York Lo: Chi-Chung Yin (C. C. Yin, 尹致中, 1902-1988) – King of Needles Born into a poor family in the farming village of Laiyang (萊陽) in Shandong Province in 1902, C. C. Yin started working at the age of 13 in nearby Japanese occupied Tsingtao (which was occupied by the Japanese between 1914 and 1922) as an office boy at a […]
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Hugh Farmer: JH Stewart Lockhart was Colonial Secretary in Hong Kong from 1895-1902. He wrote a report to the Colonial Office in London, reporting on “The New Territory” . This followed “The Convention between Great Britain and China respecting an Extension of the Colony of Hong Kong.” The report was published on the 8th Oct 1898. Paul Onslow has sent this […]
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HF: Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing using a printing press, a process by which many copies are produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. A worker composes and locks movable type into the “bed” or “chase” of a press, inks it, and presses paper against it […]
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By York Lo For almost half a century stretching from the 1920s to the 1960s, the most popular casual footwear brand in Asia was Fung Keong (馮強). First manufactured in Canton in 1920, and later in Hong Kong and Malaysia, Fung Keong rubber sole canvas shoes had massive appeal during those years of economic hardship due to its affordability and are permanently etched […]
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Anthony Yao of British Columbia, Canada, at least on the 13th May 2004, when the following was posted, has written a brief account of the Hong Kong Flour Mill, popularly known as Rennie’s Mill, with a slant connecting the mill to the industrial history of western Canada. He has also added an interesting section about transport provided from Kowloon to […]
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Dodwell & Company (天祥洋行) was one of the leading British merchant firms, active in China and Japan during the 19th and 20th century. It was a direct rival to Jardine, Matheson & Co. “It was established in 1858 when W R Adamson and Company (silk dealers) set up in London, with its head office in Shanghai and branches in Hong Kong, […]
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York Lo: Gloria Weaving & Knitting (大業織造廠) was founded by Ningbonese businessman Ping Ling SENG (沈炳麟, 1913-2009) who first made his fortune exporting straw hats in Shanghai and moved to Hong Kong in 1948. Seng started his philanthropy in Shanghai in the 1930s but instead of using his own name, over the years he has donated hundreds of millions to charities […]
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Tymon Mellor: The village of Tai Om sits on the south side of the Lam Tsuen valley at the foot of the Tai Mo Shan escarpment. Like many New Territories villages, it has experienced a building boom with village houses and a recently constructed road opening up the area. However, at the back of the village in an area of […]
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James Hayes wrote a short article about Sandal Wood Mills in Tsun [sic] Wan, which was published in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, Volume 16, 1976. The article, to be found in the Notes and Queries section begins: The following extracts from various publications relate to this now almost forgotten but long established local industry, located […]
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York Lo: I-Feng and Freezinhot first caught my attention when I stared up at the third floor exterior of the infamous Chung King Mansion on Nathan Road and spotted the corporate signages. It turns out that I-Feng, which dissolved in 2001 according to Companies Registry record did have its head office in Chung King Mansion. And then I got even […]
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