Rickshaw in Chinese is shau che (literally translated as hand vehicle) or wong bau che (literally meaning yellow hire vehicle). Rickshaws were introduced from Japan in 1880 and were thus named dung yeung che (literally translated as Eastern Ocean Vehicle). The gung che (public rickshaw) or gaai che (street rickshaw) was a passenger rickshaw, and the si ga che (private […]
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“… Macau Aerial Transport (MAT) was the first commercial airline company to be established in Macau or Hong Kong. [Founded by Charles de Ricou he] found it wise to set up MAT as a British company but public opinion in Macau was generally against having yet another ‘foreign’ enterprise in their midst. The Government of Macau, however, sensing the obvious […]
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Tymon Mellor: With the end of the Second World War and the growing population of Hong Kong, it was clear that upgrading of the Kowloon – Canton Railway line would be required to accommodate the increase in passenger and freight traffic. The first priority was to provide a new terminus within Kowloon to accommodate the passenger and freight services. Following […]
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IDJ has sent the following newspaper articles regarding the proposal to extend the Peak Tram down to Queen’s Road. If you are not familiar with the location of the Peak Tram you may not be aware that the bottom “station” of the line is situated a couple of hundred yards up a hill and is therefore somewhat inconvenient to reach. […]
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Malcolm Morris added this comment to Q+A 27 Village Vehicles: There was another type of Village Vehicle in use in the New Territories a few decades ago. Lorry buses. These were privately owned and provided transport for villages in areas not served by the major bus companies. IDJ sent this image, in March 2022, of as he says “lorry bus […]
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Elizabeth Ride has sent a British Army Aid Group (BAAG) report from 1st March 1945, An Outline of Conditions in Occupied Hong Kong which was compiled in early 1945 for use by the Civil Affairs Committee which was to take on the rehabilitation of HK after the planned allied invasion. HF: The report is lengthy so I am going to divide it […]
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Peter Howell has sent further photographs taken during his time stationed at RAF Shatin Airfield, Hong Kong in the early 1950s. See our collection of articles on the airfield below. We are coming to the end of Peter’s photos and the images below show various stages of rice production in the Shatin valley close to the airfield. I realize farming […]
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Fung Chi Ming: Right after the British re-occupation of Hong Kong, an interim military administration was set up as a provisional authority until the civil administration took over on 1 May 1946. The Hong Kong Government Gazette dated 29 August 1946 announced that “public passenger tricycles”, as they were called, would have to register and be licensed. A schedule of […]
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Elizabeth Ride has sent the following BAAG reports and sketches about Japanese plans to expand Kai Tak airport during their occupation of Hong Kong, World War Two. As you can see by the first report the Japanese were apparently ambitious. At one point around 10,000 workers were involved including POWs. Residential buildings were demolished, agricultural land cleared and a nearby […]
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Sham Wai Chi wrote his MPhil thesis for Lingnam University in 2007 on the History of the Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company covering the years 1923 up to the 1970s. HF: The original company was founded by Lau Tak Po in 1897 when he purchased 5 wooden boats and provided services from HK Island to Kowloon under the company name Yaumati […]
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