York Lo: Maui-Kong Ve-Pein (妙供味本廠) – Pioneer of the HK Gourmet Powder Industry Left: the pai portal of Maui-Kong Ve-Pein on Victoria Road in Mt. Davis today. Right: Maui Kong founder Chang Shun-yen in the early 1950s Near 406 Victoria Road in Mount Davis by the west coast of Hong Kong island is a Chinese pai portal obscured by trees […]
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York Lo: Faithful Trading and Polytek Engineering Industrial trading and engineering firms such as China Engineers, Reiss Bradley and Andersen Meyer covered earlier in other articles played an important role in the industrial development of Hong Kong and the broader region as they facilitated the necessary technology transfer from the West by acting as importers and installers of state of the […]
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York Lo: Pacific Enamelware Factory (太平洋搪瓷廠) Pacific Enamelware Factory was one of the leading enamelware manufacturers in Hong Kong in the 1950s-60s before its closure in 1970. Pacific Enamelware Factory next to vegetable fields in Tsuen Wan in 1957 (Source: HKU Libraries) The firm was a partnership between Chua Kian-bun (蔡建文, 1898-1983), a prominent Fukienese businessman with business interests across […]
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York Lo: Chung Kai Knitting (中溪織造廠) – maker of Eagle Pagoda singlets Ad of Chung Kai Knitting in 1955. Source: IDJ Chung Kai Knitting Factory, best known for its Eagle Pagoda (鷹塔牌) singlets, was a major player in the HK garment industry from the 1930s to 1960s before shifting its focus and production to Malaysia. Its founder Lun Chak-sum (倫澤森, […]
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Tymon Mellor: Introduction The mine workings on the south-west slopes of Ma On Shan mountain are now no more than mere scars in the hillside, but in the middle of the last century, the mine provided employment for up to 6,000 people and supplied high grade iron ore and other minerals to the Japanese steel industry. This article describes the […]
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From Tai Ping Koon, which opened in 1860 and served Sun Yat-sen, to Gaylord Indian Restaurant, open since 1972, to the award-winning abalone served in Forum since 1977, these restaurants have stood the test of time. In a city where restaurants come and go with dizzying speed, those which have stood the test of time are few and far between. […]
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York Lo: George M. Lau – Father of the Hong Kong wig Industry Left: Advertisement of Regina Hair Products from the early 1970s; Right: 1953 ad of George M. Lau & Bros. (Source: IDJ) In 1970, the Hong Kong wig industry included 478 factories which employed 5 percent of the city’s total workforce (39000 workers) and its export value of […]
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York Lo: Wan Tat-ming (溫達明) and Ling Nam Weaving (嶺南布廠) Left: Wan Tat-ming(Kung Sheung Evening News 1956-12-24); Right: Ad for Ling Nam Weaving in 1948 (Tung Wah Monthly, 1948) Like Shum Choy-wah who was covered earlier in another article, Wan Tat-ming (1911-1988) was a major figure in the weaving mill business and community leader in the 1940s through 1960s who […]
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York Lo: New China Enamelware (新華琺瑯廠) New China on Castle Peak Road in 1959 (HKU Libraries Image Collection) New China Enamelware Co, known for its “Horse Head” brand (馬頭牌) of enamelware, was one of the leading enamelware manufacturers in Hong Kong before its closure in 1970. In fact, it ranked number two behind I-Feng Enameling at one point and was […]
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James Chan: This advert from the Hongkong Government Gazette of 9th January 1886 caught my eye. Further investigation brought up the announcement shown below the advert, published in Australia and New Zealand, warning readers that Norman Electric was an “unmitigated fraud and swindle” and exposing one Emil Bassett of New York who was operating under the alias Marsh Bassett. I […]
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