On the Hunt for Hong Kong’s Missing Banker’s Lions

Justina Chong Billy PottsDecember 11, 2018

Two Art Deco lions stood outside the main entrance to the Bank of China Building until they were banished without ceremony. What happened to them?...

ArchitectureCultureDesignHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments272 views 0

Forgotten at Home, Hong Kong’s Junks Sail on Foreign Waters

Ryan KilpatrickDecember 5, 2018

Chinese junk boats are a symbol of Hong Kong, but they are all but extinct in their home waters. What can be done to save them?...

CultureDesignHeritageHistoryProduct DesignSport0 Comments771 views 0

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 Comments153 views 0

Neighbourhood Guide: Sham Shui Po is Hong Kong’s Most Quintessential Neighbourhood

Janice ChenNovember 7, 2018

Sham Shui Po captures Hong Kong's industrious spirit, both past and present. ...

CultureFoodHistoryInspring ItinerariesSmall Stories & Secret StoriesTraditionUrbanismWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments1877 views 0

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 Comments1092 views 1

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 Comments213 views 0

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 Comments4409 views 0

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 Comments5347 views 0

Ding Ding Stories: Who is Riding Hong Kong’s Trams?

Zolima CityMagSeptember 3, 2018

Hong Kong's oldest form of transport may not be its fastest, but its daily commuters value it for something else. ...

A Little BreakHeritageInspring ItinerariesInterviewsPeopleSmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments345 views 0

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 Comments851 views 0

The Cryptozoology of Hong Kong, Part II: How Dancing Lions Came to Be

Billy PottsAugust 14, 2018

How Hong Kong's famous lions — and lion dances — came to be....

CultureHeritageSmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments803 views 0

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 Comments2995 views 0

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 Comments1461 views 0

Neighbourhood Guide: Treasures Between the Concrete Blocks of Kwun Tong

Janice ChenJuly 25, 2018

An industrial neighbourhood with a surprisingly long pedigree, Kwun Tong is a mix of new creative ventures and family-run businesses....

A Little BreakArtDesignFoodInspring ItinerariesProduct DesignSmall Stories & Secret StoriesStreet ArtWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments974 views 0

The Cryptozoology of Hong Kong, Part I: Qilins

Billy PottsJuly 17, 2018

How much do you know about qilins, one of the most common of Hong Kong's mythical creatures?...

CultureHeritageSmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments550 views 0

Island Stories, Part I – On the Far Edge of Hong Kong, Unexpectedly Thriving Coral Reefs

Ryan KilpatrickJuly 4, 2018

Tung Ping Chau is Hong Kong's most remote island, with only five inhabitants and no electricity. But its spectacular natural environment is worth the journey....

A Little BreakInspring ItinerariesNatureSmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments886 views 0

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 Comments5654 views 0

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 Comments414 views 0

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 Comments363 views 1

The Immigrant Dragons – Part I: How Australia is Saving a Hong Kong Tradition

Billy PottsMay 23, 2018

The small Australian city of Bendigo is looking for a new dragon – so they've rallied the few remaining masters in Hong Kong....

CultureHeritageHistoryTradition0 Comments1309 views 0

Hong Kong’s War Ruins, Hidden in Plain Sight

Christopher DewolfMay 11, 2018

The last remnants of Hong Kong’s bloodiest day of fighting are now hidden behind an Esso station on Wong Nai Chung Gap Road. Walk past the fuel dispensers and the mini-mart and you’ll notice a weather-worn path leading up to a group of concrete bunkers tucked into the thick vegetation of the hillside. When Japanese […]...

HeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments3971 views 0

Behind the Screen Doors of Hong Kong’s Pawn Shops, Centuries of Tradition

Cardin Chan and Christopher DeWolfMay 3, 2018

Pawn shops are some of Hong Kong's most distinctive landmarks – but how do they work?...

HeritageHistoryUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments1680 views 0

Why a Canadian University is Fascinated by Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfApril 25, 2018

As local identity becomes a sensitive topic, the University of British Columbia has launched a new Hong Kong Studies Initiative that examines Hong Kong's culture, history and language. ...

BooksCultureHeritageHistoryLanguage0 Comments993 views 0

Hong Kong’s Lighthouses and Their Eurasian Sentries

Ryan KilpatrickApril 18, 2018

For much of its history, Hong Kong's lighthouse keepers were a band of Eurasians who were at home in neither British nor Chinese society. ...

A Little BreakHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments2694 views 0

How the Blue House is Keeping Hong Kong’s Heritage Alive

Christopher DewolfMarch 7, 2018

After years of renovations, a landmark tenement building in Wan Chai is once again home to a close-knit community. ...

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments5323 views 0

Hong Kong’s Jewish Governor and the Road that Bears His Name

Christopher DewolfFebruary 28, 2018

There's a surprising history behind the concrete façades of Kowloon's most famous street....

HistoryPeoplePortraitsUrbanismUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments13180 views 1

The Shenzhen Village That Once Ruled Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfJanuary 31, 2018

The latest edition of the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture is shining a spotlight on Nantou, a 1,700 village that was once a regional capital....

ArchitectureDesignHistoryUrbanism0 Comments727 views 0