Christopher Dewolf, Author at Zolima City Magazine

The Vancouver Art Gallery Looks Across the Pacific

Christopher DewolfMay 16, 2019

For a time in 2017, the best museum to see Hong Kong art was in Vancouver. That year, Tsang Kin-wah, the artist known for his so-called “wallpaper art,” wrapped the Vancouver Art Gallery in creeping vines of text pulled from local newspaper editorials in the 1980s and 90s, when an influx of Hong Kong migrants […]...

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Hong Kong’s Modern Heritage, Part V: SCAD, the Former North Kowloon Magistracy

Christopher DewolfMay 8, 2019

How the former North Kowloon Magistracy was converted into the Hong Kong campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design....

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In the Footsteps of Miroslav Šašek, Illustrators Capture the Spirit of Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfMay 2, 2019

Hong Kong's visual feast has long been an inspiration to illustrators. We meet three artists who are channelling the city's energy into their work....

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One of a Kind: The Kowloon Walled City Through the Eyes of Photographer Greg Girard

Christopher DewolfApril 25, 2019

A unique quirk of history created one of the strangest and most fascinating urban settlements the world has ever seen. ...

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Hong Kong’s Modern Heritage, Part IV: The Mills

Christopher DewolfApril 17, 2019

Some of Hong Kong's first cotton mills have been reborn as a centre for art, heritage and textile....

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Hong Kong’s Industrial History, Part V: Incense

Christopher DewolfApril 10, 2019

The trees that gave Hong Kong its name fuelled local industry for centuries – but they are now at risk of disappearing....

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There’s a Lot to Discover in Hong Kong’s “Hidden” Collection of Colonial-Era Travel Posters

Christopher DewolfApril 3, 2019

Gallerist Christopher Bailey amassed a treasure trove of vintage handpainted Hong Kong travel posters – and now they are available to the public. ...

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Do You Speak Hong Kong English?

Christopher DewolfMarch 29, 2019

How Hong Kong's second language has evolved over the years. ...

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Hong Kong’s Modern Heritage, Part III: Choi Hung, the Rainbow Estate

Christopher DewolfMarch 20, 2019

Choi Hung changed the way Hong Kong built public housing – and its unique appearance has given it a second life as a tourist attraction....

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The Origin of Hong Kong’s Mexico Bun: A Story of Exile and Return

Christopher DewolfMarch 13, 2019

How exactly did the Mexico bun get its name? The answer is found across the Pacific at a time when Mexico banished its Chinese population....

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Hong Kong’s Industrial History, Part IV: The Rock That Built Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfMarch 6, 2019

How generations of Hakka quarry workers and stonemasons provided the granite that built the city as we know it....

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Hong Kong’s Modern Heritage, Part II: Truth Lutheran Church

Christopher DewolfFebruary 27, 2019

A Space Age emblem of postwar expansion, the Truth Lutheran Church stands out as one of the few remaining works by an influential Hong Kong architect. ...

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Ghana Must Go: The Surprising Global Journey of Hong Kong’s Red-White-Blue Bag

Christopher DewolfFebruary 21, 2019

A symbol of Hong Kong's grassroots spirits turns out to have a world of other meanings and associations. ...

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Hong Kong’s Industrial History, Part III: Squatter Factories

Christopher DewolfFebruary 6, 2019

Hong Kong became an industrial powerhouse thanks in part to informal factories run out of shantytowns and residential flats....

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Hong Kong’s Modern Heritage, Part I: The General Post Office

Christopher DewolfJanuary 28, 2019

The General Post Office is an ugly duckling – but it represents a unique time in Hong Kong history. Is that enough to save it from redevelopment?...

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Hong Kong’s Missing Trees

Christopher DewolfJanuary 24, 2019

The destruction of Typhoon Mangkhut underscored the precarious nature of Hong Kong's urban forest. ...

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Green Tea and Politics: The Surprising History of Hong Kong’s Abandoned Tea Plantation

Christopher DewolfJanuary 15, 2019

Progressive politician Brook Bernacchi was the first Westerner to plant roots on Lantau, where he opened a school, gave jobs to ex-convicts and grew tea....

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Driving Right: How Much Longer Will Hong Kong Traffic Keep to the Left?

Christopher DewolfJanuary 9, 2019

How far will Hong Kong go to integrate with the mainland?...

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Hong Kong’s Industrial History, Part II: Mining

Christopher DewolfJanuary 2, 2019

Hong Kong was once home to dozens of mines. What happened to this overlooked part of its industrial history?...

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The Last Remnant of Kai Tak: Inside the Half-Destroyed Airport Fire Station With HK Urbex

Christopher DewolfDecember 19, 2018

Zolima CityMag teams up with a crew of urban explorers to survey the last remnant of Kai Tak Airport before it is redeveloped....

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Little by Little, Irene Hui Explores A Slower Way of Living in Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfDecember 12, 2018

How a market stall in Yau Ma Tei and a space on upscale Chancery Lane became two of Hong Kong's most unusual community spaces. ...

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In His First Hong Kong Show, British Artist Gordon Cheung Explores the Meaning of Home

Christopher DewolfDecember 5, 2018

Against a backdrop of China's growing power, Gordon Cheung explores the ever-shifting meaning of home in a new show at Galerie Huit....

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Time Travel Made Easy: Hong Kong’s Vintage Guidebooks

Christopher DewolfNovember 29, 2018

The China in Print fair offers some rare travel guides, posters and other objects – but a trip into the past is as accessible as the nearest public library....

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Circus Tram: A Hong Kong Tram Unlike Any Other

Christopher DewolfNovember 22, 2018

Like a social club on rails, the Circus Tram brings food, drink and cultural activities to one of Hong Kong's most venerable form of transport....

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ESKYIU PLAYKITS: A Shape-Shifting Exhibition That Changes Every Day

Christopher DewolfNovember 15, 2018

Bringing together sports, dialogue and music, ESKYIU PLAYKITS is an architectural retrospective unlike any other...

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Hong Kong’s Train to China: A Brief History of the Kowloon-Canton Railway

Christopher DewolfNovember 7, 2018

As Hong Kong opens its new high-speed rail link to mainland China, we look back at its original cross-border railway....

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A Big Audience for Hong Kong Bands: Clockenflap 2018

Christopher DewolfOctober 30, 2018

Although its biggest acts are usually from abroad, Clockenflap is also the place to discover Hong Kong's independent music scene....

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Inside the Famously Haunted Nam Koo Terrace With HK Urbex

Christopher DewolfOctober 25, 2018

A group of urban explorers seek out and document Hong Kong's abandoned buildings. ...

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Canadian Artist Howie Tsui Reimagines Hong Kong as a Ghoulish Hellscape

Christopher DewolfOctober 23, 2018

Hong Kong-born Canadian artist Howie Tsui is mining his hometown's culture to create absorbing multimedia works....

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Hong Kong’s Industrial History, Part I: A City That Made Things

Christopher DewolfOctober 11, 2018

A group of amateur historians is investigating Hong Kong's long and diverse industrial past....

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What Does the Future Hold for Victoria Harbour?

Christopher DewolfOctober 4, 2018

Millions of people live within a 10-minute walk of Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong’s most important natural asset and the very reason the city exists in the first place. But most of them would have a hard time finding their way to the shore past the roadways and fences that divide it from the city. Even […]...

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Two Australian Photographers are Capturing Old Hong Kong Before it Disappears

Christopher DewolfSeptember 26, 2018

A new series of photographs captures the lively scene of Hong Kong's old shops and hawker stalls – before they disappear....

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A Place to Escape: Hong Kong’s Beach Culture Through the Years

Christopher DewolfSeptember 20, 2018

Hong Kong has always loved the beach – but beach culture hasn't always been the same....

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Macau Artist João Ó is Blending Cultures Through Bamboo

Christopher DewolfSeptember 19, 2018

Born in Portugal and raised in Macau, architect and artist João Ó uses bamboo as his medium and space as his canvas. ...

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Hong Kong Crime Wave: Why the 1990s Were a Decade of Famous Gangsters and Spectacular Robberies

Christopher DewolfSeptember 14, 2018

Broken Tooth, Big Spender, Teeth Dog – these were just some of the larger-than-life criminals who turned Hong Kong streets into shooting galleries....

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Hong Kong on Instagram: @rambler15 Captures Hong Kong’s Many Layers

Christopher DewolfAugust 30, 2018

When Jeremy Cheung began using Instagram, it gave him a new perspective on what he found interesting about Hong Kong....

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The Longest Commute: How Canada and Hong Kong are Tied Together

Christopher DewolfAugust 29, 2018

When hundreds of thousands of Hongkongers emigrated before the handover, many chose Canada – but their journey was not one-way. ...

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Visit 1970s Hong Kong Through a Surprising Photo Archive

Christopher DewolfAugust 22, 2018

American inventor Nick DeWolf obsessively documented his life, producing a vast archive of photos that is still being organised today. Among his images: scenes of Hong Kong in 1972....

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