HF:Watson’s is possibly the oldest retailer still in existence in Hong Kong and unquestionably among a tiny few that have opererated continuously since the early days of the colony… By 1941 Watson’s was already the largest chemist, retailer of health and beauty products, dealer in wines and spirits, and manufacturer of aerated water in Asia. .. Today it is part […]
» Read more
York Lo: Woo Ping (胡炳) – Weaving and Real Estate Pioneer Top: article about Shun Shing Weaving in the late 1940s with pictures of Woo Ping and the “Three Bears” and “Three Dragons” trademarks; Bottom Golden Hill Commercial Building in Mongkok (Landvision) Woo Ping was a pioneer in the weaving and real estate industry in Hong Kong who was active […]
» Read more
York Lo: Kiu Sing Plastic Factory (僑星塑膠廠) Kiu Sing ad for its polythene shoes in 1958 (WKYP, 1958-6-5) Kiu Sing Plastic Factory was one of the leading plastic manufacturers in the 1950s and 1960s and was related to Lucky Plastic Factory (see article) covered earlier as its proprietor Jok Yip-wong (祝業旺) and Jok Ying-chung (祝映忠, possibly also went by “Rayston […]
» Read more
York Lo: Luks Industrial (陸氏實業) – Maker of Etron TV Left: Luks founder Luk King-tin (Capital, 1990); Right: logo of Etron TV from a 1988 TV ad in HK listing Luks as its manufacturer and Yin Kin Ltd as its distributors and being available in the Sheung Wan, Yaumatei and Mongkok branch of Wing On (VCRBase) A history of television […]
» Read more
HF: Added information “Another adventurer was the Neapolitan aviator, Francesco de Pinedo (1890-1933) who, in 1925, landed his Savioa S-16ter two-seater hydroplane (nicknamed Gennariello) in Hong Kong harbour.|Engineer Ernesto Campanelli from Oristano was his co-pilot. After Hong Kong they flew on to Shanghai, Japan and Australia before returning to Rome landing on the Tiber River. It was truly a remarkable expedition, […]
» Read more
HF: Our article, A Brief History of Hong Kong Cinema to 1988 – Film Studios and Personalities states that in 1913, the American, Benjamin Brosky and Li Minwei co-founded HK’s first film studio, Huamei (Chinese-American). [Brosky appears to have been actually called Brodsky but has also been written about as Brasky and Polasky.] Here is a brief biography of Brodsky. […]
» Read more
York Lo: Far East Candle Works (遠東燭業) and Ki Yip Chemical Works (基業化工廠) Article about Far East Candle & Chemical Works’ booth at the 1964 HK Products Expo with a picture of its products in its booth (KSEN, 1964-12-28) Earlier in the group, we have covered Mark V, the HK-based affiliate of US retail chain Cost Plus Bazaar which was […]
» Read more
York Lo: Ching Yee Construction & Investment Co (正義置業) Left: advertorial for On Lok Mansion in 1962 (WKYP, 1962-9-8) Right: article about “attractive properties” available from Ching Yee in 1964 (WKYP, 1964-3-19) From the 1960s to the 1980s, Ching Yee Construction & Investment Co Ltd (whose name means “justice” in Chinese) was an active property developer in HK which had […]
» Read more
York Lo: Cho Shiu-chung (曹紹松, 1922-2011) – Real Estate Developer and Philanthropist Left: Cho Shiu-chung; Right: Staff of On Wah Construction congratulating Cho Shiu-chung on his MBE in 1971 (WKYP, 1971-1-8) Cho Shiu-chung was a prominent player in the construction and real estate business and an active community leader from the 1950s to the 1980s. From 1973 to 1987, he […]
» Read more
York Lo: Chow Yau (周有, 1912-1983) – Vertical Integrator of the HK Death Care Industry With over 45,000 deaths per year, the death care industry is a huge business in Hong Kong. While many Chinese articles have covered Siu Ming, the king of funeral homes who monopolized the business in the 1960s and early 1970s, little has been written about […]
» Read more