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History of Hong Kong districts

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History of Hong Kong districts
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.
The first night race takes place under the new floodlights at Hong Kong’s Happy Valley Racecourse, in October 1973. Photo: SCMP Archives
First Mention

And they’re off! When Hong Kong’s Happy Valley got night racing in 1973

Floodlights transformed the city’s racecourse, drawing crowds that spilled from the track onto balconies, car parks and jammed streets.

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An ex-policeman recounts fighting triads, kidnappers and counterfeiters

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When a sculptor designed a first-of-its-kind playground for Hong Kong kids

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Ghost Signs co-founders Billy Potts (left) and Ben Marans at the bridge near the old Mayar Silk Mills (HK) factory in Tsuen Wan. Photo: Jocelyn Tam
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Kam Tung Kitchen is a beacon of authentic Tanka food and its owning family is striving to keep their knowledge and traditions alive.

From our archives

In pictures: Central Market has been serving Hong Kong for almost almost 170 years

Originally established as a bazaar for locals, the market has evolved with the city around it.

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From our archives

In pictures: Hong Kong’s long lost landmark buildings

They once shaped Hong Kong’s skyline and community – now, only memories remain of these architectural gems.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip disembark at Queen’s Pier, Hong Kong, accompanied by the governor, Edward Youde, in 1986. Queen’s Pier was dismantled in 2007. Photo: SCMP Archives
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Po Toi O, a fishing village in Sai Kung, New Territories, Hong Kong. Photo: Shutterstock
Art

The best inspiration is found at home, this artist finds

Chow Chun-fai has chosen veteran journalist-turned-gallery owner Sharon Cheung as his muse for his latest series of paintings to be displayed at Art Basel Hong Kong.

Hong Kong artist Chow Chun-fai’s Interview the Interviewer II series of paintings will be on display at Art Basel Hong Kong’s Insights sector. Photo: SC Gallery
Hong Kong society

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Hong Kong society

Hong Kong heritage advisers back listing of temple, former hospital as monuments

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History

Unveiling the stories of early Japanese residents in Hong Kong Cemetery

Meiji-era prostitutes, whose names are etched in stone, find a voice in a new book by Georgina Challen and Yoshiko Nakano.

Cherry blossom trees in the Hong Kong Cemetery’s Japanese Section, Happy Valley, Hong Kong. 10FEB25 SCMP / Alexander Mak
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How a Hong Kong film inspired the revival of 9 post-war buildings

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4-10 Wa In Fong West front facades in Hong Kong. Photo: Keith Sin
From our archives

Recap | Hong Kong building disasters, from an inferno to construction site tragedies

These were some of Hong Kong’s most tragic construction disasters, from the 1918 Happy Valley racecourse inferno to deadly lift crashes, highlighting the critical need for improved safety standards.

Art

Drone photos of every Hong Kong outdoor basketball court become art

Austin Bell’s mission to shoot all 2,549 courts took him and his drone across the city, and created geometric art for a book and exhibition.

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Old Hong Kong

An abandoned village is brought to life in this debut Hong Kong festival

The Countryside Harvest Festival takes place at the 400-year-old village of Kuk Po in Hong Kong’s far north.

The interior of a typical farmer’s residence in Kuk Po, Hong Kong. Photo: Handout
Hong Kong

Why the festive lights have dimmed in Hong Kong’s Tsim Sha Tsui East

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Art

Artistic attractions with designs on tourism make districts worth a look

Often overlooked by tourists, Tsuen Wan and Sha Tau Kok might just rise up the bucket-list rankings thanks to outdoor artworks by En Iwamura and Vivian Ho.

Old Hong Kong

The little-known history of one of Hong Kong’s oldest neighbourhoods

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The “Happy Valley: A Cultural Landscape” exhibition at Tai Kwun, Hong Kong. Photo: courtesy of JCCPS
Art

He no longer recognised Hong Kong scenes so he paints how they used to look

When Chow Chun-fai could not find a crossroads in Mong Kok, it led him to produce paintings of street views that combine present and past.

Chow Chun-fai next to his painting As Tears Go By 1988 at Mahjong School Portland Street (2024), part of his solo exhibition “Map of Amnesia” at Tang Contemporary Art in Central, Hong Kong. His paintings in the show depict city scenes as they are now and once were. Photo: Jelly Tse
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Hong Kong society

Hong Kong team finds 1940s Japanese ‘shrine’ but officials reject ‘conjecture’

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Explore Hong Kong

A tour of Po Leung Kuk HQ shows history of caring for children in need

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Hong Kong charity Po Leung Kuk was founded in 1878 to care for women and children. Its headquarters in Causeway Bay (above), built in 1932, still house around 180 children in need at any given time. Photo: Jonathan Wong
What to do in Hong Kong

5 of the best things to do this weekend, August 9-11, in Hong Kong

A neon signs exhibition, a K-pop girl group pop-up store, a boozy night out and more awaits those looking for entertainment in Hong Kong this weekend.

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The “Whispers of Signs” exhibition in Cheung Sha Wan, Hong Kong, showcasing vintage store signboards. Photo: May Tse
Hong Kong culture

Hong Kong’s Southorn Playground, haven for sports and socialising

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Old Hong Kong

Then & Now | Hong Kong stores’ floorwalkers helped the lost and kept an eye on the suspicious

Men with a certain bearing – often former military – were paid to walk round department stores like Lane Crawford and Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co keeping an eye out

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