Hong Kong 1930s, funeral procession, vehicle registration 2748

Charles Gesner van der Voort (1916-1991) worked for Holland-China Trading Company (HCHC) in Shanghai; it also had offices in Hong Kong and Tientsin (Tianjin). One of its first directors, Mr. Willem Kien, worked in China from 1898. After HCHC was founded in 1903, he worked for the company in Hong Kong and Shanghai. In 1921, he left China and worked for the head office in Rotterdam, at Diergaardelaan 36, until 1948, when the company was obtained by Internatio.

In the 1930s, Mr. Willem Kien made at least one voyage to the East. The Hong Kong photo wrapper still has the images of one of these voyages: a trip to Macau with steamliner Fat Shan. One of the photos is of a funeral procession. The coffin has four birds at the the corners (cranes?). The automobile has Hong Kong registration 2748.

Courtesy Kien family archives