Squatter Factories in Hong Kong

HF: Walking through the concrete canyons of Wong Chuk Hang, To Kwa Wan or Kwun Tong, it’s easy to imagine Hong Kong when it was still an industrial powerhouse. Textile mills churned out fabric that ended up in clothing stores halfway around the world; plastic factories made flowers, toys and lampshades that were stamped with that ubiquitous phrase of the 1960s and 1970s: ”Made in Hong Kong.”

But these old industrial districts were only part of the picture. The seeds of Hong Kong’s industrial growth was planted in the shanty towns that covered the city’s hills after World War 2, when millions of mainland Chinese refugees poured into the British Colony, fleeing the devastation of Japanese occupation and the ongoing civil war between Communists and Nationalists. These squatter villages were not just places to live, they were engines of economic growth.(1)

Squatting in Hong Kong is never a modern phenomonenon. In 1844, Sir John Davis, the Governor, already issued a proclamation against the building of ‘mat houses’ on Crown lands.

Before the Second World War, when squatters were often found near to places of employment, like shipyards or quarries. These squatters were mostly for residential purposes. Agricultural squatters were also common in the rural areas.(2)

Squatter huts right behind the Tiger Balm Garden, Tai Hang between 1966-68. Photos were taken by an American sailor Scott Martin BT3 of USS De Heaven, instead of showing sights of Victoria harbour, these photos showed the ”other side” of Hong Kong. Today, this area has been developed into expensive residential buildings.(3)

1.Sources:
a)Zolimacitymag.com
b)The Hong Kong Memory Project
c)Facebook.com
2.This article was first posted on 22nd December 2025.
3. Related Indhhk Articles:
a) An Appraisal of the Squatter Factories Clearance Policy in Hong Kong, 1985