Keeping Hakka Culture Alive, Part I: The Story of Hong Kong’s Mountain Pioneers

Annemarie EvansSeptember 15, 2020

Hakka people are an integral part of Hong Kong history and heritage, but their culture and language is at risk of being lost. ...

CultureHeritageHistoryInspring ItinerariesLanguageTraditionWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 012 min read

Unswerving Loyalty: Kwan Tai, Hong Kong’s God of Brotherhood

Tom BillingeAugust 4, 2020

How a warrior revered for his loyalty became one of Hong Kong's most respected deities. ...

CultureHeritageHistoryTraditionUsual Suspects & LandmarksWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 08 min read

Video: How We Saved a Classic Hong Kong Neon Sign

Zolima CityMagJuly 23, 2020

When a renowned Happy Valley dim sum parlour closed its doors, its vintage neon sign was headed for the landfill – until Zolima CityMag stepped in....

CultureDesignHeritageHistoryProduct DesignTraditionUrbanism0 Comments 11 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part VI: Green Hub, the Old Tai Po Police Station

Christopher DewolfJuly 22, 2020

Britain's first colonial outpost in the New Territories has become a venue that promotes eco-friendly living....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 06 min read

An Extraordinary Temple and a Master Builder: Hong Kong’s Lo Pan Festival

Tom BillingeJuly 2, 2020

This July, construction workers will gather at one of Hong Kong's most extraordinary temples – one of only two in the world dedicated to Lo Pan....

A Little BreakCultureHeritageHistoryTraditionWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 08 min read

No Friend of the Government: The Story of Hong Kong’s First Rabble-Rousing Newspaper

Christopher DewolfJuly 2, 2020

How William Tarrant turned The Friend of China into a weapon against government corruption and misdeeds....

CultureHeritageHistoryPeopleSmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 09 min read

Enter the Dragon Boat: A New Spirit Hits Hong Kong Waters

Cardin ChanJune 18, 2020

On the eve of Tuen Ng, a dragon boat club considers the spiritual and cultural meaning of these quintessential Hong Kong vessels. ...

CultureHeritageHistoryTradition0 Comments 09 min read

Dragon Boats from the Past: A Festive Chapter from Gwulo’s New Book

Zolima CityMagJune 18, 2020

We present an excerpt from the latest book published by David Bellis, founder of the popular Hong Kong history website Gwulo....

CultureHeritageHistorySportTradition0 Comments 06 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part V: The HKU Main Building

Christopher DewolfJune 11, 2020

Inspired by the civic universities of England, the University of Hong Kong opened in 1911 with a distinctive central building that contains its architectural DNA....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments 08 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part IV: The Western Market

Christopher DewolfMay 6, 2020

Hong Kong's oldest surviving market building has a history even older than its Edwardian façade....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUrbanismUsual Suspects & LandmarksWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 08 min read

Meet the Masters Behind Hong Kong’s Most Extraordinary Bamboo Theatre

Cardin ChanApril 16, 2020

Our heritage writer Cardin Chan joins a tight-knit crew of workers as they build an unusual theatre perched on the edge of a cliff on Po Toi....

ArchitectureArtCultureDesignHeritageHistoryPerforming ArtTradition0 Comments 016 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part III: 1881 Heritage, the Malling of History

Christopher DewolfMarch 26, 2020

Why a project that saved a historic marine police complex is roundly criticised...

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments 010 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part II: An Explosive History at the Asia Society

Christopher DewolfFebruary 25, 2020

How a Victorian-era explosives magazine was transformed into a cultural centre....

ArchitectureArtDesignHeritageHistoryInspring ItinerariesSmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 010 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part I: The Ghost of Murray House

Christopher DewolfJanuary 30, 2020

The first in a new series on pre-World War II architecture looks at how one of Hong Kong's oldest colonial buildings became an example of how not to conserve heritage...

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 07 min read

Hong Kong’s Industrial History, Part X: How Plastic Flowers Built a Global Metropolis

Christopher DewolfJanuary 16, 2020

Hong Kong once made plastic products that were shipped around the world. What's left of that history?...

DesignHeritageHistoryProduct Design0 Comments 08 min read

Inside Dragon Garden, the Hidden Paradise That Captures Hong Kong’s Spirit

Christopher DewolfJanuary 9, 2020

How one man built up a unique cultural landscape that was narrowly saved from destruction....

A Little BreakHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 09 min read

Hong Kong’s Modern Heritage, Part XII: Breeze Blocks

Christopher DewolfDecember 19, 2019

Air conditioning transformed Hong Kong – but there are still reminders of a breezier era....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUrbanism0 Comments 05 min read

Hong Kong’s Modern Heritage, Part XI: The Bank of China Tower

Christopher DewolfNovember 27, 2019

Three generations of work by the Pei family underpins Hong Kong's most famous skyscraper....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryPeopleUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments 19 min read

Hong Kong’s Modern Heritage, Part X: Corner Buildings

Christopher DewolfOctober 31, 2019

Well liked but disappearing quickly, Hong Kong's corner buildings embrace the street....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUrbanism0 Comments 17 min read

Ed van der Elsken at F11: Dive Into Hong Kong the Way it Was

Christopher DewolfOctober 23, 2019

A remarkable collection of Hong Kong photos from 1959 makes its way back home....

ArtHeritageHistoryPhotography0 Comments 06 min read

Hong Kong’s History Is Kept Overseas: Wong Kan-tai Delves Into Archives

Christie LeeOctober 10, 2019

An acclaimed photographer wonders whether Hongkongers will ever be able to access the documents that define their own history....

Big StoriesBooksCultureHeritageHistory0 Comments 110 min read

Char Siu and Cocktails: Can a New Generation Save Montreal’s Chinatown?

Christopher DewolfOctober 10, 2019

One of Canada's oldest Chinatowns is feeling the pinch of gentrification and redevelopment – but a wave of young entrepreneurs hopes they can keep the neighbourhood's spirit alive....

CultureFoodHeritageHistoryTradition0 Comments 011 min read

Hong Kong’s Modern Heritage, Part IX: PolyU

Christopher DewolfOctober 3, 2019

The redbrick campus of the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong is an underrated modern landmark. Here's what makes it remarkable. ...

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments 06 min read

Hong Kong’s Modern Heritage, Part VIII: The Hopewell Centre

Christopher DewolfAugust 25, 2019

A circular tower welcomed Hong Kong into the golden era of the 1980s....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments 06 min read

How Did Christianity Become So Influential in Hong Kong?

Christopher DewolfAugust 21, 2019

A foreign religion has come to play an outsized role in Hong Kong's civic life....

CultureHeritageHistoryTradition0 Comments 012 min read

Hong Kong’s Industrial History, Part VII: The Rise and Fall of Local Milk

Christopher DewolfJuly 17, 2019

Hong Kong's dairy industry launched a multinational business empire – but don't try finding any local milk in the supermarket....

CultureFoodHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 09 min read

Hong Kong’s Modern Heritage, Part VII: The Monster Building

Christopher DewolfJuly 11, 2019

An enormous block of shops and housing was conceived as an affordable place to live – but now it has also become a tourist attraction....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUrbanism0 Comments 08 min read

Neighbourhood Guide: Tai Ping Shan, An Old Soul With a Trendy Heart

Zabrina LoJuly 9, 2019

A traditional neighbourhood is thriving thanks to an infusion of fresh energy....

ArtBig StoriesBooksCultureDesignFashionFoodHeritageHistoryInspring ItinerariesProduct DesignSmall Stories & Secret StoriesStreet ArtUrbanismUsual Suspects & LandmarksVisual ArtWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 032 min read

Forgotten Icon: How a Letterpress Workshop Keeps Hong Kong Heritage Alive

Cardin ChanJuly 3, 2019

After Hong Kong's printing industry went into decline, one shop owner decided to turn his family's business into a living museum....

CultureHeritageHistoryLanguageTradition0 Comments 09 min read

Hong Kong’s Industrial History, Part VI: Indigo

Christopher DewolfJune 27, 2019

Indigo dyeing is making a comeback decades after the artisanal industry died out....

CultureDesignFashionHeritageHistoryTraditionWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 06 min read

Hong Kong’s Modern Heritage, Part VI: City Hall

Christopher DewolfJune 13, 2019

City Hall was Hong Kong's first truly public cultural centre, but its central role in the city's urban space has been chipped away by redevelopment....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments 09 min read

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....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments 010 min read

Serving the Gods: A Day With a Temple Keeper in Hong Kong

Cardin ChanApril 24, 2019

Tung Chung's Hau Wong Temple has stood for more than 250 years – and Hyelyong Tung has the important job of making sure it keeps going....

CultureHeritageHistoryPeoplePortraitsTradition0 Comments 08 min read

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....

ArchitectureArtCultureDesignHeritageHistoryUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments 010 min read

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....

CultureHeritageHistoryNatureSmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 08 min read

Witnesses to History: Hong Kong’s Clock Towers

Haider KikabhoyApril 10, 2019

As the Garden bakery clock tower is set for demolition, a look back at the iconic towers that have stood watch over Hong Kong's cityscape....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments 011 min read

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. ...

ArtHeritageHistoryVisual Art0 Comments 07 min read

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....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistoryUrbanism0 Comments 010 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 Comments 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 Comments 07 min read