Kowloon Street Scene 1954 | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Kowloon Street Scene 1954

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Kowloon Street Scene 1954
Submitted by pauline
Tags: 
sedan chair
Date picture taken (may be approximate): 
Saturday, May 1, 1954
Gallery: 
1950s Pauline's Photos
Connections: 
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Comments

Submitted by David on Tue, 2011-03-29 17:41.

It looks like some type of Sedan Chair in the foreground.

Can anyone recognise if it's just a general passenger chair, or one of the chairs used for a special purpose such as carrying a bride?

Regards, David

Submitted by tngan on Tue, 2011-03-29 18:07.

Hi there,

It's sort of a sedan chair alright, but what's inside looked like something like one of these to me.

Best Regards,

T

Submitted by David on Tue, 2011-03-29 19:24.

Thanks T,

Based on your comment, is it what Cheng Po Hung describes as a "soul sedan" in his book "Early Hong Kong Transport":

1950
After the liberation of Hong Kong from the Japanese, few citizens took buses or the Peak tram, which meant sedan chairs and mountain sedans remained an important means of transport. Many pregnant women about to deliver babies were seen going to hospital on sedan chairs. Even though motor cars began to prevail in the fifties, there were many people who preferred the "red bridal sedan" to a motor car for picking up the bride. There was also the green "soul sedan" seen only at funerals. These special sedan chairs for specific occasions became obsolete in the sixties with the traffic growing rapidly over time.

Regards, David

Submitted by pauline on Wed, 2011-03-30 05:34.

Thanks David and T,  I had wondered what this strange 'vehicle' was as I've never seen anything like it before.  I shall now have to read up about these sedan chairs as the history of them sounds fascinating.

Pauline.