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....

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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....

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Hong Kong’s Most Beloved Public Space is Under Threat

Christopher DewolfJune 6, 2019

The Western District Public Cargo Working Area, also known as the Instagram Pier, is a rare open space on the waterfront. But government plans could soon carve it up into smaller pieces – or worse....

A Little BreakArtPhotographyUrbanismWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments1980 views 0

One of a Kind: The Kowloon Walled City Through the Eyes of Photographer Greg Girard

Christopher DewolfApril 25, 2019

A unique quirk of history created one of the strangest and most fascinating urban settlements the world has ever seen. ...

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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....

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Hong Kong’s Industrial History, Part III: Squatter Factories

Christopher DewolfFebruary 6, 2019

Hong Kong became an industrial powerhouse thanks in part to informal factories run out of shantytowns and residential flats....

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Hong Kong’s Missing Trees

Christopher DewolfJanuary 24, 2019

The destruction of Typhoon Mangkhut underscored the precarious nature of Hong Kong's urban forest. ...

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Neighbourhood Guide: Wong Chuk Hang, a Factory for Creativity

Zabrina LoJanuary 17, 2019

An old industrial area on the south side of Hong Kong Island has been reborn as an art and design district....

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The Last Remnant of Kai Tak: Inside the Half-Destroyed Airport Fire Station With HK Urbex

Christopher DewolfDecember 19, 2018

Zolima CityMag teams up with a crew of urban explorers to survey the last remnant of Kai Tak Airport before it is redeveloped....

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A French Design Duo Daydream About How to Improve Hong Kong’s Urban Space

Catherine ShawNovember 28, 2018

Designers Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec offer a greener vision of urban life, one that is particularly relevant in city where nature is relegated to the periphery....

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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...

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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. ...

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Hong Kong’s Train to China: A Brief History of the Kowloon-Canton Railway

Christopher DewolfNovember 7, 2018

As Hong Kong opens its new high-speed rail link to mainland China, we look back at its original cross-border railway....

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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. ...

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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....

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What Does the Future Hold for Victoria Harbour?

Christopher DewolfOctober 4, 2018

Millions of people live within a 10-minute walk of Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong’s most important natural asset and the very reason the city exists in the first place. But most of them would have a hard time finding their way to the shore past the roadways and fences that divide it from the city. Even […]...

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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....

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Neighbourhood Guide: A Sense of Community in To Kwa Wan

Janice ChenSeptember 6, 2018

To Kwa Wan has long been off the radar – but not for long. As the MTR builds a new line, we explore the nooks and crannies of this underrated corner of Kowloon....

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Island Stories, Part II: Hong Kong’s Disappearing Islands

Ryan KilpatrickJuly 25, 2018

Hong Kong is made up of 263 islands – but that number is smaller than it once was, and it may shrink even more in the future....

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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....

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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....

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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...

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Sham Shui Po: The Future of Hong Kong’s Maker Hub is Rooted in the Past

Christopher DewolfMay 18, 2018

Sham Shui Po has always been a neighbourhood that made things – and a new generation of businesses is tapping into that legacy, if redevelopment doesn't get in the way....

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The Jamia Mosque, an Unexpected Oasis in Central Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfApril 18, 2018

Inside the lush historic compound that is home to Hong Kong's oldest mosque – and a surprising community of squatters. ...

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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....

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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....

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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....

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Grey Metal Fences Are Taking Over Hong Kong

Christopher DewolfJanuary 18, 2018

They're everywhere – and they're becoming more common. As roadside fences proliferate around Hong Kong, some people have come up with ingenious ways to make them useful....

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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. ...

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A Plague, a Cure and Some Art: the Museum of Medical Sciences

Christopher DewolfNovember 30, 2017

Founded as a laboratory to prevent disease, the Museum of Medical Sciences is now dedicated to the history of medicine in Hong Kong – with some surprising art exhibitions on the side, including a new show by artist Daphné Mandel....

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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....

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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....

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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....

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Hong Kong in Vancouver – Part I: Chinatown is Fighting For its Life

Christopher DewolfJune 7, 2017

Vancouver's Chinatown has survived riots and racist laws. How will it deal with gentrification?...

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Starting from the Bottom: Paul Zimmerman Aims to Improve Hong Kong from the Ground Up

Christopher DewolfMay 17, 2017

Urban planning activist Paul Zimmerman thinks Hong Kong needs to improve its quality of life....

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Shanghai Street in Four Scenes

Christopher DewolfMay 4, 2017

A window into one of Hong Kong’s most storied streets...

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Hong Kong is the Most Shopping Mall-Crazy City on Earth. Is That a Bad Thing?

Christopher DewolfApril 27, 2017

How Hong Kong came to have the densest collection of shopping malls in the world – and how it has affected the city's culture and urban landscape...

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The Kowloon Tramway That Never Was

Christopher DewolfApril 20, 2017

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

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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....

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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. ...

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