For two years in a row in 2017 and 2018, part of Hollywood Road in Old Central was closed off to host an one-day street carnival known “Heritage Vogue • Hollywood Road”. Live performances, activity booths, and temporary displays were set up to promote heritage preservation in Hong Kong. Being the second oldest street in the city and home to a range of heritage buildings, Hollywood Road in Central and Sheung Wan offers the perfect venue for such an event. In fact, Hollywood Road has long been an urban magnet for all history buffs and foreign tourists. Completed in 1844, Hollywood Road in Central – Sheung Wan was the vital connection linking the military barracks at Possession Point and the city centre in Central during the early colonial times. Today, it passes by some of Hong Kong’s most well known attractions and heritage buildings: Hollywood Park (荷李活道公園), Lascar Row antique market (摩羅街), Man Mo Temple (文武廟), Former Police Married Quarters PMQ (元創方), and Former Central Police Station Tai Kwun (大館), and also popular areas including the foodie paradise of NOHO, the entertainment Mecca of SOHO, and the vibrant Graham Street Market (嘉咸街市). To the disappointment of some people, Hollywood Road has nothing to do with the Hollywood in LA. Instead, there are two main theories behind the street’s naming. First, some say there were once holly trees, also known as Christmas berries, planted along the road. However, historical accounts dispute that holly trees were actually imported to Hong Kong years after the road was built and named. One type of holly tree (冬青) were actually widely planted in the Tai Ping Shan area as a type of Chinese medicine when Western medicine has yet being widely accepted by the people in Hong Kong. The second theory refers to the Hollywood House in Henbury, which was the former residence of John Francis Davis, the second governor (1844 – 1848) of colonial Hong Kong.
For decades, visitors coming to Hollywood Road would notice the abundance of antique shops and art galleries. Before massive land reclamation took place over a century ago, Hollywood Road was not far from the waterfront. Traders, sailors and smugglers would bring their overseas merchandises to sell at Hollywood Road. Gradually, Hollywood Road has become a vibrant marketplace for trading all sorts of curios and antiques from China and around the world. Today these antique shops and galleries continue to attract tourists from all over the world. The former Police Married Quarter, a listed modernist building, was preserved, renovated and opened to the public in 2014 as a mixed use art and design compound known as the PMQ. The project has brought new life into the historical street. In 2018, the long awaited Tai Kwun, or the former Central Police Station Compound also opened its doors to the public. Took 8 years and HKD 3.8 billion to complete, Tai Kwun is the most extensive conservation and revitalization project in Hong Kong. World renowned architect Herzog & de Meuron was involved in the master planning and architectural design of Tai Kwun, transforming the former police compound into a welcoming heritage and art centre. The completion of Tai Kwun and PMQ have dramatically transformed the cultural scenery of Hollywood Road, consolidating Hollywood Road as a primary tourist attraction in Hong Kong.
During the “Heritage Vogue • Hollywood Road” event, Hollywood Road was closed off between Tai Kwun and PMQ to host the street carnival. Live performances, activities booths, and temporary displays were set up to promote heritage preservation in Hong Kong. [Tai Kwun at Hollywood Road, Central, 4th November 2018]The carnival was a rare opportunity in Hong Kong to promote heritage preservation through a large scale public event. [Junction of Lyndhurst Terrace and Hollywood Road, Central, 4th November 2018]Passing by a number of heritage buildings, temples, and antique markets, the 1km Hollywood Road is a popular historical trail among tourists. Trippen, a German shoemaker that we love, marks the intersection of Hollywood Road and Queen’s Street Central. The emergence of Trippen several years ago signaled a change of identity for Hollywood Road from traditional to modern and hip. [Junction of Hollywood Road and Queen’s Street Central, Sheung Wan, 2020]In the recent ten fifteen years, restaurants, pubs and art galleries have taken over some of the old retail spaces along Hollywood Road. While 208 Duecento Otto serves Neapolitan pizza and other Italian culinary delights on Hollywood Road. The adjacent Chachawan, on the other hand, offers dishes from Thailand’s Northeast Isaan Region. [208 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, 2021]Since 2008, art gallery Contemporary by Angela Li has been an active player in the art scene in Hong Kong, curating exciting exhibitions in Sheung Wan. [Shop window displaying an installation from The Lost Time Travel Machine, an exhibition by artist Angela Yuen at Contemporary by Angela Li, Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, 2020]In the past, Hollywood Road Park (荷李活道公園) was named as Possession Point. This was where the Royal Navy landed and raised a British flag on Hong Kong Island before signing the Treaty of Nanjing in 1841. It was also the site of a former Dai tat dei (大笪地), a night bazaar with affordable eateries, stall vendors and street performers. [Hollywood Road Park, Sheung Wan, 2020]Possession Point in the 19th century. [CC BY_NC_ND 4.0, Photograph by Robert Crisp Hurley. Image courtesy of Sixty Diamond Jubilee Pictures of Hong Kong, Historical Photographs of China, University of Bristol (www.hpcbristol.net)] 26 January 1841, Commodore Gordon Bremer formally took possession of Hong Kong Island. They landed at an area known as Possession Point (水坑口). Today, Possession Point is marked by Hollywood Road Park as well as Possession Street (水坑口街). [Junction of Possession Street and Queen’s Street Central, Sheung Wan, 2020]The western half of Hollywood Road is the world famous antique marketplace. [Junction of Hollywood Road and Possession Street, Sheung Wan, 2020].Each antique shop on Hollywood Road has its unique style and shopfront design. [Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, 2021]Each antique shop at Hollywood Road might have its unique specialty. For example, Ever Arts Gallery is specialized in wooden furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasty, while its neighbour focuses on old jade stones. [Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, 2021]Liang Yi Museum (兩依藏博物館) hosts one of the largest furniture collection from the Ming and Qing Dynasty. [Near the Junction of Hollywood Road and Tank Lane, Sheung Wan, 2020].Predating all antique shops on Hollywood Road, Man Mo Temple was the hub for the Chinese community during the early days of the founding of Hong Kong. [Man Mo Temple, Sheung Wan, 2020] Especially attractive to foreign tourists, some antique shops still maintain a traditional appearance. [Friendship Trading Company (興華工藝古玩行), Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, 2020]Shopfront of many antique shops appear like a treasure trove that welcomes anyone who has the patience for a treasure hunt. [True Arts and Curios (趣雅閣), Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, 2020]The minimalist facade of Gallery 149 emerges as an interesting addition to the traditional cluster of antique shops on Hollywood Road. Specialized in Asian art and antiques, the gallery presents a fusion of styles between the old and new. [Gallery 149, Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, 2020]Aberdeen Street marks the boundary between Central and Sheung Wan Districts. At the corner of Aberdeen Street and Hollywood Road stands a heritage building compound known as PMQ, the former Police Married Quarter. [Junction of Aberdeen Street and Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, 2020]In 2014, the compound has been converted into a hub for artists and designers to exhibit and sell their creative products. [Near junction of Aberdeen Street and Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, 2020]Painted figures of Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Charlie Chaplin and Frank Sinatra dominate the podium facade of Madera Hollywood Hotel. On the ground floor, Villepin Art Gallery bravely entered the art scene of Hong Kong during the year of the pandemic. Founded by Dominique de Villepin, France’s former Prime Minister from 2005 – 2007, and his son Arthur de Villepin, a prominent art collector, Villepin is specialized in Asian art for collectors. [Junction of Peel Street and Hollywood Road, Central, 2020]Opened in 1948 by Lam Fong Nam, a sugar cane farmer from the countryside, Kung Lee Sugar Cane Drink (公利真料竹蔗水) has been around for over 70 years. Dated back to about 1919, the historical building where Kung Lee situates is an iconic heritage building in the area. [Junction of Peel Street and Hollywood Road, Central, 2020]Today, Kung Lee Sugar Cane Drink is operated by the fourth generation owner, who successfully modernized the business to attract younger customers, introducing new products such as sugar cane beer, and repainting their metal gate with colourful street art. [Junction of Peel Street and Hollywood Road, Central, 2017]Apart from new products, Kung Lee Sugar Cane Drink still maintains a nostalgic ambience with decorations from its heyday. [Junction of Peel Street and Hollywood Road, Central, 2020]Beyond PMQ towards Central, Hollywood Road has entered the entertainment area known as SOHO. The street has become livelier with more retail boutiques, pubs and restaurants. [Junction of Lyndhurst Terrace and Hollywood Road, Central, 2020]Despite the changes of retail shops and facade decorations, the bend at the junction of Lyndhurst Terrace and Hollywood Road and the old fire hydrant have remained unchanged for decades. [Junction of Lyndhurst Terrace and Hollywood Road, Central, 2020]Further east towards Central, the Central – Mid Levels Escalators bends up Shelley Street towards SOHO entertainment district and the Mid Levels residential area. [Junction of Central – Mid Levels Escalators and Hollywood Road, Central, 2020]From the Central – Mid Levels Escalator, Hollywood Road [Junction of Central – Mid Levels Escalators and Hollywood Road, Central, 2020]The former Central Police Station Compound, also known as Tai Kwun, marks the ending of Hollywood Road. After years of renovations, Tai Kwun opened to the public in 2018 as a art and heritage centre. It immediately became a cultural and tourist hot spot in Hong Kong. [Tai Kwun at Hollywood Road, Central, 2020]
Blue Lapis Road 