Yuen Long Cinema (元朗戲院) [????- ] | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Yuen Long Cinema (元朗戲院) [????- ]

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Submitted by tngan on Mon, 2017-03-13 10:51
Current condition: 
In use

Hi there,

Don't know if it is the second or third incantation of the cinema.  The ground floor had been re-purposed into a Supermarket and the Post Office,   As the building has tiled roof I believe it's got to be a bit old.

T

DSCF2945a.JPG
DSCF2945a.JPG, by tngan

 

DSCF2948a.JPG
DSCF2948a.JPG, by tngan
Tags: 
cinema
Yuen Long
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Photos that show this place

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Submitted by OldTimer on Sat, 2018-09-29 07:57.

Greetings.  A 2017 Google street view shows its sign outside "Operating since 1961".

Another source gives its address and opening date as Number 8 Pau Cheung Hamlet - 
"新界區：元朗戲院 (1959) 新界元朗炮仗坊8號 ".  http://www.oldcake.net/viewthread.php?action=printable&tid=7344

Regards, Peter

Submitted by wilsoncws on Wed, 2018-10-10 22:08.

A website's been doing a very detailed research about history of Yuen Long. One of the pages talks about Yuen Long Cinema (in Chinese though):

http://blog.terewong.com/archives/16867

That area was located near the Yuen Long Old (and New) Market and was thus a hotspot in Yuen Long in the past decades. Now those streets are famous for prostitution though!

The very first shop of Hui Lau Shan (the chained herbal tea shop) is in the opposite of the cinema.

Submitted by OldTimer on Thu, 2018-10-11 09:25.

Greetings, and thank you Wilson for the link to the cinema's history page.  Its key points I noted are: two levels designed to hold 1,500 seats; took 10 months to construct; opening day January 17, 1961; current space smaller than the original due to presence of shops and post office (already covered by tngan).

The "1959" date in the other source might be referring to the first generation, or a typo?  Given the newspaper coverage and the ads, "1961" is definitely the date to use, unless we discover convincing data that proves otherwise.  Regards,  Peter  

Submitted by terewong on Sat, 2020-03-21 22:14.

May I ask what is the source mentioning the opening date 1959 ?  

Submitted by OldTimer on Sun, 2020-03-22 01:17.

Thank you terewong for your feedback.  The only source I found related to 1959 was from the oldcake.net site referenced above, and repeated here -

"港島區：總統戲院 (1966) 銅鑼灣謝斐道517號

九龍區：銀都戲院 (1963) 官塘輔仁街88號

新界區：元朗戲院 (1959) 新界元朗炮仗坊8號".

I noted the oldcake's dates for President (1966)  and Silver (1963) agree with those in Gwulo's places-list, so the 1959 date for Yuen Long though a one-liner could not be simply dismissed.  What could have been the cause of the difference if not typo?   It was possible the 1959 cinema was not at the same spot as the photos above shown.  If there has been one and only site (I tend to beliebve so) perhaps ownership changed leading to renovation and the 1961 opening date.  The news coverage mentioned planning and construction but not renovation and I have no doubt about their accuracy.  Regards,  Peter  

Submitted by terewong on Sun, 2020-03-22 08:36.

thanks, no other place and this is the only spot.

Only 3 cinema in Yuen Long town, 同樂戲院 in 40s, 光華戲院 in 50s and 元朗戲院 in 60s. Outside the Yuen Long Cinema, you might see "Yuen Long Cinema EST 1961"