Mak Man Kee Wins a Michelin Star – and Loses its Famous Neon Sign

Cardin Chan and Christopher DeWolfJanuary 31, 2018

Hong Kong's neon signs are disappearing at an astonishing rate. The latest victim: a distinctive pair of soup bowls in Jordan....

DesignHistoryProduct DesignUrbanism0 Comments3817 views 05 min read

Hong Kong the Pirate Capital – Part IV: Piracy and Prejudice

Ryan KilpatrickJanuary 18, 2018

Early Hong Kong saw the spectacular rise and fall of one of the colony’s most mysterious characters, the maybe-Eurasian, maybe-pirate Daniel Richard Caldwell....

Big StoriesHistoryPeoplePortraits0 Comments1103 views 07 min read

How to Live in Extreme Density: Hong Kong’s Architecture Biennale Has Some Ideas

Christopher DewolfJanuary 9, 2018

This year's edition of the Bi-City Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture looks at innovative ways Hong Kong designers and architects have responded to the city's high density. ...

ArchitectureDesignHistoryUrbanism0 Comments719 views 06 min read

Hong Kong’s Skyline Gets Dressed Up for Christmas

Christopher DewolfDecember 20, 2017

Thousands of people once flocked to Tsim Sha Tsui East to see the Christmas lights. While the crowds have thinned, the displays still shine....

CultureSmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments1798 views 05 min read

December 1941: Hong Kong’s Christmas Tragedy

Christopher DewolfDecember 7, 2017

The Battle of Hong Kong cost 10,000 lives and plunged the city into a brutal occupation – and yet little is done to commemorate it....

Big StoriesHistory0 Comments19128 views 010 min read

Inside the Old Shops That Give Hong Kong its Character

Sarah KaracsDecember 7, 2017

Photographer and heritage advocate Simon Go explores Hong Kong's old shops in a new exhibition....

ArtHeritageHistoryPhotography0 Comments2388 views 06 min read

Lumieres Hong Kong: Shedding New Light on Hong Kong’s History

Sarah KaracsNovember 23, 2017

The first ever edition of Lumieres Hong Kong brings luminous art to some of Hong Kong's most important historic sites....

ArtHeritageHistoryStreet Art0 Comments490 views 04 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 Comments1462 views 19 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 Comments6098 views 09 min read

Hong Kong the Pirate Capital – Part I: The Beginning

Ryan KilpatrickOctober 18, 2017

How a closed-off China inadvertently helped piracy flourish along its shorelines. ...

Big StoriesHistory0 Comments5395 views 09 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 Comments29226 views 112 min read

Wong Tai Sin’s Birthday: How Did the Mysterious God of Health End Up in Hong Kong?

Tom BillingeOctober 4, 2017

The biggest temple in Hong Kong is preparing for the birthday of its resident deity ,Wong Tai Sin, whose cult is the fastest growing in southern China....

CultureHeritageHistoryInspring ItinerariesTraditionUsual Suspects & LandmarksWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments2586 views 09 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 Comments1758 views 05 min read

Songs the Drowned Men Sing: Hong Kong’s Chiu Chow Hungry Ghost Festivals Come Back to Life

Ryan KilpatrickAugust 31, 2017

A Chiu Chow twist on the Hungry Ghost Festival is making a comeback in Hong Kong....

CultureHeritageHistoryTradition0 Comments1441 views 17 min read

The Ghost Villages: A Guide to Hong Kong’s Abandoned Hakka Settlements

Jessie LauJuly 27, 2017

Just a short minibus ride from the MTR, the rich history of Hakka villages lies in ruins along the Starling Inlet. ...

A Little BreakHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments33977 views 018 min read

From Confucius to Contemporary: the Jade Journey of Yim Tom

Edith TerryJuly 11, 2017

How Yim Tom’s atelier is rediscovering the heart of Chinese jewellery...

CultureDesignHeritageHistoryProduct DesignTradition0 Comments1193 views 014 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 Comments6614 views 08 min read

Made in Hong Kong: A Pioneering Vacuum Flask Finds an Unexpected New Home

Sarah KaracsJune 28, 2017

Camel vacuum flasks have become an emblem of Hong Kong. Now the family-owned brand is expanding in an unusual direction by opening a hotel....

DesignHeritageHistoryProduct Design0 Comments3199 views 07 min read

Slow Hong Kong: Seaside Contemplation in Kennedy Town

Alice MiquelJune 22, 2017

A fresh Look at Hong Kong's urban poetry...

A Little BreakHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments2422 views 15 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 Comments520 views 010 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 Comments2495 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 Comments11612 views 06 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 Comments1555 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 Comments2502 views 08 min read

The Kowloon Tramway That Never Was

Christopher DewolfApril 20, 2017

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

HistoryUrbanism0 Comments4141 views 05 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 Comments1538 views 06 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 Comments23890 views 012 min read