Hong Kong Water Supply – Irrigation Reservoirs

Kwu Tung

Tymon Mellor: Farming in Hong Kong has always been a challenging vocation; small field sizes, labour intensive, often rugged terrain and unpredictable weather. In good times two crops of rice could be grown a year but with erratic rainfall and the expansion of the reservoir catchwaters system, the agricultural community were under pressure. They wanted infrastructure investment to support farming […]

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The Central Mid-level Escalator

Central Mid Level Escalator Source Landmark

HF: Central Mid-level Escalator is the world’s longest outdoor covered escalator system, opened in 1993. It runs for over 800m and rises over 135m in elevation, from Queen’s Road Central up to Conduit Road. It was built to ease traffic congestion in the residential Mid-levels district, and comprises of 20 escalators and three inclined moving walkways.  The system runs downhill […]

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The construction of the HSBC building in Hong Kong

HSBC Building Steffy & Chan Detail Image 13

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) headquarters building, in Central, Hong Kong, took seven years to complete from concept to construction and has become not only the icon for the region’s largest bank but the city of Hong Kong itself. It’s the fourth HSBC headquarters in Hong Kong.(1) The new building was designed by the British architect Norman Foster and […]

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Shanghainese Builders in Hong Kong (Part One) – the Pre-War Pioneers (Yaik Sang, Sung Kee Zee and Dao Kee)

York Lo: Shanghainese Builders in Hong Kong (Part One) – the Pre-War Pioneers (Yaik Sang, Sung Kee Zee and Dao Kee) Having contributed to the building of pre-war Shanghai into the leading metropolis in the Far East, Shanghainese builders and construction firms played a critical role in the post war construction boom in Hong Kong as the city emerged as […]

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Hong Kong Electric – pioneer of mechanised tunnelling in 1989

Hong Kong Electric Image Only Modern Tunnels Unlikely To Be Visited By The Public IDJ

IDJ has sent this 1997 article published on behalf of the HK Academy of Engineering Sciences and HK Institution of Engineers. “In 1989 Hong Kong Electric pioneered the introduction of mechanised tunnelling to Hong Kong, accepting the only bid that proposed the use of a tunnel boring machine for the construction of a 5.7 kilometre, 5 metre diameter cable tunnel […]

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Hong Kong Water Supply – Shing Mun First Section

North Tunnel

Tymon Mellor: We take for granted that when we turn a tap on clean water will flow. However, for the majority of Hong Kong’s colonial history, there were water shortages and supply restrictions. This was not a result of poor policy decisions but of changing circumstances, financial limitations and geographical constraints, and unlike other major conurbations, Hong Kong has no […]

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The Hong Kong Excavation, Pile Driving and Construction Company Ltd and the Charles L Shank photograph album

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Tymon Mellor: The question was, “Who is Charles L Shank and what was his connection to the Shek Lai Pui Reservoir?”. A rather open question, but one that has led to an interesting journey. The questioner had acquired a large format book with 122 professional photographs of pre-war Hong Kong construction sites. Sample photographs provided documented the construction of the […]

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Lam Tei Quarry – Ping Shan Airport , RAF Technical Magazine Report, May 1946

IDJ has sent in more information about the Lam Tei Quarry and its connection to the proposed Ping Shan Airport. This time a Technical Bulletin from the Airfield Construction Service (RAF) from May 1946. Click the images to enlarge.   RECORD BLASTING AT PING SHAN A.C.S Technical Magazine Vol. 2. No. 2 May 1946 Several times a week the echoes […]

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