Articles tagged "All" | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Articles tagged "All"

Help please; Hong Kong 1960

Hi,

My parents were stationed in HK late 1950's - leaving in 1960. Sadly mum passed awat a few years ago but left a pristine, still rolled, canvas hand painted and presented to her by the Principal of Wan Man English College.

The canvas includes a narrative in Chinese and English:

A brief history of international Amoy

Names

First let's clear up the various different English versions of Amoy's name.

Traditionally, though Chinese pronunciation varied according to your dialect, everyone wrote things the same way. So, the place we're talking about is 廈門. If you lived there you spoke the local dialect of Hokkien, and pronounced it something like "Amoy". If you're from Beijing you say "Xiamen", today's official name. And if you're Cantonese it sounds like "Ha-moon". Just to add to the fun, in simplified Chinese it is now written 厦门.

I'll use Amoy.

Amoy's International Settlement

We're just back from a long weekend in Xiamen, or Amoy as it used to be called. It was opened to British trade in 1842 by the Treaty of Nanking, the same treaty that ceded Hong Kong to the British. And though Amoy's international settlement never matched Shanghai or Hong Kong for size, it beats them soundly in one respect - most of the old settlement is still standing today.

Here's a summary of our weekend. I'll start with a brief introduction to where it is and its history, then cover what we saw in the old town and the international settlement (as you'll see, they were in nearby but separate locations). There's alsoa bonus entry on a tunnel network I stumbled upon, and some notes on getting there and around.

On with the history...

Hong Kong Beat

Does anyone know much about Hong Kong Beat - it was a nine-part BBC documentary on the HK police force that aired in 1978. I'd love to see it. The theme tune became a hit too... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBdavMIMfq0)

1903 - 7 districts of the City of Victoria

Europe in China - Eitel - published 1895

 In 1844, when the previously existing popular terms were officially adopted they were (original spellings used):

Sheungwan - West of Aberdeen Street

Chungwan   - Aberdeen Street to Glenealy

Hawan         - East of Glenealy

As the city grew, the discricts were further refined in 1903:

Kai Tak

Great video if you've not seen...

1821 205 133608 youtube://v/3PCOcyt7BPI

Closure of Kai Tak Airport

After the closure of Kai Tak Airport in the early hours of the morning on July 6, 1998 a new era in the civil aviation history of Hong kong was written with the opening of the new Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok on the same day.

HMS Tamar (Stonecutters Island) & Battalion HQ

In 1994, HMS Tamar (Shore Base) was relocated to Stonecutters Island.  Here are some photos of a visit made in 1996.

1910s Royal Naval Dockyard Entrance (today's Queensway)

Rickshaws

When I was stopped in HK briefly earlier this year, I saw four refurbished rickshaws for sale.  Instead of the usual green and red colors, they were painted black and grey (very dull colors).  They were the only ricksaws I saw in HK.

I was told that HK government had ceased to issue licenses for rickshaws back in the early 1980s making them completely extincted by the year 2000.

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