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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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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HF: Jennie Tang, the granddaughter of one of the five Tang brothers, left a comment about the original Historical Building Appraisal article shown below. It should be noted that Jennie doubts the existence of the third brother mentioned in the Appraisal. When I contacted her she kindly sent further information, and the two photos shown here, especially about her grandfather, […]
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HF: We don’t have very much posted on the manufacture of fireworks. To add to what little we have here is a Hong Kong Trade Bulletin, Fireworks, published by the Commerce and Industry Department in July 1960: Source: The Hong Kong Memory Project Hong Kong Memory (HKM) is a multi-media web site that gives free and open access to digitized materials […]
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York Lo: Kamsing Knitting Factory (金城織造廠) and Dragon & Phoenix Weaving Factory (龍鳳織造廠) Dragon & Phoenix Weaving Factory at 445 Castle Peak Road in Ha Kwai Chung in 1961 (HKU Libraries) Kamsing Knitting Factory and Dragon & Phoenix Weaving Factory were two leading garment manufacturers in HK founded by Mui Chok-chu (梅作柱, 1907-1984) that were fixtures of the CMA HK […]
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Elizabeth Ride has sent this very brief mention of the Wai Chap Timber Yard in a BAAG report dated 15th September 1944. It reads Timber, big oil tins and scrap iron stored, with an Indian guard of some men – over 100 Chinese coolies load and unload timber. Any further information or an image of Wai Chap would be of […]
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Swire’s story begins with a young man setting off to seek his fortune as a result of family bankruptcy. While this is not a classic rags-to-riches tale, resilience in the face of adversity was a characteristic that was to stand the firm he founded in good stead on more than one occasion over the following 200 years. The founder of […]
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Hugh Farmer: Thanks to IDJ for sending in these wonderful adverts. Information about any of the companies or their products would be very useful. I think in particular it would be good to know the exact locations of their factory(ies) in Hong Kong. Click on the poster to enlarge it. Angel Brand Firecrackers Manufactured by Kwong Man Lung Firecracker FactoryKwong […]
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HF: Tam Kon Shan Road runs for a couple of kilometres along the north coast of Tsing Yi island. The western kilometre is home to about twenty shipyards – the largest number of this industry, I believe, remaining in Hong Kong. Repairing and maintenance not shipbuilding. On 13th December 2014 I visited Kwong Tat Loong Shipyard (Brothers) Ltd. and took […]
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HF: THe Audit Commission’s Report 41, published in October 2003 includes chapter 8 titled, The acquisition and clearance of shipyard sites. This appears to have been undertaken on behalf of the Lands Department and Civil Engineering Departments. The report is dated 18th October 2003. The report begins with a summary which states: The Government may acquire land for public purposes […]
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