The declining oyster trade of Lau Fau Shan – HKU project to revive the 700 year old industry

Subject Update: The SCMP of 2nd January 2022 featured the following article, “Sceptical Hong Kong oyster farmers brace themselves for Northern Metropolis plans to transform their Deep Bay village”, linked below. HF: “For 700 years, the oyster beds of Lau Fau Shan have been producing the prized shellfish, but they’ve lost their lustre amid contamination fears linked to climate change. […]

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Oyster Beds of the Wang Chau area, Yuen Long

IDJ: The Wang Chau oyster beds spread along the Yuen Long Creek and also along its mouth in the shallow Deep Bay. They are owned by Lam Uk Tsuen, one of the six villages in the Wang Chau area. The oysters are reared at all times of the year. From November to April the oysters of Lam Uk Tsuen are […]

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Rose, Downs and Thompson – Engineers, Hull and London, branch offices opened in Shanghai and Hong Kong in 1910s

Rose, Downs And Thompson Offices And Showrooms 1917 Courtesy Virtual Shanghai

Rose, Downs and Thompson of Hull, UK was a manufacturer of plant for processing edible oils for making animal feeds and  was also involved in supplying dredgers and excavators. This company biography suggests that in the first decade of the 20th century the company opened branches in both Shanghai and Hong Kong. 1777 Company established. 1871 Christiana Rose, of Rose and Downs, […]

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Southeast Ice Company (東南冰廠)

Southeast Ice Company Detail Image 1 York Lo

York Lo: Southeast Ice Company (東南冰廠) Opening ceremony of Southeast Ice Company in 1969 (WKYP, 1969-11-25) The fishing industry has created demand for locally produced ice and in 1969, Southeast Ice Company opened on Tung Yuen Street in Yau Tong next to the fishing village of Lei Yue Mun to supply ice to local fishermen. Southeast Ice Co was incorporated […]

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Cheng Cheung Hing Shrimp Paste Factory, Tai O

HF: The SCMP of 17th September 2014 contained an article about the demise of the shrimp paste industry in Tai O on Lantau island. In particular it provides details about the Cheng Cheung Hing Shrimp Paste Factory and its owner Cheng Kai-Keung shown in the photo below. The company was founded by his great-grandfather in 1920. Production was badly affected […]

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Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market – built 1913

HF: If you visit Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market during the day you may well think it’s closed, ready to be fenced off and facing imminent demolition. However, piled boxes of fruit on the surrounding streets and inside locked wire cages within indicate there’s life in the old place yet. If you want to see the market fully functioning […]

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The Bionomics of Pondfish Culture in the New Territories mid 1950s

IDJ + HF: This short report from the mid-1950s mentions: a) The different breeds of fish b) The levels these breeds feed at within the ponds c) The economic dynamics of photoplankton  as shown in this charming illustration  drawn by  Ip Tam Po The Bionomics of Pondfish Culture in the New Territories T Chow, Fisheries Research Unit, Dept of Zoology, […]

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Hemp – crop and craft, 1970 RASHKB article highlighting its disappearance in Hong Kong

James Hayes has kindly given permission for his short article about the production and use of hemp in Hong Kong to be posted on our website, though much of it is taken up with a description of this practice in China. The article was first published in the Royal Asiatic Society (HK Branch) Journal Vol 10, 1970. For further information about […]

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The Organic Fertilizer Company Ltd, West Point, Newspaper article 1936

Organic Fertilizer Co. Detail C HK Sunday Herald 23.8.36 IDJ

Many thanks to IDJ for sending in this article. As he says, a company ahead of its time! HF: The article was pretty legible but I thought I would retype it anyway. Any further information about, or image of the company would be very useful. There has recently been started in Hong Kong an industry which should prove of enormous […]

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Pearl Cultivation – Tai Po Sea (Tolo Harbour)

HF/Richard Hale: At one time Hong Kong was home to a thriving pearl cultivation industry which appears to have been initially centred on Tolo Harbour. “Tai Po was the centre of the local pearl industry. As far as we know, pearls were first collected from the nearby sea in AD 761 during the fourth year of the reign of the […]

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