Reclaimed Land: Hong Kong in Transition

Spaces of Memory - The Older Urban Neighbourhoods

Spaces of Memory The Older Urban Neighbourhoods Spaces of Memor y The Older Urban Neighbourhoods Not fa r fro m th e earnestly contemporar y environmen t o f the Central business distric t ca n be found older , mor e settled areas. These districts stretch from th e vicinity of the Central-to-Mid-Levels escalato r link as far as Kenned y Town, occupying the lower land while middle-class commuter dormitories command the hillsides above. The housing in these areas is still predominantly lo w rise, and followin g a geography of privilege established i n the nineteent h century it is occupied primarily by those with lower disposable incomes . In this area, and i n its counterparts elsewher e i n the city, older form s o f life find a haven stil l and th e globalize d consumer cultur e valorized i n Central (an d everywhere shoppin g malls and aspirationa l housing development s have spread) is conspicuous by its absence. The lifestyle artifact s o n sale here are of a more traditional kind: shop s can be found offerin g drie d seafood , the ingredients of Chinese medicine, lanterns for use during the Mid-Autum n festival, incense and pape r good s for ritual s associated wit h funerals an d remembranc e o f the dead accordin g t o inherited practice , and herbal tea. Stores selling practical household item s associated wit h more modest modes of existence - o r tinned and packaged foo d - alway s seem to stock a remarkable range of produce, perhaps catering to a clientele used to finding al l daily necessities within a short distance of their homes. In these olde r part s o f town , th e boundaries betwee n privat e an d publi c spac e ar e less clearl y defined . Shop s appropriate the pavements for the display of their goods, and light-engineering workshops and other such businesses also treat the pavements as an extension of their workspace when necessary. A barber might cut hair directly on the * Older building on Des Voeux Road, morning rush hour. 23 July 1996. -* Household goods store in Sheung Wan, zuith stock spilling onto the street. 27 September 1996. k Vacant lot, Shing Wong Street. 25 March 1996. ^฀m,^^^ 3฀ i 77ze Central-to-Mid-Lev els escalator link at Hollyzuood Road, with recent tall building behind. 24 June 1999. k Offerings being burnt outside a shop, Staunton Street. 3 May 1996. Home-made cork man advertising sign in an old-style provisions store on Staunton Street which has started selling wine due to the opening of nezu and as yet unlicensed restaurants in the area. 2 March 1998. S฀ :*฀ i .฀ ^ Fflde d adz*?rf painted on wall, Western Street, Sai Ying Poon. 31 December 1994. k Site of previous image, with zuall now demolished. 27 March 1998. k Construction of housingblock on site shozun in the previous two images. 21 January 1999. More orientate d toward s children , an d mor e light hearted in nature, is the Mid-Autumn festival. Lanterns, both thos e o f traditiona l desig n an d thos e takin g th e form o f currently popula r cartoo n characters , are th e main prop s require d o f participant s i n thi s evenin g festivity. Although it is celebrated wherever public space can be found, ther e is a local dimension t o this festiva l in the Tai Hang district of Hong Kong Island. This area affirms it s sense of its own identit y by parading a fir e dragon aroun d th e streets, with purification th e ritua l aim an d entertainmen t o f th e assemble d crowd s th e main practical result . I Site of ManYuen Flozuer Garden (at top of Mount Davis Road, Pokfulam) being cleared to make zvay for a new road junction. 7 May 1997. < Former site of Man Yuen Flozuer Garden, 1 October 1998. 'US6r'.l'K^ ££ £ :Jr g < Rooftop structures on a block in Belcher Gardens, Pokfulam. 7 January 1997. •< Demolition in progress, Belcher Gardens. 15 May 1997. A Construction in progress of The Belcher's, a luxury housing development, on the formersite of Belcher Gardens. 16 March 1999. m ^ ^ Picture of Governor Christopher Patten in the windozu of aherbal tea shop in Sheung Wan, showing him sampling a herbal drink. 3 February 1997. A As the handover approaches the picture of Patten is replaced by a poster showing national and city flowers of China. 25 June 1997. I A year later a poster forthe Democratic Party has appeared in the shop zuindozu. 19 May 1998. A All images have gone from the herbal tea shop zuindozu. 9 February 1999. < Wong Tai Sin temple, Kozuloon, busy zuith visitors on the first public holiday of the year. I January 1996. < Making offerings at a temporary altar in Moreton Terrace playground during the Hungry Ghost Festival. 5 September 1996. k Giant incense sticks near a temporary altar in Moreton Terrace playground, Causezuay Bay, during the Hungry Ghost Festival. 5 September 1996. I •• V ^Burning offerings to the dead, including a paper car, at a temporary roadside furnace,Causeway Bay. 25 August 1997. •< Ritual practitioner zuith bell and paper figurine dancing on stage in front of a temporary altar, Western Park, Sheung Wan. 22 August 1997. < Traditional paper and modern plastic lanterns on sale forthe Mid-Autumn festival outside a shop in Sheung Wan. 27 September 1996. < A paper lantern in use. 28 September 1996. A Children zuith lanterns, Tai Hang. 28 September 1996. • Woman placing incense sticks on the Tai Hang fire dragon to represent its fiery scales, prior to the dragon's parade around the neighbourhood. 28 September 1996. 5» i * H 1฀*฀ ^ <฀ A A section of the Tai Hang firedragon, 28 September 1996. A Chinese opera performance during the Hungry Ghost Festival, at a temporary outside stage, Moreton Terrace playground, Causezuay Bay. 5 September 1996. < Audience watching a Chinese opera performance, Moreton Terrace playground. 5 September 1996. < Chinese opera performance forthe Hungry Ghost festival being given in a storefront, Tung Street, Sheung Wan. 17 August 1997. A Young audience members at an opera performance, Tung Street, Sheung Wan. 17 August 1997. I฀ Chinese opera performance forthe Hungry Ghost Festival, on a temporary stage in Western Park, Sheung Wan. 22 August 1997. Chinese Opera performer preparing to go on stage, Southorn Playground, Wanchai. 13 May 1998. A Football match in progress, Southorn Playground. 17 October 1998. ...