Hong Kong’s neon-drenched streets were just one aspect of his home that Justin Wong missed while studying in Canada. A lover of cinema, he would become nostalgic for the city whose urban landscape has been beautifully evoked and captured in films such as Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) and Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express (1994)(1) As a fast-growing metropolis, Hong Kong always arouses people’s longing and […]
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Connie Fong: “People in Hong Kong may come across traditional Chinese steelyards, a type of balance, in wet markets and Chinese medicine pharmacies. Yet only a few of them know the proper way to use one, though it was the optimal tool for measuring weight in the olden days. HF: I have tried to leave a comment at the end […]
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HF/Tymon Mellor: “Zonta White House (崇德家福軒) is a western house standing on the summit of a hill overlooking Tai Po Road. It was constructed in 1906 for the accommodation of the managerial staff engaged on the construction of the Kowloon-Canton Railway (九廣鐵路). The house and the adjacent guest bungalow and servants’ quarters sit in six acres of grounds close to […]
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“Lammert the auctioneers have a long history in Hong Kong. Their first association in Hong Kong was with the watchmaking trade. The transition form the watch to the auction hammer occurred as follows. One of the assistants in the watchmaking shop of Charles Weiss in 1852 was M Zobel. He is listed as a watchmaker from 1853 to 1855. In […]
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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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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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Centenarian Mary Wong presenting a lace handkerchief to Princess Margaret and her then husband the Earl of Snowdon in March 1966 when they visited her shop. Her son and daughter in law Mr & Mrs Jimmy Tse were by her side. Source: Wah Kiu Yat Po, 1966-3-4. York Lo: Mention the Japanese name Oshin, (“Ah Shun” or 阿信 in Cantonese), […]
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New information in red regarding Hong Kong lighthouse ladies. IDJ: The script below comes from one of my aviation books related to the 1930s China Coast. It’s an interesting aside about the wives of lighthouse keepers:- “Chinese keepers of the lights had invariably been pirated so often for their large supplies of specially refined kerosene, the lighthouse service found it […]
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York Lo: Shantung Guild (山東庄): Yee Tai Hong, Shun Tai Hong and Lee Yuen Cheung The traditional Chinese trading firms in Sheung Wan are known as “Nam Pak Hong” or South-North trading associations and earlier on the website we covered some of the firms which deal with the “South” trade – trading with Southeast Asia such as Pak Wo Cheung […]
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York Lo: Siu On Realty (兆安地產) Left: Siu On Realty founder Lee Siu-lun; Right: Siu On Centre in Wanchai In late January 2020, low-key real estate developer Lee Siu-lun (李兆麟) passed away at the age of 98. While he was relatively low profile compared to his younger brother Lee Shau-kee of Henderson Land, his Siu On Realty was one of […]
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