HF: Nga Tsin Wai Tsuen,衙前圍村, (“the walled village in front of the yamen”), also known as Hing Yau Yu Tsuen, 慶有餘村, (“overflowing prosperity”) in San Po Kong, at the northen end of Kai Tak airport is the only walled village left in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. The SCMP: Occupying an area of nearly 50,000 square feet…600 year-old square-shaped Nga Tsin Wai Tsuen […]
» Read moreHF: I have copied these extracts from Nigel Cameron’s book, The Milky Way, without seeking the permission of either Mr Cameron or, I think its publisher SS Design & Production, Hong Kong. If I am contacted by either the author or publisher asking me to withdraw these extracts I will do so immediately. Patrick Manson was the founder of the […]
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Nahaha Lau: In 1939, a Shanghai entrepreneur Mr. Li Ying Sheng came to Hong Kong and established South China Brickworks in Castle Peak (Tuen Mun). It was later renamed Keen Sing Brickworks. Keen Sing Brickworks was located near the hill Por Lo Shan, which provided plenty of “red mud” as material for producing fired bricks. As the business evolved, the […]
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IDJ has sent this paper on the construction of the “Big” Buddha, at the Po Lin Monastery, Lantau Island. It took 10 years to plan and build the bronze statue which was finally opened to the public at the end of 1993. The paper was written by Peter PK Ng, of P K Ng Associates (HK) Ltd, whose website is linked […]
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HF: The SCMP of 21st October 2015 had an article about an attempt to assess and protect a row of derelict buildings at 27-35 Cochrane Street, Central. At nearby Peel Street the concerned activists also found a storefront bearing the sign “Ying Kee Hard Coal” shown in the photo below. A heritage restoration expert Wong Hung Keung estimates the sign […]
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Stephen Davies: The water colour posted in the article, Leung Man Kwong (梁文廣) – clearance of HK harbour post WW2 and founder of Universal Dockyards, is fascinating. Given the angle of the photo, with what looks like the naval dockyard on the left and the HK Club area on the right, I think it is the unnamed freighter, sunk on naval anchorage […]
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HF: The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) has published a Catalogue of Hong Kong Tunnels (up to February 2015). The list is extensive and as far as I know does not appear in a format which can be “searched”. The tunnels are grouped: 1. Road 2. Railway (MTRC and ex KCRC) 3. Water Supply 4. Drainage and Sewage 5. […]
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IDJ and Hugh Farmer have been trying to find out about a power company that is supposed to have existed in Tai O on Lantau Island. China Light and Power’s website says that in 1955 the company acquired the Tai O Power Company “which supplies power to Lantau Island”. IDJ says “I’ve not heard of the Tai O Power Company […]
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Hugh Farmer with thanks to IDJ for notifying me about the initial account: The idea of connecting Hong Kong and China with a railway was first proposed to prominent Hong Kong businessmen in March 1864 by a British railway engineer, Sir Rowland MacDonald Stephenson (1808-1895), who had considerable experience of developing railways in India. The minutes of the committee of […]
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Hugh Farmer: Robert Gordon Shewan was born in London on 13th November 1859 (1860 according to 20th Century Impressions – see below) but achieved prominence in Hong Kong as a Scottish businessman. He was the son of Andrew Shewan, master mariner, and Jane Thomson. He arrived in Hong Kong in 1881, at the age of 2,1 in connection with the American […]
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