Gwulo's 2013 Top Ten
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A look at the most popular pages that appeared on Gwulo in 2013.
#10 - Ferry Routes (11,740 views)
IDJ created this page to gather information about Hong Kong's disappearing ferry services. Old maps show the harbour criss-crossed with ferry routes, but the ferries have gone out of business as passengers and vehicles moved to the new tunnels.
Read about Hong Kong's Ferry Routes
#9 - Old Hong Kong Telephone Numbering System (11,776 views)
Do you remember 5-digit telephone numbers? This page shares memories of some of the quirks of the old telephone systems, eg that HK Telephone employees could choose telephone numbers that, with a bit of inside knowledge, would let them call home for free!
Read about the Old Hong Kong Telephone Numbering System
#8 - The Cangue - Was it used in Hong Kong? (12,213 views)
This thread investigates whether the cangue, a punishment commonly used in mainland China, was also used in Hong Kong. You'll see we investigated a variety of sources over a two-month period. Here's a photo from Flickr, showing what the cangue looked like:
Read about The Cangue - Was it used in Hong Kong?
#7 - Daniel Richard Francis CALDWELL [1816-1875] (12,574 views)
Originally from Saint Helena, Caldwell lived in Penang and Singapore before arriving in Hong Kong in the 1840s. He was a very well-known figure in early Hong Kong, sometimes famous for catching criminals, sometimes famous for the criminal charges brought against him.
He was father to over 30 children by birth and adoption, so he has a large family tree. This page helped put some of his descendants in touch with each other.
Read about Daniel Richard Francis CALDWELL [1816-1875]
#6 - Tom Hutchinson's Wartime Diary (16,211 views)
Most of the wartime diaries we have were written by prisoners-of-war, or people interned in Stanley Camp. Tom Hutchinson's diary gives us a valuable glimpse of what life was like for people who spent the war years outside the camps. His diary was generously scanned, interpreted, and added to Gwulo by Tom's granddaughter Barbara.
Here's Tom with his wife and children, just a few years before the diary begins.
Read Tom Hutchinson's Wartime Diary
#5 - 1950s View north along Nathan Road (16,588 views)
This photo shows a sharp view of Kowloon, taken from the roof of the Shamrock Hotel.
In the comments, readers identified several of the buildings I didn't recognise, and shared their memories of the area.
Read about the 1950s View north along Nathan Road
#4 - Childhood memories of 1920s Hong Kong (16,618 views)
Barbara Anslow is best known for her wartime diaries, but this is my favourite of Barbara's posts on Gwulo. She tells us about life in Hong Kong in 1927-1929, when she was aged seven to nine years old. Making friends, changing schools, playing games, travelling by liner, ice-boxes, Angel Gabriel, ..., there's plenty to enjoy.
Read Barbara's Childhood memories of 1920s Hong Kong
#3 - A time-line of Hong Kong car registration / licence plates (31,013 views)
This page discusses the changing number formats used on vehicle registrations over the years. There's still some doubt over when the "XX 1234" format was introduced, so if you know of any original documents that have the answer, please let us know in the comments on that page.
Read about A time-line of Hong Kong car registration / licence plates
#2 - Hong Kong Gallantry Awards prior to 1997 (32,117 views)
Guy Shirra created this page to list the Orders, Decorations and Medals conferred on Hong Kong residents, or in respect of Hong Kong service, up to 30 June 1996.
Read about the Hong Kong Gallantry Awards prior to 1997
#1 - Hong Kong 1960s & 70s : Mike Cussans' photos (115,480 views)
One of the most popular pages on Gwulo, viewed over 100,000 times!
Enjoy over 100 colour photos of Hong Kong taken in the 1960s and 70s: Hong Kong 1960s & 70s : Mike Cussans' photos
If you'd like to see more of the top pages from 2013, here's the full list.
