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....

CultureFoodHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments31496 views 311 min read

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....

HeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments3007 views 011 min read

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. ...

ArchitectureCultureDesignHeritageHistoryTradition0 Comments2593 views 07 min read

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. ...

DesignHistoryProduct DesignSmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments3118 views 011 min read

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....

CultureHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesUrbanism0 Comments2435 views 08 min read

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?...

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistory0 Comments2714 views 09 min read

Hong Kong’s Missing Trees

Christopher DewolfJanuary 24, 2019

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

CultureNatureUrbanism0 Comments1642 views 012 min read

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....

CultureFoodInspring ItinerariesNatureTraditionWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments3950 views 08 min read

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?...

CultureHeritageHistoryTradition0 Comments13461 views 08 min read

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?...

HeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments2490 views 08 min read

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....

HistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesUrbanism0 Comments4067 views 09 min read

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. ...

A Little BreakBooksCulturePeoplePortraitsWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments968 views 17 min read

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....

ArtInterviewsPeopleVisual Art0 Comments711 views 05 min read

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....

BooksCulture0 Comments1256 views 010 min read

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....

A Little BreakDesignProduct DesignWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments2803 views 010 min read

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...

ArchitectureDesignUrbanism0 Comments305 views 04 min read

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....

HistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesUrbanism0 Comments4941 views 113 min read

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....

ArtMusicVideo art0 Comments279 views 06 min read

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. ...

HeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesUrbanism0 Comments5574 views 17 min read

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....

ArtPeoplePortraitsVideo artVisual Art0 Comments486 views 012 min read

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....

HeritageHistoryUrbanism0 Comments2694 views 07 min read

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 […]...

HistorySportUrbanism0 Comments806 views 09 min read

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....

ArtCultureHistoryPhotographyTraditionUrbanism0 Comments6554 views 09 min read

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....

A Little BreakCulturePlaySportWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments5561 views 08 min read

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. ...

ArtCultureInterviewsPeopleTraditionVisual Art0 Comments554 views 09 min read

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....

Big StoriesHistoryPeople0 Comments14690 views 010 min read

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....

ArtPeoplePhotographyPortraits0 Comments806 views 04 min read

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. ...

HistoryPeople0 Comments2701 views 014 min read

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....

ArtPhotography0 Comments14281 views 08 min read

1967: When the Bank of China Building Became a Giant Propaganda Machine

Christopher DewolfAugust 8, 2018

As the 1967 riots gripped Hong Kong, a familiar landmark suddenly transformed into a giant billboard for the Cultural Revolution. ...

Big StoriesHistoryUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments5959 views 013 min read

Tai Kwun: The Big House is Finally Open

Christopher DewolfAugust 2, 2018

What's behind the largest and most complex heritage conservation project Hong Kong has ever seen....

ArchitectureArtDesignHeritageHistoryUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments3950 views 08 min read

The Mystery of Hong Kong’s Ghost Pillars

Christopher DewolfJuly 25, 2018

Hong Kong's ghost pillars speak to a time when the city was dominated by shophouses. But why were they left behind?...

Uncategorized0 Comments5851 views 06 min read

Hong Kong on Instagram: @kingymak’s Urban Space

Christopher DewolfJuly 12, 2018

Architect Kevin Mak explores the spaces that define Hong Kong as a city. ...

ArtPeoplePhotographyPortraits0 Comments688 views 15 min read

What Happened to Hong Kong’s Underwater Villages?

Christopher DewolfJuly 11, 2018

Beneath some of Hong Kong's reservoirs are villages with centuries of history. You can still find traces of them in unexpected places....

Uncategorized0 Comments5391 views 08 min read

A Rural Escape Just Steps from One of Hong Kong’s Busiest MTR Stations

Christopher DewolfJune 27, 2018

In Pai Tau Village, historic stone houses, Buddhist temples and one of the city's best bee farms overlook the high-rises of modern Hong Kong....

A Little BreakInspring ItinerariesSmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments5370 views 18 min read

Hong Kong’s Vanished Beaches

Christopher DewolfJune 20, 2018

Some of Hong Kong's most popular beaches were once located in the heart of the city....

HistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesUrbanism0 Comments10562 views 05 min read

Hong Kong Wants You to Hang Out at the Recycling Depot

Christopher DewolfJune 13, 2018

A new network of Community Green Stations bring together neighbourhood recycling facilities, public gathering spaces and attractive design – all in a bid to reduce Hong Kong's wastefulness....

ArchitectureDesignUrbanism0 Comments836 views 07 min read

The Vertical City, Part VI: A Hundred Hong Kong Towers at the Venice Biennale

Christopher DewolfMay 31, 2018

Hong Kong brings its skyscrapers to the world’s largest architecture exhibition, asking how high-rise living can become more humane...

ArchitectureDesignHistoryUrbanism0 Comments754 views 19 min read

Hong Kong’s Concrete Stories: The Rooftop Photos of Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze

Christopher DewolfMay 29, 2018

A new book by Romain Jacquet-Lagrèze explores Hong Kong's rooftops....

ArtBooksCulturePhotography0 Comments1143 views 07 min read

Sham Shui Po: The Future of Hong Kong’s Maker Hub is Rooted in the Past

Christopher DewolfMay 18, 2018

Sham Shui Po has always been a neighbourhood that made things – and a new generation of businesses is tapping into that legacy, if redevelopment doesn't get in the way....

HistoryInspring ItinerariesUrbanismWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments1334 views 09 min read