York Lo: Chow Mud-wai (周沕桅) – Maker of Steel Windows, Owner of Theaters and Philanthropist Left: Chow Mud-wai (Confucian Academy website); Right: Ad announcing the opening of Zenith Theatre in 1951 (Cinema Treasures) Aside from S.Y. Tang of Canton Metal Windows (profiled earlier) and Paul Lee Yao-I of China Steel Works (to be profiled later), another key figure in the post-War […]
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York Lo: Shing Y. Tang (鄧典初) – Pioneer of the HK Nail and Metal Windows Industry SY Tang (second from right) and his fellow CGCC colleague Leung Chan-fai (梁燦輝,second from left) distributing rice in Yuen Long with local Yuen Long leaders Chiu Lut-sau (趙聿修, first from right) and Tang Tung-kwong (鄧同光, first from left) (Ta Kung Pao, 1960-5-25) While the […]
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York Lo: Asia International Electronics Ltd (亞洲無線電工廠) Asia International Electronics booth at the 1971 HK Products Expo (HK Memory) In the 1970s, Asia International Electronics Ltd (hereafter refer to as “AIE”) was one of the leading Chinese owned electronics firms in HK, being one of two Chinese-owned firms (the other being Atlas) amongst the top 10 radio manufacturers in HK […]
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York Lo: Fung Yuen-hon (馮元侃) and Wai Yuen Cheong (惠元昌) Left: Fung Yuen-hon in front of the Wai Yuen Cheong sign (HKET); Right: Shaolin Temple brand medicine label – address listed as 42A Bonham Strand West and stating that pregnant ladies should avoid consuming. In 2014, the 96 years old Fung Yuen-hon (馮元侃) decided to shut down Wai Yuen Cheong, the […]
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York Lo: Moving Mountains: the Life and Mines of Ko Ming-fan (高銘勳,1906-2012), proprietor of Flat Hill Quarry (平山石礦) and HK Clays & Kaolin Co Ko Ming-fan visiting mainland China in the 1980s (Courtesy: Bonnie Sellars) The post war construction boom created significant demand for construction materials and unprecedented opportunities for the HK mining industry. One of the handful of tenacious […]
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York Lo: Shum Choy-wah (岑載華) – HK Industrial Leader from the 1940s to the 1960s Left: Portrait of Shum Choy-wah wearing his medal of honor (Kung Sheung Daily News, 1969-12-26); Right: Shum Choy-wah and fellow CMA leaders posing with the Governor at the Amoy Canning booth at the 7th Chinese Products Expo in 1949. From left to right: Wong Tok-sau, Governor […]
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York Lo: Stereo(天然)– Photofinishing Pioneer Poster of Stereo Ltd from the 1960s listing its 7 branches and highlighting its complete continuous processing system (Photo Credit: Teresa Robeson) Before the rise of digital photography in the 2000s, photofinishing was a big business in Hong Kong. The first photofinishing chain in HK was not Fotomax (which was founded in 1982) but the […]
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York Lo: Pro-Quality Electronic (寶業電子) Left: PQE chairman Young Chi-wan; Middle: PQE vice chairman Cheng Wai-kuen; Right: PQE director Dominic Cheng Backed by the Young and the Cheng families behind the Miramar Hotel, Pro-Quality Electronic Co Ltd (hereafter refer to as “PQE”) was one of the largest electronics manufacturers in HK in the 1970s and the early 1980s with over […]
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York Lo: International Industrial Building (國際工業大廈) in Kwun Tong Left: International Industrial Building in Kwun Tong; Right: ad for International Industrial Building when it first opened in 1966 (WKYP, 1966-3-28) Located at 175 Hoi Bun Road in Kwun Tong waterfront is a 50 years-old, colorful 13 story factory building by the name of International Industrial Building (not to be confused […]
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York Lo: Finland, London and Swiss – 3 Ice Cream Brands from the 1960s Aside from Dairy Farm, On Lok Yuen and Yan Chim Kee which have been covered in earlier articles, three other HK ice cream makers from the 1960s were Finland Ice Cream, London Ice Cream and Swiss Ice Cream – all with European sounding names but 100% Chinese […]
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