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The Destruction of Pokfulam’s Hing Hon Road

Posted: February 27th, 2014 | 3 Comments »

My thanks to publisher and Hong Kong heritage maven Pete Spurrier (and author of the bestselling Heritage Hiker’s Guide to Hong Kong) for these pictures of Hing Hon Road up in Pokfulam – as it used to look. Having strolled up (sweated and grunted more like!) from Central to Pokfulam to visit Hong Kong University many times I know this area well. Interestingly I recently came across an online pdf (click here) from Kerry Properties (a company that has done much to trash heritage in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing in the last few decades) describing the area around Hing Hon Road as “a timeless neighbourhood”, “tranquil” and with “treasured heritage”. Kerry have helped preserve this timelessness, tranquility and treasured heritage (which includes St. Paul’s College, King’s College and the old quads of HKU) by ripping down the street and putting up two gigantic and ferociously ugly tower blocks called (who knows why) The Summa (see below)! Goodbye sunlight, views, perspectives and heritage. Thanks Kerry. Most of Hing Hon Road was built around 1916 so just failed to make its centenary. A real tragedy.

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and now…

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3 Comments on “The Destruction of Pokfulam’s Hing Hon Road”

  1. 1 CM Shun said at 7:18 pm on May 17th, 2015:

    Indeed! I grew up in Hing Hon Road (No. 13) and studied kindergarten at St Margaret also on Hing Hon Road. I have asked around collectors in Hong Kong but still could not even find one single photograph of the old Hing Hon Road! Could anybody help?

  2. 2 Paul French said at 5:15 pm on May 19th, 2015:

    Apologies but I cannot find any photograph of that street – you could try the Hong Kong Photographic archive, but I believe it requires a personal visit – http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/201308/04/P201308020696.htm

  3. 3 Douglas Ho said at 6:16 pm on December 3rd, 2018:

    Hi, my mother used to live in Hing Hon Road when she was a child in the 40s through to the 60s. Unfortunately she does not possess any photos. She recalled however the Ling Yuet Sin Kindergarten nearby, expanded after the war, used to be an orphanage. She visited the place often, bringing cookies to share with the kids there. Many times, she saw objects wrapped in white linen was lowered to a lorry parked under, and later found out those were in fact bodies of the deceased children…

    I am trying to search for any photos or memories regarding N. 26 Hing Hon Road, just wonder if anyone here has any leads?

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