York Lo: Lee Yu Kee, Kitson and Tung On – Pioneers of the HK Plumbing Industry Plumbing is a specialized and lucrative segment of the HK construction industry and this article profiles three of the pioneering firms who were leaders in the plumbing business – Lee Yu Kee, Kitson and Tung On and the stories of the families behind them. […]
» Read more
York Lo: From Shanghai to HK and West Africa: The Global Quests of 4 Hong Kong Enamelware Makers From the 1940s through the 1960s, Hong Kong had a vibrant enamelware industry, which like the cotton spinning industry was dominated by Shanghainese industrialists, who brought with them from Shanghai their technological know-how in addition to financial and human capital. When these […]
» Read more
Hugh Farmer: Kowloon Dairy Company was established by George Ahwee [dates?] and Rudy Choy (Nov 1910-29 Apr 1992) in 1940. The Kowloon Dairy website suggests ” It was a fantastic partnership when Ahwee and Choy co-founded the company as the former was a “devotee of animal husbandry, especially of dairy cattle, and Choy was an amateur jockey”. I wasn’t quite sure […]
» Read more
York Lo: Tsoi Po-tin (蔡寶田) – Prominent Building Contractor and New Territories Leader from the early 20th century Left: portrait of Tsoi Po-tin as one of the founders of the HKBCA (HKBCA Yearbook, 1960); Right: Ad and article about Wing Yick& Co (China Mail, 1927-6-1) In Tung Tau Wai village (東頭圍村) in the Wang Chau (橫洲) district of Yuen Long, lies […]
» Read more
York Lo: Jaime Chua Tiampo (蔡天普) – Developer of Chungking Mansions (重慶大廈) Left: Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo as a young couple; Middle: Chungking Mansions in the 1970s with I-Feng’s signage still visible on the 3rd floor; Right: Ad for Chungking Mansions in 1960 (WKYP 1960-4-17) Built in 1961, Chungking Mansions on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui is probably one […]
» Read more
Hugh Farmer: When Hong Kong was established as a free trading port in 1841, there was no local currency available for daily circulation. Foreign currencies such as Indian rupees, Spanish and Mexican 8 Reales, Chinese cash coins and British currency were used instead. Coins specially issued for Hong Kong did not appear until 1863 when the first regal coins of Hong […]
» Read more
York Lo: Union Construction Co/Union Contractors (華聯建築) Left: Union Contractors founder Kew Chan (Geni); Right: Ad of Union Construction Co in 1950 (HKBCA Yearbook) Earlier in the group, I wrote a series of articles on Shanghainese builders and in Part 7 of the series, the firm Union Contractors was misclassified as a Shanghainese builder as its proprietor Chan Bing-quan(陳炳鈞, 1924-1988) was […]
» Read more
To follow the history of the Kwan family is to trace a complete history of Hong Kong graphic design. In 1845 the ‘China Trade’ artist Kwan Chuk Lam, known to the West as ‘Lamqua’ settled in Hong Kong. He was the only known pupil of the English painter G. Chinnery, and had exhibited paintings at the Royal Academy in the […]
» Read more
IDJ adds further details about the tunnel from 1911 and that excellent publication The Engineer The image shown is of the Old Beacon Hill Tunnel, South Portal, 1910 This article was first posted on 11th July 2014. Related Indhhk articles: Beacon Hill Tunnel, KCR, longest tunnel in China 1910
» Read more
HF and IDJ: Neil Pryde, the man, arrived in Hong Kong in 1963 to work as a sailmaker. In 1968 he represented Hong Kong at the Mexico City Olympic Games and in 1970 set up Neil Pryde the company. Neil Pryde Ltd was primarily a sailmaker, supplying sails mainly to yacht builders in Europe. With the emergence of moulded glassfibre […]
» Read more