Once, Hong Kong blazed with neon.
Reds, greens and blues washed over the city’s streets in a hypnotic glow — a living light that made Hong Kong one of the most iconic skylines in the world.
Then, almost overnight, it began to vanish.
On the last day of 2010, the Buildings Department enacted the Signboard Control System. Nearly 190,000 signs became illegal. Today, only about 25,000 remain — and fewer than 500 are neon.
Why this book?
Neon Is Not Dead: The Future of a Hong Kong Icon is more than just a book — it’s a celebration and preservation of an endangered art form.
Over 300 lushly illustrated pages, it tells the story of that light: born in Paris, perfected in Shanghai, celebrated in Los Angeles and Tokyo — and nowhere more brilliantly than in Hong Kong.
Produced by our team at Zolima CityMag, the book traces neon’s global journey and how it became inseparable from the city’s identity. From the legendary signs of Nathan Road to workshops where master craftsmen still bend glass by hand, it explores neon’s rise, fall and reinvention.
Why now?
Neon is disappearing fast.
Communities are fighting to save their landmarks, while new generations of artists and designers are reimagining neon for the future.
This isn’t just nostalgia — it’s a story of survival, adaptation and creativity.
Neon Is Not Dead captures this crucial moment, bringing together the voices of neon benders, artists, architects, curators, photographers, filmmakers and local business owners.
We also draw insights from preservation initiatives in San Francisco, Vancouver and Madrid — and from museums such as M+ in Hong Kong, the Museum of Neon Art (MONA) in Los Angeles and the Neon Muzeum in Warsaw — showing how cities everywhere are keeping the glow alive.
The result is a vivid portrait of a global craft — and a Hong Kong icon that still burns bright.
Support the project – Support Neon
Zolima is a small, independent publisher devoted to documenting Hong Kong’s culture, history and creativity.
By supporting our Kickstarter campaign, you’ll help us print and distribute Neon Is Not Dead, making this important story accessible to readers around the world.
Your pledge will directly support:
- The first print run of the book in English and Chinese
- Local artists, writers and craftspeople who helped bring the project to life
- The preservation of Hong Kong’s neon legacy for future generations.
Sign in today and be ready to pledge from 27 October.
👉 Support Neon Is Not Dead: The Future of a Hong Kong Icon on Kickstarter.
Click HERE