Po Chai Lemonin (普濟檸檬精)
York Lo: Po Chai Lemonin (普濟檸檬精) Left: “Lemon King” Chan Shiu-chuen; Right: Po Chai Lemonin ad Founded in Canton in the early 1920s by Chan Shiu-chuen (陳少泉, 1903-1968) and moved to HK in the late 1940s, Po Chai Drug Co (普濟藥行) was best known for its Lemonin – a popular pain killer medicine across China and Southeast Asia from […]
» Read moreKeeping Warm – Nam Wah Industrial (南華實業), maker of polyester blankets and thermal carriers
York Lo: Keeping Warm – Nam Wah Industrial (南華實業), maker of polyester blankets and thermal carriers Article about Nam Wah’s thermal carrier for tropical fish. The carrier shown appears to be made for Pan Am (WKYP, 1961-11-1) Recently while browsing old newspapers for research on other topics, I came across three articles (all shown here) about a firm by the […]
» Read moreLin Ma Hang Mine Part 2 – The Yung Years
Tymon Mellor: Galena ore, the main source of lead was first discovered at Lin Ma Hang in around 1914. As described in Part 1, a number of attempts were made to commercially exploit the lead ore, but they all failed. That was until Mr Morrison Brown Yung took an interest in the site and introduced modern mining methods to extract […]
» Read moreThe Rise and Decline of Hong Kong Industry
Hugh Farmer: Industrial development in Hong Kong has a long development. Making boats and shipping related industries were the first to develop. More heavy industries developed by European companies. In the early 20th century, Chinese merchants established factories in Hong Kong, stimulating such industries as textile and the manufacturing of rubber shoes and torches. By the time of Japanese occupation, […]
» Read moreTai O stilt houses installed with solar panels- to be connected to CLP’s grid
“Discount the growing throngs of tourists and worsening traffic and not too much has changed for Tai O’s indigenous townsfolk. Shrimp, fish and squid are still laid out to air dry under the sun as they have for generations. But residents from one of the west Lantau town’s fishing villages are beginning to discover an additional use for sunshine through […]
» Read moreOnce Upon A Time in Mongkok: Chow Ngai Hing Knitting Factory
York Lo: Once Upon A Time in Mongkok: Chow Ngai Hing Knitting Factory One of Chow Ngai Hing’s brands – the Horse trademark. In Mongkok, there are four streets which have names there are associated with garments – Yim Po Fong Street (染布房街, dyeing mill street), Hak Po Street (黒布街, black cloth street), Pak Po Street (白布街,white cloth street) and Sai […]
» Read moreWilliam MacGregor Smith (Wahee, Smith & Co.) c1831- c1907
York Lo has sent the following information about William MacGregor Smith. He was the Smith in Wahee, Smith & Co which in turn became The China Sugar Refinery. Smith is buried in HK cemetery – the tombstone states he was 76 (and was erected in 1907) and was from Scotland. On page 50 of Carl Smith’s book Chinese Christians there is […]
» Read moreKing of Plastic Beads and Buttons –Shen Bing-su (沈炳樞) of Yee Sing Industrial (義生實業)
York Lo: King of Plastic Beads and Buttons –Shen Bing-su (沈炳樞) of Yee Sing Industrial (義生實業) Yee Sing Plastic Factory’s ad from 1957 In the 1950s and 1960s, plastic manufacturers in HK had built up the HK plastic industry through a variety of products ranging from toys to artificial flowers to water buckets to mahjong tiles to sandals and even […]
» Read moreImpact of Typhoon Wanda on shipping in Tolo Harbour
Tymon Mellor: When you look at aerial images of Hong Kong, there are always interesting features to note. The 1963 aerial image of Tolo Harbour reveals a number of grounded vessels – what is their story? On the 1st September, 1962 Typhoon Wanda, one of the most severe storms to hit the territory, made landfall. With maximum wind speeds of […]
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