Why You Should Care About Brutalist Architecture

Christopher DewolfJanuary 14, 2022

A spotlight is being shone on Hong Kong's few examples of a controversial form of architecture...

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUrbanism0 Comments1028 views 014 min read

The Man Who Fought for Public Education in Hong Kong: Hilton Cheong-Leen

Christopher DewolfJanuary 10, 2022

Hilton Cheong-Leen was one of the postwar civic activists who helped shape modern Hong Kong. Now 94 years old, he still takes an active interest in the city's well-being....

CultureHeritageHistoryPeoplePortraits0 Comments2349 views 07 min read

Hong Kong’s Skyline Icons: M+, the Museum Made to Order

Christopher DewolfDecember 17, 2021

M+ is finally open, and it enjoys a rare position among world institutions: a massive new building designed in collaboration with its own curators ...

ArchitectureArtDesignInspring ItinerariesPhotographyVideo artVisual ArtWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments619 views 012 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part XV: The Chinese YMCA’s Chicago Roots

Christopher DewolfNovember 16, 2021

A handsome brick landmark on Bridges Street is a testament to the global spread of a Christian health and wellness movement....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments1111 views 08 min read

The Cost of Being an Astronaut: Author Pik-Shuen Fung Explores the Inner Lives of Hong Kong Emigrants

Christopher DewolfNovember 4, 2021

Featured at the Hong Kong International Literary Festival, Ghost Forest explores the emotional impact of migration for the thousands of Hongkongers who left before the 1997 handover...

BooksCultureInterviewsPeople0 Comments376 views 09 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part XIV: The Rural Decay of Yu Yuen

Christopher DewolfOctober 28, 2021

The country estate of Heung Yee Kuk founder Tsoi Po-tin has fallen into ruin, despite its remarkable history....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments2383 views 09 min read

Hong Kong’s Skyline Icons: ICC and IFC, Guarding the Harbour

Christopher DewolfOctober 21, 2021

What do the icons of Hong Kong’s skyline say about the city?...

ArchitectureDesignHistoryUrbanismUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments889 views 09 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part XIII: Pun Chun Yuen, a Buddhist Oasis

Christopher DewolfOctober 7, 2021

Thanks to the success of the Wing Lee Wai distillery, the Wong family built a tranquil estate that now serves as a Buddhist retreat. ...

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistory0 Comments1399 views 06 min read

How Did Hong Kong Become Addicted to Air Conditioning?

Christopher DewolfSeptember 15, 2021

Air conditioning made its debut in Hong Kong in 1931. How did it become one of the most icily air-conditioned places on earth?...

HistoryUrbanism0 Comments1915 views 011 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part XII: Fat Tat Tong, a Window Into Rural History

Christopher DewolfSeptember 8, 2021

Hidden in a seemingly unremarkable village, Fat Tat Tong is one of Hong Kong's few declared monuments...

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments2587 views 07 min read

Why Does Hong Kong Have Its Own Team at the Olympics?

Christopher DewolfAugust 10, 2021

After Hong Kong's success at the Tokyo Olympics, it's worth looking into the particular history of how this city ended up with its own national team. ...

CultureHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesSport0 Comments5454 views 17 min read

Hong Kong’s Country Parks: Why Do They Exist and What Will Happen to Them?

Christopher DewolfJuly 29, 2021

The Covid pandemic has highlighted the importance of Hong Kong’s country parks, but their future remains uncertain....

A Little BreakWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments632 views 011 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part XI: Cassels Block and Hong Kong Park

Christopher DewolfJuly 19, 2021

What is now vA!, the Visual Arts Centre, was once part of a 19th century British military barracks. How did it end up as Hong Kong Park?...

ArchitectureArtDesignHeritageHistoryVisual Art0 Comments1040 views 08 min read

Michael Rogge’s Hong Kong: A 1950s Time Capsule

Christopher DewolfJune 29, 2021

After moving to Hong Kong in 1949, Dutch expat Michael Rogge spent his free time filming everything he could. Now those clips form a remarkable YouTube collection...

CinemaCultureHeritageHistoryPeoplePortraits0 Comments3490 views 111 min read

Amazing Images of Old Hong Kong – in Full Colour

Christopher DewolfJune 24, 2021

A group of academics is using its Instagram account, Old HK in Colour, to share an incredible collection of painstakingly enhanced and colourised photos from Hong Kong's past....

CultureHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments2817 views 06 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part X: Maryknoll Convent School

Christopher DewolfJune 17, 2021

How the beguiling architecture of this prestigious girls' school makes it one of Hong Kong's most exceptional educational institutions...

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments10165 views 09 min read

A Colourful Cure for What Ails Hong Kong’s Grey Public Spaces

Christopher DewolfJune 3, 2021

A new Design Trust project is bringing Hong Kong’s forgotten squares, plazas and playgrounds back to life. ...

ArchitectureDesignHistoryPlayProduct DesignUrbanismWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments544 views 09 min read

65 Kilometres of Wonder: Hong Kong Island’s Coastal Trail

Christopher DewolfMay 26, 2021

A new initiative maps out how you can walk around Hong Kong Island – with aims to make it a dedicated attraction...

A Little BreakInspring ItinerariesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments3175 views 05 min read

Sampson Wong Wants You To Take a Walk

Christopher DewolfMay 19, 2021

The artist and academic's new project aims to reconnect Hongkongers with their own city...

CinemaCultureInspring ItinerariesVideo art0 Comments1467 views 09 min read

Hong Kong’s Wild Animals, Part VI: Big City Bovines

Christopher DewolfApril 29, 2021

Herds of feral cows and buffalo roam the outskirts of Hong Kong. How did they get there?...

CultureNature0 Comments795 views 06 min read

How Epidemics Shaped Hong Kong, Part II: The Scars of SARS – and Covid

Christopher DewolfApril 22, 2021

SARS left deep scars on Hong Kong – but it also led to positive reforms in public hygiene, healthcare and urban planning. What will Covid bring?...

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUrbanism0 Comments719 views 010 min read

How Epidemics Shaped Hong Kong, Part I: The “Fatal City”

Christopher DewolfApril 12, 2021

Today's Hong Kong is a reflection of the epidemics it has faced. In the first of a two-part article, we look at the legacy of the plague, malaria and the flu....

HeritageHistoryUrbanism0 Comments1663 views 011 min read

Hong Kong’s Wild Animals, Part V: The Asian Koel, A Sign of Spring

Christopher DewolfMarch 17, 2021

The annual mating season of the Asian koel, with its unmistakable, lonely song, signals the arrival of spring in Hong Kong....

CultureNature0 Comments2867 views 04 min read

Hong Kong’s Wild Animals, Part IV: Burmese Pythons

Christopher DewolfMarch 4, 2021

Why you shouldn't be scared of Hong Kong's largest snakes....

CultureNature0 Comments1039 views 06 min read

Forgotten Hong Kong Icon: Olympia Graeco-Egyptian Coffee – Fresh Roasted Since 1927

Christopher DewolfFebruary 26, 2021

How a small family-run roaster has fuelled Hong Kong with fresh coffee for nearly a century....

A Little BreakCultureFoodPeoplePortraitsWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments1209 views 19 min read

Inside the Art Collection William and Lavina Lim Are Donating to M+

Christopher DewolfJanuary 29, 2021

An important collection of art will soon find new life at M+....

ArtInterviewsPeople0 Comments893 views 011 min read

Why Nobody Knew About the Spectacular Bishop Hill Reservoir

Christopher DewolfJanuary 22, 2021

How a quirky hill became the latest flashpoint in Hong Kong's fight to save its heritage....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments4408 views 112 min read

Hong Kong’s Wild Animals, Part III: Barking Deer

Christopher DewolfDecember 16, 2020

Shy and anxious, one of Hong Kong’s most distinctive creatures is known for its strange cry....

CultureNature0 Comments2906 views 05 min read

What the M+ Archigram Archive Means for Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfNovember 26, 2020

Hong Kong’s museum of visual culture is beginning to explore the archive of an influential British architecture collective....

ArchitectureDesignInterviewsPeople0 Comments878 views 08 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part IX: Kom Tong Hall, the Sun Yat-sen Museum

Christopher DewolfNovember 19, 2020

Sun Yat-sen never visited the building that houses a museum dedicated to him – but there are plenty of other reasons why this grand structure is worth a visit....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments1002 views 08 min read

Asia Art Archive at 20: How Claire Hsu Built a Home For Asia’s Own Stories

Christopher DewolfOctober 29, 2020

Claire Hsu was just 24 when she founded the Asia Art Archive. Two decades later, she reflects on what it has achieved – and what's to come....

ArtPeoplePortraitsVideo artVisual Art0 Comments2432 views 014 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part VIII: Shanghai Street Shophouses

Christopher DewolfOctober 15, 2020

Hong Kong's largest intact cluster of shophouses has been preserved and restored – but only in part. ...

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryInspring ItinerariesUrbanismWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments1075 views 010 min read

Two Weeks in Quarantine With Photographer Wing Shya

Christopher DewolfOctober 9, 2020

A series of unexpected detours turned Wing Shya into one of Hong Kong's most renowned creative talents....

A Little BreakCinemaCulturePeoplePortraitsWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments1989 views 014 min read

Sir Catchick Paul Chater: How a Calcutta Orphan Became Hong Kong’s Most Important Man

Christopher DewolfSeptember 30, 2020

Few people shaped Hong Kong as much as Paul Chater, and yet he remains little known to most Hongkongers...

Big StoriesHistoryPeoplePortraits0 Comments1760 views 012 min read

Hong Kong’s Wild Creatures, Part II: Tigers

Christopher DewolfSeptember 22, 2020

Tigers once terrified Hong Kong villagers and city-dwellers alike. What happened to them?...

Culture0 Comments340 views 07 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part VII: The Pedder Building

Christopher DewolfAugust 27, 2020

The Pedder Building is known as a hub for art galleries, but that is just the latest chapter in a long life....

ArchitectureArtDesignHistoryInspring ItinerariesUrbanismUsual Suspects & LandmarksWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments2232 views 08 min read

Hong Kong’s Wild Creatures, Part I: Pangolins

Christopher DewolfJuly 30, 2020

Pangolins have managed to survive in Hong Kong's hills for thousands of years – but now they are critically endangered....

CultureNature0 Comments1418 views 05 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part VI: Green Hub, the Old Tai Po Police Station

Christopher DewolfJuly 22, 2020

Britain's first colonial outpost in the New Territories has become a venue that promotes eco-friendly living....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments1362 views 06 min read

No Friend of the Government: The Story of Hong Kong’s First Rabble-Rousing Newspaper

Christopher DewolfJuly 2, 2020

How William Tarrant turned The Friend of China into a weapon against government corruption and misdeeds....

CultureHeritageHistoryPeopleSmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments1432 views 09 min read

Into the Wild: Robert Ferguson is Documenting Hong Kong’s Wild Creatures

Christopher DewolfJune 23, 2020

Learn more about Hong Kong's wildlife, one step at a time....

CultureNature0 Comments1122 views 06 min read