Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Welcome

Welcome to Gwulo.com, and over 30,000 pages about old Hong Kong.

If it's your first visit, you might like to use the search box at the top of the page to find what you're looking for, check out the latest old photos, or just scroll down to browse through recent articles.

I hope you'll join in too, and share your questions and knowledge with us. Most pages let you leave a comment, it's easy to upload a photo, and the Forum is waiting for you to post a new message.

Finally, if you're interested in Hong Kong history, please stay in touch by signing up for Gwulo's free weekly newsletter.

Kind regards,

David

PS 'Gwu lo' is roughly how '古老' sounds in Cantonese. It means 'ancient' or 'old-fashioned'.

Old Hong Kong on Flickr

Submitted by David on Thu, 2009-09-03 11:27

If you enjoy photos of old Hong Kong, Flickr is a great place to look. But there are so many photos - how to find the good stuff?

Photo pools

If I could only recommend one place to start, it would be

Woodside House, above Quarry Bay [1924- ]

Submitted by David on Mon, 2009-08-31 15:51
Date Place completed: 
1924-01-01

The book 'Sustainable development in Hong Kong' gives a brief account of the building's history:

Standing on a hill just outside the border of Tai Tam Country Park, the redbrick, two-storey house was built around 1917 ((actually built in the early 1920s, see comments below)) by the trading house Butterfield and Swire for the families of two middle managers. The company operated the Taikoo sugar refinery and dockyard, which were the main industries around Quarry Bay at that time.

Yu Lok Lane [????- ]

Submitted by Admin on Fri, 2009-08-28 13:04

See it while you can...

This quiet lane of two- and three-storey houses looks like an old village in China. In fact it's on Hong Kong island - but not for much longer! There are eviction notices posted on the houses, and an old lady living here said everyone needs to be out by November.

Taikoo Ropeway [1891-1932]

Submitted by David on Tue, 2009-08-25 22:09
Date Place completed: 
1891-01-01
Date Place demolished: 
1932-12-31

This used to run from the Quarry Bay area at the bottom of the hill, up the valley to Quarry Gap.

When the ropeway (another name for 'cable-car') was running, Quarry Bay held the Taikoo Dockyard and Taikoo Sugar Refinery, while Quarry Gap was known as Sanitarium Gap, and was the site of the Taikoo Sanitarium.

When did it run?

Tags: 
aerial ropeway

Military land around High West

Submitted by David on Mon, 2009-08-24 23:40

Last week I walked along Harlech Road, on the north slope of High West. I'd gone to take a photo of the war department boundary stone #18, which lies just a few feet down the slope below the road.

I'd looked carefully along the road before, but only ever found this one stone. On this day though, I happened to be walking the opposite direction from usual - up instead of down. Maybe that's why I spotted stone #11, a little further up the path, but on the slope above the road.

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