HF: I have occasionally changed the original script of the following passage in order to aid clarity. ”Pokfulam Village, built over 200 years ago, is one of the oldest living villages in Hong Kong. The earliest written record is found in San On Gazetteer (1819 version). It is believed that the village was founded by some Hakka Chinese (the Chan, […]
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HF: Apparently tattooing has been practiced across the globe since at least Neolithic times, as evidenced by mummified preserved skin, ancient art, and the archaeological record. When I was young it was most commonly seen on and associated with sailors and those in the military and I suppose general ne’er do wells but now appears de rigueur for teenagers. For […]
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“It is interesting to note that as years go by the wants of the inhabitants of even the most distant parts of the world are steadily increasing, and while the older generations were satisfied with comparatively little in the way of luxuries, the rising generation look upon many of these luxuries as necessities. Perhaps one of the best examples in […]
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HF: I have slightly adapted the wording in the following script. Before British rule most locals used to rely on water from streams and wells nearby. With drastic increase in population especially in the City of Victoria a stable water supply became a pressing problem in the colony. But the colonial government was reluctant to claim responsibility for water supply. […]
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‘At his shop in Yau Ma Tei, Mak Kam-sang’s walls are covered in calligraphy signs he has written. Passers-by stop and peer into the store, curious about what it sells as it is so different from everything else in the area Mak is the last calligrapher in Hong Kong behind the red and blue signs informing would-be passengers where a […]
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York Lo: The Needle, the Bible and “Our People”: Chiuchow Christians and the Swatow Lace Industry in Hong Kong Swatow lace merchants on the board of HK Chiuchow Christian Association in 1936 – back row: Yadsun Cheng (Chin Chian & Sons; first from left), Ng Chung-wing (吳寵榮,Kowloon Lace; third from right); Henry Lin (HK & Shanghai Lace; second from […]
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James Chan: Our article, The [Hong Kong] Steam Laundry Company, asks for further information about what was thought to have been two steam laundry companies over a considerable period of time from the late 19th century to the early 1950s. Two pieces on the subject of steam laundries were included in a series of articles in the South China Morning […]
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York Lo: Shanghainese Builders in HK (Part Six) – Ahong and Chinney Ahong and Chinney are two Shanghainese builders in Hong Kong who trace their roots back to pre-War Shanghai and are controlled by two families which share the same last name – Wong. Ahong followed the interesting path of moving first from Shanghai to British Malaya in the 1930s […]
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“The firm of Messrs. Caldbeck, Macgregor & Co., established in 1864, is the largest and best known in the wine and spirit trade in the East. The headquarters are in Rangoon Street, Crutched Friars, London, and there are branches in Glasgow, Shanghai, Hongkong, Singapore, and Tientsin; whilst agencies have been established at Port Arthur, Chefoo, Weihaiwei, Kiaochau, Hankow, Foochow, Taiwan, […]
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Graham Wood has kindly sent the following newspaper article. HF: I have retyped the article… The Wing, which comprised 90 per cent of “Shield” Force, was at sea bound for Okinawa and ultimately the Japanese mainland, with airfield construction as its primary objective on the invasion route to Tokyo, when news was suddenly received of the Japanese surrender. At the […]
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