York Lo: Hua Nan Motors – HK distributor of DeSoto, Peugeot and Renault automobiles from the 1940s to 1960s From the 1940s to the 1960s, Hua Nan Motors Federal Co Inc (華南汽車公司) was a major car dealership in Hong Kong which served as exclusive distributor of American automobile brand DeSoto and French car brands Peugeot and Renault. In the 1950s, the […]
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York Lo: Unsung Kingmakers – the low-key Song Brothers who conquered the Shanghai Bund and Victoria Harbor and backed the development of several key industries in post-War Hong Kong V.J. Song (left) and V.K. Song in Hong Kong in the 1950s (Wendy Song) Before the emergence of Chinese tycoons such as Li Ka-shing and Sir Y.K. Pao in the 1970s, […]
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York Lo: From No 1 on the Bund in Shanghai to Kaolin Mine in Cha Kwo Ling – the Century Old China Coast Saga of the McBains Left: The former Kaolin mine in Cha Kwo Ling; Right: The former McBain Building at No 1 on the Bund in Shanghai (now known as Asia Building) From 1903 to 1983, kaolin clay was […]
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York Lo: From Ships in Cheung Sha Wan to Shoes in Sham Shui Po – the Chan family, Wing On Shing Shipyard and Po Shing Shoe Company Left: Po Shing Shoe in the Posco building at 165 Un Chau Street (Source: Flickr). Right: The original Po Shing building in 231-247 Un Chau Street in the 1950s. (Source: Facebook) The Group has […]
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York Lo: Shanghainese Wood Carvers and the Development of the Wooden Furniture Industry in Hong Kong As mentioned in the article “There was Something About Hong Kong Old Mary…”, Chiuchow natives Mary Wong and her son Jimmy Tse of HK Old Mary Sing Shun Co. were pioneers of the export carved wood furniture industry in Hong Kong and Jimmy himself actually […]
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York Lo: The authorized agent for YKK zippers in Hong Kong since the 1950s has been Hung Cheong Import & Export Ltd ( 鴻昌進出口有限公司, incorporated in 1972), which was founded by Kwok Tak-seng (郭得勝, 1911-1990) and Yeung Yiu-chung (楊耀松, 1921-2003). The profits from selling YKK zippers formed the foundations of […]
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York Lo: J.H. Vaughan – An American Shipbuilder in Hong Kong San Pablo from the movie The Sand Pebbles – JH Vaughan’s highest profile creation (Source: Sand Pebbles movie website) Americans have been involved in the Hong Kong shipbuilding industry since the early days of the colony when two Bostonians – Charles Emery and George Frazar set up their shipyard in […]
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York Lo: Fred Westphal – the American Oil Taipan from New Orleans who helped to power Hong Kong Fred Westphal (right) with Governor Sir David Trench (centre) and Lord Lawrence Kadoorie (left) at the opening of Peninsula Electric Power’s Tsing Yi power station in 1969. Source: HK Heritage On October 11, 2016, Frederick Clement Westphal Jr passed away in his native […]
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York Lo: The Queen of Pens – Holia Chow and Rox Industrial In the 1960s, Hong Kong had a pen manufacturer by the name of Rox Industrial (樂士實業), which made a variety of writing instruments including ballpoint pens, fountain pens, markers, sign pens and mechanical pencils. Although Rox focused on the export market, the firm was known locally as it […]
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York Lo: Spear and Yips – Pioneers of the HK Shirt Industry Before the war, shirts in Hong Kong were dominated by imported brands from overseas (e.g. Arrow Shirt from America) or the mainland (e.g. Smart Shirt and 555 Shirt from Shanghai). The first two domestic shirt brands to emerge in the post War period were Spear Shirt (槍牌恤) and […]
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