Small Stories & Secret Stories

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

Book Excerpt: Hong Kong’s In-Between History

Zolima CityMagMay 17, 2023

Historian Vaudine England digs into the overlooked and under-appreciated history of Hong Kong's diversity...

BooksCultureHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 010 min read

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

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 Ghost Signs: A Long-Gone Barbershop

Billy PottsMarch 22, 2023

The Hollywood Barber Company once operated in the heart of Causeway Bay. Now the classic calligraphy of its ghost sign is all that remains...

CultureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments 06 min read

Hong Kong Patterns, Part III: Africa, Europe and the Cosmopolitan City

Billy PottsMarch 2, 2023

An exhibition at CHAT explores Hong Kong’s links to Africa, reflecting the city’s emergence as a global hub...

DesignExhibitionFashionHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 05 min read

Hong Kong Patterns, Part II: Silk City

Billy PottsJanuary 31, 2023

The arrival of Japanese department stores led to a boom in silk manufacturing – and some strange cultural blends...

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

Hong Kong’s Vintage Treasures Are Overseas

Christopher DewolfDecember 23, 2022

The fruits of Hong Kong’s industrial history can be found in second-hand shops around the world...

DesignHeritageHistoryProduct DesignSmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 09 min read

Gender & Space at Tai Kwun Reclaims the History of Women in Hong Kong

Zolima CityMagDecember 17, 2022

A new exhibition in the Central Police Station compound examines the often-erased role of women in Hong Kong society...

EventExhibitionHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 06 min read

Hong Kong’s Ghost Signs: The Lost Legacy of the Urban Council

Billy PottsDecember 6, 2022

An unassuming car park sign reveals a bauhinia logo that tells the story of Hong Kong's erstwhile city council...

CultureHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments 09 min read

Hong Kong’s Ghost Signs: The Shanghainese Fortune Teller

Billy PottsNovember 2, 2022

The legacy of a Shanghainese fortune teller looms over Hennessy Road...

CultureHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments 06 min read

Grassroots Green, a Colour to Define Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfJune 23, 2022

Why green is the quintessential Hong Kong colour – and how its role in the city is changing...

CultureHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments 010 min read

Scottish Hong Kong: A Visit to Yuen’s, the Expert Kiltmakers

Billy PottsMarch 16, 2022

Hong Kong’s original kiltmaker is still going strong more than two decades after the last Scottish regiments departed...

DesignFashionHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 010 min read

Scottish Hong Kong: A Red-White-Blue Tartan Especially for Hong Kong

Billy PottsFebruary 22, 2022

Tartan has a long history and each example of the chequered patterns is loaded with meaning, including a new tartan designed just for Hong Kong...

CultureDesignFashionHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments 011 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part XV: The Chinese YMCA’s Chicago Roots

Christopher DewolfNovember 16, 2021

A handsome brick landmark on Bridges Street is a testament to the global spread of a Christian health and wellness movement....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 08 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part XIV: The Rural Decay of Yu Yuen

Christopher DewolfOctober 28, 2021

The country estate of Heung Yee Kuk founder Tsoi Po-tin has fallen into ruin, despite its remarkable history....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 09 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part XII: Fat Tat Tong, a Window Into Rural History

Christopher DewolfSeptember 8, 2021

Hidden in a seemingly unremarkable village, Fat Tat Tong is one of Hong Kong's few declared monuments...

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 07 min read

Why Does Hong Kong Have Its Own Team at the Olympics?

Christopher DewolfAugust 10, 2021

After Hong Kong's success at the Tokyo Olympics, it's worth looking into the particular history of how this city ended up with its own national team. ...

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Amazing Images of Old Hong Kong – in Full Colour

Christopher DewolfJune 24, 2021

A group of academics is using its Instagram account, Old HK in Colour, to share an incredible collection of painstakingly enhanced and colourised photos from Hong Kong's past....

CultureHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesUsual Suspects & Landmarks0 Comments 06 min read

A Broken Chinese Seal Brings History to Life

Edith TerryJune 17, 2021

Sotheby’s Asia chairman Nicolas Chow explores the iconoclastic hand of history in a unique collection of imperial Chinese seals....

CultureDesignHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments 014 min read

China’s First Punk Band

Aidyn FitzpatrickFebruary 19, 2021

40 years on, Liam Fitzpatrick reflects on being a privileged punk in colonial Hong Kong....

ArtHistoryMusicPeopleSmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 127 min read

Why Nobody Knew About the Spectacular Bishop Hill Reservoir

Christopher DewolfJanuary 22, 2021

How a quirky hill became the latest flashpoint in Hong Kong's fight to save its heritage....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 112 min read

Neighbourhood Guide: The Star Street Precinct, a Quietly Fashionable Enclave

Brian MokDecember 17, 2020

The stars, sun and moon align in a stylish, laid back corner just beyond the bustle of Wan Chai....

ArtBooksCultureDesignFashionFoodHistoryInspring ItinerariesSmall Stories & Secret StoriesTraditionVisual ArtWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 022 min read

Hong Kong’s Colonial Heritage, Part IX: Kom Tong Hall, the Sun Yat-sen Museum

Christopher DewolfNovember 19, 2020

Sun Yat-sen never visited the building that houses a museum dedicated to him – but there are plenty of other reasons why this grand structure is worth a visit....

ArchitectureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 08 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

Queen's road central The Friend of China

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

Seattle’s Chinatown-International District: Lion Dances, Bruce Lee and a Long History

Billy PottsApril 29, 2020

We take a journey through Seattle's historic Chinatown, where generations of Asian immigrants came together, including martial arts master Bruce Lee....

HistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 013 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

Neighbourhood Guide: Shek Tong Tsui is Full of Surprises

Zabrina LoFebruary 19, 2020

Often overlooked in favour of its more popular neighbours, the hilly streets of Shek Tong Tsui are packed with historical and cultural delights...

CultureDesignFoodHistoryInspring ItinerariesProduct DesignSmall Stories & Secret StoriesTraditionWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 024 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

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 Industrial History, Part VIII: The Ill Fate of Rennie’s Mill, AKA Little Taiwan

Christopher DewolfSeptember 4, 2019

The story of an unlucky Canadian who opened a flour mill – and how it eventually became a bastion of support for the Kuomintang...

Big StoriesHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 011 min read

Take a Hike in Plover Cove, Where Farmers Are Bringing Hakka Villages Back to Life

Viola GaskellJuly 17, 2019

A walk in the northeastern New Territories takes you past a haunted pool into formerly abandoned villages that are being reborn. ...

A Little BreakHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 08 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

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

How Did the Bauhinia, a Sterile Flower, Become the Symbol of Hong Kong?

Zabrina LoJune 27, 2019

The Bauhinia blakeana needs human hands to be propagated. So just how did this unlikely specimen become Hong Kong’s official emblem after the handover?...

CultureHistoryNatureSmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 09 min read