History

Hong Kong’s Ghost Signs: The Toxic Legacy of Cigarette Ads

Billy PottsMay 24, 2023

In this unsentimental city, ghost signs give the briefest of glimpses into the past, flattering it with the soft focus of nostalgia. It is easy to question how anybody could treat these treasures with so little care if one forgets that the past was never ideal. Ghost signs can reveal far more complex truths. Fading […]...

DesignHistoryInterviewsPeopleSmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 011 min read

Inside the Wattis Collection: Hong Kong’s First Governor

Annemarie EvansMay 23, 2023

A rare portrait of Hong Kong’s first governor is the subject of this third and final part of a short series looking at treasured items to be found in the collection of antiquarian Jonathan Wattis in his current exhibition Hong Kong Round and About, showcasing pictures, ephemera and memorabilia of Hong Kong from 1842 to […]...

Big StoriesExhibitionHistoryPeoplePortraitsWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 05 min read

Book Excerpt: Hong Kong’s In-Between History

Zolima CityMagMay 17, 2023

Inside the Wattis Collection: Vintage Hong Kong Travel Guides

Annemarie EvansMay 15, 2023

Travel guides and advertisements on display at Wattis Fine Art are a window into Hong Kong’s postwar blossoming]...

BooksCultureDesignExhibitionHistoryProduct DesignSmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 07 min read

Hong Kong’s Maritime Trade, Part III: The French (Indochina) Connection

Christopher DewolfMay 11, 2023

Hong Kong once had a thriving trading relationship with French Indochina – and it wasn't just goods that made their way between the two colonies...

Big StoriesHistory0 Comments 07 min read

Inside the Wattis Collection: A Famous Junk and a Mysterious Mandarin

Annemarie EvansMay 10, 2023

Neighbourhood Guide: Tai Hang, Laid-Back and Creative

Erica FongMay 5, 2023

This historic corner of Hong Kong offers good coffee, great food and an easy-going vibe under the watchful eye of the fire dragon...

ArtCultureFoodHeritageHistoryInspring ItinerariesSmall Stories & Secret StoriesTraditionVisual ArtWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 020 min read

Forgotten Hong Kong Icon: Tai Hang’s Last Garages

Billy PottsApril 26, 2023

Stories from tight-knit Tai Hang, an old Hakka village turned trendy urban neighbourhood...

A Little BreakCultureHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesUrbanismWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 011 min read

Hong Kong’s Skyline Icons: Typhoon Shelters and Their Rollicking History

Christopher DewolfApril 19, 2023

All About Ching Ming, Hong Kong’s Tomb-Sweeping Day

Tom BillingeApril 2, 2023

What's the story behind Ching Ming, one of the most important holidays on the Chinese calendar? ...

Big StoriesCultureHistoryTradition0 Comments 09 min read

Hong Kong’s Maritime Trade, Part II: Foreign Junks on the Pearl River

Christopher DewolfMarch 30, 2023

Hong Kong was as much a river port as a seaport – thanks partly to its role as a tax haven...

Big StoriesHeritageHistory0 Comments 08 min read

Hong Kong’s Ghost Signs: A Long-Gone Barbershop

Billy PottsMarch 22, 2023

Everything You Need to Know About Soy Sauce, Part II

Ilaria Maria SalaMarch 7, 2023

Hong Kong soy sauce is distinct in more ways than one, from the Canadian beans used to make some of it to a uniquely local origin myth...

CultureFoodHeritageHistory0 Comments 010 min read

Hong Kong’s Celebrity Accountant Tells the Story of His Family’s Renowned Restaurant

Molly GroganMarch 7, 2023

Before Roger Lee was a movie industry accountant and acclaimed screenwriter, he worked at the beloved Orchard Garden, whose story he has now put on stage in 'All Good Things'...

ArtHeritageHistoryPeoplePerforming ArtPortraits0 Comments 011 min read