Mayar Silk Mills (HK) Ltd, Tsuen Wan – company compound derelict for many years
James Chan: Hughie D, Veteran Member of derelictplaces.co.uk has posted a piece about this company on its website. This was posted in July 2015.
Hughie says: “This place is a bit of a strange one. This old silk mill is in the middle of Tsuen Wan…and must represent very valuable real estate. I remember passing this place a number of years ago and it has been in a locked up and disused state for some time now. Not too sure why it hasn’t been sold-off and developed but the factory itself represents quite an unusual structure given its age and its construction.
I’ve wanted to photograph this place properly for a while now. I managed to get a good set of externals and walked all the way around the perimeter of the place. Alas there was no way in and by the looks of it no one has ever covered this place from an urbex perspective. I’m normally reticent to report on places where only external pictures are available but given this place is unlikely to be covered in the future I thought I’d give it a go.
In terms of the history the factory belonged to Mayar Silk, a premier Shanghai-based silk manufacturer, which first formed in Shanghai back in 1917. Tsai Shengbai was appointed General Manager of Mayar Silk Mills in 1937 and in 1956 he was sent to Mayar’s factory in Hong Kong. Other than that there appears to be no information on this place or the plans for its future.”
Front elevation of the factory from Castle Peak Road:
Evidence of the live-in security guard:
While nature reclaims the roof of this fascinating building:
Image of the Mayar stall at the 7th Exhibition of Chinese Products 1949-1950 Courtesy: HK Memory Project
caption accompanying the above image Courtesy: HK Memory Project
Sources:
This article was first posted on 2nd February 2016.
See:
- http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/ DerelictPlaces is a forum for people with an interest in the history and documentation of derelict and abandoned buildings to come together and share their experiences, photography and historical findings. Our military, industrial and historical heritage is fast disappearing under the pressure of regeneration, the need for new housing, and often through simple neglect; Our aim is to document these places before they disappear entirely.
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Hi,
Just yesterday I passed by this amazing plaze and made some pictures as good as possible because the place is shut off by a fence. And now I read about the place here. I am always fascinated by history, specially of Hong Kong which I call home since 1990. Thanks for sharing your information, I really appreciate it!
Back in my mind I think that something should be done with this amazing place to find a bridge of history/present/future. And to show Hong Kong people that this is a pretty amazing piece of history it self.
Best regards Petra Lui
The attractive red brick construction is the one one of its kind that I can see. I wonder why these used red brick? Is it local brick? The row of smooth trees lining the road side of the factory are beautiful and seem unusual in the area. I’d love to know more about what kind of trees they are and why they are there.