166/how-disease-disrupted-hong-kongs-uncertain-start-british-colony-author-new-book?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Jul 2024 23:15:08 +0000 For centuries, night markets have been a much-loved facet of life across Asia. Generations of patrons have visited, innumerable individual milestones hit. One’s first taste of an ice-cream, hearing a popular song or even a tentative glimpse of one’s future spouse might have occurred under the flaring lights and within the jostling throng at a local night market. From Calcutta to Singapore, Surabaya to Manila, night markets proved a popular feature of daily life. Hong Kong was no exception and on... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3269555/why-night-markets-are-quintessential-part-asian-nightlife-bangkok-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3269555/why-night-markets-are-quintessential-part-asian-nightlife-bangkok-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jul 2024 06:15:08 +0000 This article was first published on July 4, 2014 By Peta Tomlinson The tragedy of Hong Kong’s “lost” architecture is that so many old buildings were demolished before anyone thought to save them. In a curious stroke of good fortune, one of the few remaining examples of classic pre-war architecture, in one of the city’s most expensive locations, survived because it was occupied by some of society’s most disadvantaged people. The 10 turn-of-the-20th-century Chinese shophouses in Wan Chai escaped... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3268953/hong-kong-architects-praised-revitalising-historic-shophouses-scmp-archive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3268953/hong-kong-architects-praised-revitalising-historic-shophouses-scmp-archive?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Jul 2024 03:15:09 +0000 Hong Kong’s urban landscape is a mix of top-down planning and bottom-up development, one in which smaller, more organic and eccentric structures are often overshadowed by its numerous skyscrapers. Some of those quirky, overlooked features will be the focus of walking tours hosted by City Unseen that are intended to help tell the story of the city’s evolution and the people and businesses behind it. An educational initiative set up in 2023 to explore hidden corners of Hong Kong, City Unseen... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3267166/ghost-staircase-outdoor-gym-hong-kong-architecture-tour-opens-eyes-urban-quirks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3267166/ghost-staircase-outdoor-gym-hong-kong-architecture-tour-opens-eyes-urban-quirks?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jun 2024 23:15:09 +0000 The first time David Bellis left Hong Kong was in June 1990. He had spent eight months in the city, a Welsh computer programmer who had stopped off on his way to Australia and dallied longer than he had intended. When he got to Sydney, he found he missed Hong Kong so much he signed up for a Cantonese night class at Macquarie University. By early 1992, he was back. He settled down, married a Hongkonger called Grace and had two daughters. In 2009, he founded a website called Gwulo. You may have... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3266016/hong-kong-historian-behind-gwulocom-his-years-charting-city-and-why-hes-leaving?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3266016/hong-kong-historian-behind-gwulocom-his-years-charting-city-and-why-hes-leaving?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jun 2024 04:45:10 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification Amid calls to invest in Hong Kong’s film and cultural industries to spur creativity, it is encouraging to see the success of the martial arts film Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (“Blockbuster... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3265178/twilight-warriors-success-shows-why-hong-kong-must-invest-creative-industries?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3265178/twilight-warriors-success-shows-why-hong-kong-must-invest-creative-industries?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jun 2024 03:30:18 +0000 A city of darkness; an anarchic enclave; a settlement rampant with drug dens, gambling parlours and brothels – these were common descriptions of Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong. Once considered the most densely populated place in the world, its tightly packed buildings were constructed on the former site of an imperial Chinese military fort, which refugees from the Chinese civil war adopted as a place to live following World War II. Before long it grew into a miniature city, full of activity –... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3264832/kowloon-walled-city-brought-back-life-instagram-using-ai-artworks-move-beyond-its-lawless-reputation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3264832/kowloon-walled-city-brought-back-life-instagram-using-ai-artworks-move-beyond-its-lawless-reputation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Jun 2024 23:45:08 +0000 The Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong was once considered the densest settlement in the world. The sprawling neighbourhood was often characterised as a lawless enclave with poor living conditions, criminal activity and a thriving black market, trading anything from pirated goods to drugs and sex. It was demolished in 1994, but its legacy lives on through the memories of those who once lived there. Thirty years after it was torn down, former residents and others who worked there share some of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3262414/kowloon-walled-city-tales-hong-kongs-city-darkness?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3262414/kowloon-walled-city-tales-hong-kongs-city-darkness?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 May 2024 02:49:48 +0000 To set foot in Tai O is to enter a time warp. From this fishing village at the southwestern tip of Lantau, Hong Kong’s largest island, the skyscrapers and bright lights synonymous with the city are nowhere to be seen. Stilt houses and multicoloured sampans populate its winding waterways, beside which residents attend to woven platters holding dried fish and seafood. But as Tai O’s population grows older, with much of the younger generation choosing to move to urban areas, the village’s heritage... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3260777/tai-o-traditional-hong-kong-fishing-village-foundation-helps-preserve-its-culture-and-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/travel-leisure/article/3260777/tai-o-traditional-hong-kong-fishing-village-foundation-helps-preserve-its-culture-and-history?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Apr 2024 04:45:10 +0000 Visiting Kai Tak for the first time can be a bewildering experience. An entirely new neighbourhood has emerged after years of walled-off construction on the site of Hong Kong’s former airport, studded with gleaming landmarks such as Airside, a shopping centre developed by Nan Fung and designed by Norwegian architects Snohetta. But deep inside this slick mall is Gate33, an art space that reflects the older, more familiar parts of the city that surround Kai Tak. That is especially true in its... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3260120/hong-kong-story-typography-exhibition-explores-old-kowloon-communities-around-gleaming-new-kai-tak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3260120/hong-kong-story-typography-exhibition-explores-old-kowloon-communities-around-gleaming-new-kai-tak?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2024 04:45:23 +0000 It’s easy to think of Tai Hang as merely a “hip” Hong Kong Island neighbourhood with cute cafes and restaurants. But if you go there and all you’re getting is a cup of coffee and a few good photos for your social media, you’re missing out on its cultural and historical elements – although, admittedly, Tai Hang cafes do have really good coffee. Sourdough toast, too. “What cultural elements?” one may ask. You’ve probably already heard of the fire dragon dance, a ritualistic dance that has been... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3257515/hong-kongs-lotus-rock-temple-tai-hang-lin-fa-kung-where-villagers-worship-goddess-mercy-kwun-yum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3257515/hong-kongs-lotus-rock-temple-tai-hang-lin-fa-kung-where-villagers-worship-goddess-mercy-kwun-yum?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Apr 2024 04:45:21 +0000 They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I guess heritage preservation must be the same. What one person may see as a useless and derelict old building, better knocked down and replaced with something modern and useful, another may see as a priceless reminder of the community’s past to be preserved almost without regard to cost. And is it just the buildings, or does heritage include the activities in and around them? To what extent is one’s opinion affected by personal history with the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/hk-opinion/article/3256342/dont-be-so-quick-renew-hong-kong-expense-its-heritage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/hk-opinion/article/3256342/dont-be-so-quick-renew-hong-kong-expense-its-heritage?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Mar 2024 06:30:26 +0000 Between 1946 and 1952 – the Chinese civil war having resumed with full ferocity after the temporary pause that the Sino-Japanese war had allowed – more than a million and a half people decamped to Hong Kong, just before China’s emergent surveillance-police state became efficient enough to restrict internal movement. These mainland Chinese voluntarily chose to make their homes and lives under the supposed oppressions and miseries found in a desperately overcrowded, resource-poor British colony.... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3252175/trees-and-plants-hong-kong-left-over-post-war-squatter-settlements-when-15-million-fled-chinas-civil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3252175/trees-and-plants-hong-kong-left-over-post-war-squatter-settlements-when-15-million-fled-chinas-civil?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Feb 2024 23:45:10 +0000 Travelling along Victoria Road by Mount Davis in Sai Wan is a treat for the eyes. The road’s proximity to the sea and a rare absence of high-rises by the coast offer a view of Victoria Harbour that feels boundless. The University of Chicago’s Hong Kong campus, which opened in 2018, is a perfect spot to take in the view of rolling waves. But don’t let the tranquillity fool you. Just over 80 years ago, this is where the imperial Japanese and the British colonial armies fought one of the earliest... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3251806/how-hong-kong-university-campus-reveals-darker-past-war-and-imprisonment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/design-interiors/article/3251806/how-hong-kong-university-campus-reveals-darker-past-war-and-imprisonment?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Feb 2024 04:45:09 +0000 In 1929, French master architect Le Corbusier published The City of To-morrow and Its Planning, his revolutionary urbanisation concept. His manifesto was in defiance of how most European cities had organically developed since the Industrial Revolution, their uncontrolled growth often lacking order or any thorough planning. While we appreciate the unique character of many former medieval cities today, at the time, they were often chaotic, unhygienic and congested. Le Corbusier provided a much... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3251183/see-beauty-hong-kongs-boring-housing-estates-dont-tear-them-down?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3251183/see-beauty-hong-kongs-boring-housing-estates-dont-tear-them-down?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 11 Feb 2024 21:30:10 +0000 Stefan Irvine is not the only photographer to document Hong Kong’s abandoned villages. He is a member of the so-called urbex movement – “urbex” being a portmanteau of urban and exploration. The movement took off during the Covid-19 pandemic as Hongkongers made adventures out of exploring their small city from every possible angle. However, the London-born photographer’s work documenting the lesser known parts of rural Hong Kong began more than a decade ago. His work features in a new book and in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3248486/hong-kongs-abandoned-villages-spooky-subject-new-photo-book-and-exhibition-document-whats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3248486/hong-kongs-abandoned-villages-spooky-subject-new-photo-book-and-exhibition-document-whats?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Jan 2024 04:45:11 +0000 Typhoon shelters have been fixtures of Hong Kong since the late 19th century. Every day, many Hongkongers will walk past one of the 14 structures dotted around the city’s coastline. Most will not give them a second thought. But, as with much else in the city, all these typhoon shelters have gone through many changes. Historical, natural and cultural developments have rendered them largely idiosyncratic. Of the four typhoon shelters along the coast of Hong Kong Island, it is Causeway Bay’s that... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3247464/causeway-bay-typhoon-shelter-hong-kongs-past-and-present-meet-photo-essay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/travel/article/3247464/causeway-bay-typhoon-shelter-hong-kongs-past-and-present-meet-photo-essay?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 05 Jan 2024 23:45:11 +0000 Along a narrow path through a centuries-old village sits a grey-brick house with granite blocks around the doorway. Built in 1927, this relatively grand construction recalls one of Hong Kong’s far-flung New Territories villages, decades past their prime with a few remaining elderly residents. But this is Ngau Chi Wan, in northeast Kowloon, still conveniently located for residents working in the city. Through the house’s open doorway, in a subdivided flat, Chun Man, an infant boy, lies asleep in... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3243522/3-historic-hong-kong-urban-villages-face-demolition-can-anything-save-them-destruction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3243522/3-historic-hong-kong-urban-villages-face-demolition-can-anything-save-them-destruction?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Dec 2023 23:15:14 +0000