York Lo: Red Capitalist: the life and ventures of K.C. Wong (王寬誠,1907-1986) Left: Portrait of K.C. Wong from the 1950s; Right: K.C. Wong meeting with Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in the early 1980s When it comes to Hongkong’s “Red Capitalists”, Henry Fok (whose biographical entry I wrote for the Dictionary of HK Biography) is probably the first name that came […]
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Vaudine England has kindly sent a link to what she describes as a typically 1900-era directory of the European empires in the east. Of great interest to us is a rather neat summary of the industry and shipyards in Hong Kong at that time. The author was D Warren Smith.(1) I thought I would divide these summaries into two parts. […]
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This article is the result of initial research into industrial development and related matters on Cheung Chau Island. If you can provide information on any of the subjects below, or add to the list, it would be good to hear from you. I can then gradually add to this framework to provide a fuller picture with an acknowledgment of your contribution. […]
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Dr. François Drémeaux, Honorary Professor, Department of History, The University of Hong Kong, is currently working on the presence of French companies in Hong Kong during the interwar period. He has kindly sent three charts showing a selection of these companies. The third one shows: The main French trading houses in Hong Kong (1918-1941) The earlier articles are linked below. I […]
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York LO: Lea Hin Co (立興公司) and “Butterfly” and “Tingkwon” Kerosene Lanterns Left: Lea Hin founder Woo Kai Lea (Nanyang Siang Po, 1977); Center: Butterfly kerosene lantern trademark; Right: early Chinesead of Lea Hin in Singapore promoting its Tingkwon Star brand lanterns in 1936 (南洋商报, 2 May 1936, Page 8) While the kerosene lanterns manufacturers covered earlier on the website […]
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Hugh Farmer: The SCMP of 19th Febuary 2014 included an article “Still ding-dinging after 100 years”. This stated that Hong Kong Tramways had celebrated its 110th anniversary the day before. In fact this date marks the start of Hong Kong Tramways (HKT) celebration of its 110th Anniversary which will actually be on 30th July 2014. Its website proudly announces that HKT is […]
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Dr. François Drémeaux, Honorary Professor, Department of History, The University of Hong Kong, is currently working on the presence of French companies in Hong Kong during the interwar period. He has kindly sent three charts showing a selection of these companies. The second one shows: Les principaux commerces de détail français à Hong Kong (1918-1941) which appear to be mainly fashion shops […]
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York Lo: Kapok(紅棉)and Golden Gate (金門) – HK Bakery Chains from the 50s and 60s and the family behind them Left: Kapok Bakery in Wanchai in the 1960s with its lighting decorations promoting its Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes; Right: Golden Gate Bakery’s sign (blue and red) on Jordan Road circa 1968. Before the rise of the bakery chains such as Maxim’s, St […]
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HF: Stephen Kentwell added the following comment on 18th September 2018, to our original article, Shirogane Maru (Bosco Radio Corp) – mystery over its fate, linked below. I thought this was sufficiently interesting to be posted in a new article, especially as Stephen was kind enough to later email me a couple of images of the ship concerned. Stephen Kentwell: For the […]
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York Lo: Hsu Long-sing (徐朗星) and Kiu Foong Enamel Factory (九豐搪瓷廠) Left: Hsu Long-sing (Source: WahKiuYat Po, 1975-1-12); right: Hsu Long Sing Amenities Centre at the HKU Student Union “Hsu Long Sing” is a familiar name on the campus of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) as the Hsu Long Sing Amenities Centre where the HKU Student Union is located […]
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