York Lo: Wing Tai Cheung (榮泰祥木廠) – Timber Merchant and Saw Mill Ad for Wing Tai Cheung Co in 1958 (HKBCA yearbook) For most of the 20th century, Wing Tai Cheung operated by three generations of the Kan family was one of the leading timber merchants and saw mills in Hong Kong with branches across Hong Kong and Kowloon and […]
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Rico Lee: ‘Just encountered a rare short documentary about “French technology in the Far East” on ina.fr featuring an aluminum production plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, construction of Shek Pik Reservoir, and the Jatiluhur Dam in Indonesia. All the result of French involvement.’ The Shek Pik-related part was clipped and reposted by Save Lantau Alliance to rally support against development of Lantau […]
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York Lo: Stanley Kuo (郭正達, 1923-2009): King of Threads, Textile Industrialist and Credit Card Pioneer Earlier on the website, we covered the aluminum pioneer Wah Chong founded by the Kuo family from Shanghai. Stanley Kuo Cheng-dai, the eldest son of Wah Chong founder K.Y. Kuo, had achieved success independent of Wah Chong as the co-founder of successful businesses in three […]
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Stephen Davies/Hugh Farmer SD: The largest vessel I know for certain to have been built at the Ah King yard, in 1938/39, was the wonderful exploration junk Cheng Ho, 100ft long and with the most marvellous history. She was built for Ann Archbold, daughter of the founder of Standard Oil to amazingly extravagant specs (some of the interior shots are […]
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Ian Wolfe has sent a photo from an unknown source. Ian: It’s undated but the time taken should be before 1949. The Green Island plant with an interesting aerial ropeway can be seen here – Tower A is approximately at the present ELDEX building,[location shown below], while pylons B,C,D,E and F stretches the ropeway towards the coastline and ended up going […]
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York Lo: Sing Chow Electric Factory (星洲電器製造廠) Left: ad for Sing Chow Electric in 1934 (HK Chinese Factories Survey, 1934); Right: Sing Chow founder Chan Lee-sheung (A Century of Commerce, 1941) Founded in 1920, Sing Chow Electric Factory was one of the earliest and largest manufacturers of flashlights in Hong Kong and known for its “Dog’s Head” (狗頭牌) brand of […]
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New information in red Dianne Scialla wrote in a comment, “I am doing a program on beading and I am trying to find out more about all the beautiful beaded handbags and sweaters that came out of Hong Kong in the 1950′s. Did the same families that you mentioned in your article [Carles Brasó Broggi – Shanghai Spinners: Pioneers of Hong […]
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York Lo: The Hui family and China Brothers Hat Manufacturing Co. (中華兄弟製帽廠) Ad for China Bros. Hat Mfg in 1941 (A Century of Commerce) From the 1920s to the 1950s, China Brothers Hat Manufacturing Co was one of the largest hat manufacturers in Hong Kong and China and was allegedly the first local firm to manufacture wool felt hats. The […]
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Brian Edgar’s blog, linked below, is about the experiences of his parents Thomas and Evelina Edgar in Hong Kong 1941-1945. The photograph shown on the Home page is of their wedding on the 29th June 1942. Thomas was a baker and worked in Hong Kong for the Lane Crawford, Garden and Ching Loong bakeries. Here we are concerned with the Lane Crawford […]
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York Lo: South China Leather Goods Manufacturing Co. (南華皮具製造公司) Left: South China Leather Goods ad in 1941 (A Century of Commerce); Right: South China Leather Goods’ sales office (SC signage with curvy Chinese characters on the left) on Pottinger Street Founded in 1920, South China Leather Goods Manufacturing Co. was one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of leather goods […]
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