Eric Yim and the Business of Design

Christopher DewolfNovember 30, 2017

At the dawn of another Business of Design Week, designer-entrepreneur Eric Yim reflects on his role in bringing people together...

ArchitectureDesignInterior DesignPeoplePortraitsProduct Design0 Comments786 views 07 min read

A Historic Alleyway Barbershop Prepares to Say Goodbye – But Why?

Christopher DewolfNovember 22, 2017

As Wan Chai gentrifies, a quintessential Hong Kong barbershop may be forced to close....

CultureHistoryTraditionUrbanism0 Comments1369 views 19 min read

Spicy Hong Kong, Part I: Yu Kwen Yick, Sai Ying Pun’s Century-Old Chilli Sauce

Christopher DewolfNovember 15, 2017

In the first of a new series on Hong Kong's homegrown hot sauces, we look at Yu Kwen Yick, a family business that has survived for nearly a century....

CultureFood0 Comments2727 views 07 min read

Clockenflap 2017: Mike Hill and the Business of Culture

Christopher DewolfNovember 1, 2017

This year's Clockenflap brings Feist, Massive Attack and others to Hong Kong – and in the background, Mike Hill makes sure it all happens according to plan....

ArtInterviewsMusicPeoplePerforming Art0 Comments412 views 05 min read

Waterfall Bay, Where Ghosts, Gods and Speedo-Clad Swimmers Converge

Christopher DewolfOctober 26, 2017

Hidden on the edge of Hong Kong Island is one of the city's most spectacular — and spiritually significant — stretches of shoreline....

A Little BreakHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments4281 views 09 min read

The Lines Between: Madeleine Thien on Writing, Language and Family

Christopher DewolfOctober 18, 2017

After a year of touring the world to promote her acclaimed novel Do Not Say We Have Nothing, Madeleine Thien is back in Hong Kong, a place loaded with meaning for the Chinese-Canadian author....

BooksCultureInterviewsLanguagePeopleUncategorized0 Comments487 views 011 min read

Bathed in Neon: Greg Girard’s Nocturnal 1970s Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfOctober 11, 2017

Canadian photographer Greg Girard unveils a new collection of Hong Kong photos from the 1970s and 80s. ...

ArtBooksCultureHeritageHistoryVisual Art0 Comments2498 views 08 min read

Why Do Hong Kong Restaurants Serve Borscht? The Overlooked History of Russian Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfOctober 4, 2017

As many as 20,000 Russian refugees passed through Hong Kong in the 20th century. They left behind a fascinating historic legacy....

Big StoriesHeritageHistory0 Comments26678 views 112 min read

Take a Peek Inside King Yin Lei, Hong Kong’s Chinese Renaissance Landmark

Christopher DewolfSeptember 27, 2017

With no plans for its future, the historic King Yin Lei mansion sits empty – but visitors are allowed inside on a few rare occasions....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments3955 views 08 min read

Hong Kong’s Literary Freedom Fighters

Christopher DewolfSeptember 21, 2017

Hong Kong 20/20 takes the pulse of present-day Hong Kong, bringing together a diverse group of 41 writers and illustrators to share their thoughts on the city....

BooksCulture0 Comments556 views 18 min read

The Heroes Behind a Mysterious New Hong Kong Brewery

Christopher DewolfSeptember 14, 2017

More than 500 craft beers will be available at this year's Beertopia – including Heroes, which taps into the community of beer lovers for ideas....

A Little BreakCultureFoodWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments1294 views 16 min read

Hong Kong’s Salty History: Rebellion, Smuggling and Shrimp Paste

Christopher DewolfSeptember 7, 2017

Salt was power in ancient China – and Hong Kong's illicit salt fields kept imperial armies on their toes....

CultureFoodHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments1388 views 05 min read

Why Jason Li is Paying Homage to His Mother’s Childhood in a Hong Kong Shantytown

Christopher DewolfAugust 25, 2017

A Hong Kong comic artist finds creative inspiration in his family's roots....

BooksCultureLanguage0 Comments455 views 08 min read

Designing the Lion Rock Spirit: The International Design Furniture Fair Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfAugust 17, 2017

IDFFHK is back for a second edition, showcasing high-end furniture alongside exhibitions and talks that explore the more philosophical side of design....

ArchitectureDesignInterior DesignProduct Design0 Comments447 views 06 min read

In Pictures: The Depot Where Hong Kong’s Historic Trams Are Being Rebuilt by Hand

Christopher DewolfAugust 2, 2017

Inside the Whitty Street Depot, Hong Kong's fleet of unique double-decker trams are being completely rebuilt for a new generation....

HeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments1926 views 06 min read

Escape the City at Cheung Chau’s 70-Year-Old Beach Bar

Christopher DewolfJuly 25, 2017

For three generations, the Liu family has run a store at Kwun Yam Beach. ...

A Little BreakCultureFoodWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments6550 views 05 min read

A Collection That Speaks to the Soul: Alan Chan’s Art and Design Objects

Christopher DewolfJuly 13, 2017

How a global collection blurs the boundaries between different cultures....

ArtDesignPeoplePhotographyPortraitsProduct DesignVisual Art0 Comments584 views 17 min read

Sir Murray MacLehose, the Unexpected Father of Modern Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfJune 29, 2017

How a gangly Scotsman nicknamed Jock the Sock ended up as Hong Kong's longest-serving governor – and one who laid the groundwork for many of the city's most important institutions....

HeritageHistoryPeopleUrbanism0 Comments5603 views 08 min read

Hong Kong in Vancouver – Part III: Bing Thom and James Cheng, City-Builders

Christopher DewolfJune 22, 2017

How two Hong Kong-born architects changed the face of a Canadian city. ...

ArchitectureDesignPeoplePortraits0 Comments508 views 011 min read

Hong Kong in Vancouver – Part II: The New Generation of Activists Building a Future for Chinatown

Christopher DewolfJune 15, 2017

Meet the next generation fighting to keep Vancouver's Chinatown alive....

HeritageHistoryUrbanism0 Comments480 views 010 min read

Hong Kong in Vancouver – Part I: Chinatown is Fighting For its Life

Christopher DewolfJune 7, 2017

Vancouver's Chinatown has survived riots and racist laws. How will it deal with gentrification?...

HistoryUrbanism0 Comments1561 views 012 min read

Waterworld: A Short History of Ferries, Kaitos and Walla-Wallas in Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfJune 1, 2017

Hong Kong has gotten around by ferry for more than a hundred years – but for how much longer?...

HistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments2052 views 08 min read

Hong Kong’s Other Peak – and the City’s Overlooked History of Segregation

Christopher DewolfMay 24, 2017

Hong Kong actually has two Peaks: the famous Victoria Peak and the lesser-known Cheung Chau Peak. In the early 20th century, both were reserved for Hong Kong's European elite....

A Little BreakHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments10065 views 06 min read

Starting from the Bottom: Paul Zimmerman Aims to Improve Hong Kong from the Ground Up

Christopher DewolfMay 17, 2017

Urban planning activist Paul Zimmerman thinks Hong Kong needs to improve its quality of life....

HistoryPeoplePortraitsUrbanism0 Comments934 views 08 min read

Private Museum, Public Heritage: The F11 Foto Museum

Christopher DewolfMay 11, 2017

When an historic building he had admired since childhood was put up for sale, former lawyer Douglas So seized the chance to open Hong Kong's first photography museum....

ArchitectureArtDesignHeritageHistoryPhotography0 Comments1393 views 06 min read

Shanghai Street in Four Scenes

Christopher DewolfMay 4, 2017

A window into one of Hong Kong’s most storied streets...

A Little BreakHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesUrbanismWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments2243 views 08 min read

Hong Kong is the Most Shopping Mall-Crazy City on Earth. Is That a Bad Thing?

Christopher DewolfApril 27, 2017

How Hong Kong came to have the densest collection of shopping malls in the world – and how it has affected the city's culture and urban landscape...

ArchitectureDesignUrbanism0 Comments6356 views 09 min read

The Kowloon Tramway That Never Was

Christopher DewolfApril 20, 2017

Why aren't there any trams in Kowloon?...

HistoryUrbanism0 Comments3923 views 05 min read

A Hong Kong Police Officer Breaks Through to the Community

Christopher DewolfApril 12, 2017

Since 1996, Operation Breakthrough has helped young offenders turn around their lives through sport. ...

CultureInterviewsPeopleSport0 Comments5905 views 06 min read

A Market Stall is Turning a Hong Kong Street Into a Community Space

Christopher DewolfApril 11, 2017

Kai Fong Pai Dong, the "neighbours' market stall," taps into the community spirit of Hong Kong's street markets....

A Little BreakHistoryUrbanismWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments1367 views 06 min read

How a Catholic Village in Hong Kong Was Saved From Extinction – and Won a UNESCO Award in the Process

Christopher DewolfApril 6, 2017

The tranquil island village of Yim Tin Tsai was abandoned for decades, but the efforts of a determined chief have brought it back to life....

A Little BreakCultureHeritageHistoryTraditionWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments2668 views 07 min read

The World Inside a Building: Chungking Mansions

Christopher DewolfMarch 30, 2017

A middle-class apartment block, a centre of nightlife, a seedy flophouse, a centre of global trade and a haven for asylum-seekers: the many lives of Hong Kong's Chungking Mansions. ...

HistoryUrbanism0 Comments22360 views 012 min read

The Exploding Hong Kong Building That Launched Zaha Hadid’s Career

Christopher DewolfMarch 15, 2017

Before she actually completed any buildings, Zaha Hadid was busy making them explode. When the Iraqi-born architect was first getting started in the late 1970s and early 1980s, she worked obsessively on concepts that tore apart architectural conventions. Instead of anodyne renderings, she painted her buildings as abstractions – sometimes in a state of disassembly or collapse. That […]...

ArchitectureArtDesignVisual Art0 Comments4462 views 06 min read

Haw Par Mansion and Hong Kong’s Lost Chinese Fantasyland

Christopher DewolfMarch 8, 2017

Tiger Balm Garden is gone forever, but its spirit remains. Work is underway on restoring Haw Par Mansion, the only surviving portion of a vast estate that included the renowned theme park, which was demolished in 2004. At the same time, artist Adrian Wong is finishing work on an installation based on one of the […]...

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments6396 views 08 min read

When Hong Kong Was a City of Villages: Squatter Settlements and Their Legacy

Christopher DewolfMarch 3, 2017

In the 1960s, a quarter of people in Hong Kong lived in squatter villages. What happened to our own version of the favela?...

HeritageHistoryUrbanism0 Comments11162 views 010 min read

The Vertical City, Part IV: Hong Kong’s Art Scene Goes Up

Christopher DewolfFebruary 22, 2017

Architect William Lim has drawn from his experience as an artist and art collector to design a new tower dedicated to art. ...

ArchitectureArtDesignVisual Art0 Comments992 views 05 min read

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

Christopher DewolfFebruary 15, 2017

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 Comments1177 views 07 min read

Building a Future for Hong Kong’s Last Surviving Movie Palace: The State Theatre

Christopher DewolfFebruary 8, 2017

Despite receiving the city's highest heritage grade, the 1950s-era State Theatre is still at risk of being demolished....

CinemaCultureHeritageHistory0 Comments1966 views 010 min read

Comix Homebase: Old Architecture Given New Life as Hong Kong’s Comics Hub

Christopher DewolfFebruary 1, 2017

Ten historic shophouses in Wan Chai are now home to a haven for Hong Kong's vibrant comics culture, with a library, exhibition hall and space for a packed roster of events....

BooksCultureHeritageHistory0 Comments909 views 05 min read

Anson Chan Soldiers On: How “the Conscience of Hong Kong” Blazed a Trail for Women

Christopher DewolfJanuary 26, 2017

When Anson Chan joined the civil service in 1962, the odds were stacked against women who wanted a career – so how did she become Hong Kong's most powerful woman?...

HistoryPeoplePortraits0 Comments933 views 010 min read