Nowadays, there is a common development model in Hong Kong: erecting a series of residential towers atop a multi-storey shopping mall, and a transport interchange underneath for buses, minibuses, and the MTR metro. Everything from supermarkets, retail chains, food and beverage franchises, healthcare services, beauty and personal care, entertainment venues, community services, etc. would all be housed within the mall. Without much site specific character and community connections, a typical mall environment with the same group of shops that can be found everywhere in the city, essentially replaces the high street in a neighbourhood. Knocking down low rise buildings, erasing small alleys, and replacing with huge malls and high rise residential estates is luring business for developers, and is happening in many neighbourhoods across the city. So far, the majority of Sai Ying Pun has been spared from this large scale redevelopment force. Its century old urban fabric remains largely intact despite rapid gentrification in recent years. Within its grid street system, quite a number of shops have been serving the community for more than a generation. According to a university study, about 50% of Sai Ying Pun’s 35,960 population actually works in the same district. Residents have a high chance to interact with their neighbours while visiting the 700+ shops on street level. The recent arrival of foreign expats, along with new lifestyle shops, fine dining restaurants, pubs and cafes seem to harmoniously coexist with the traditional businesses of the community, reshaping the soul of a century-old neighbourhood in an interesting way.
Living in close proximity since 2019, we have become regular visitors to Sai Ying Pun. Every week we would walk over to drop off our household recyclables there, pick up grocery from our favourite tofu shop, vegetable stall, local sauce store and fishmonger, get restaurant takeouts, enjoy a traditional dim-sum breakfast or a Chinese dessert, and occasionally get haircut at an one-man salon. Sai Ying Pun has essentially become a part of our lives. Seeing the recent changes of Sai Ying Pun and the aging shopkeepers make us wonder how many of its unique old shops would remain in a decade’s time. Before all is lost, we felt it would be nice to document the urban scenery of this traditional neighbourhood as of today. With the humanistic scale and close knitted relationship within the community, this is essentially the soul of Sai Ying Pun that no shopping mall can ever replace.
Established in 1855, Yuen Kee Dessert (源記甜品專家) on Centre Street is the City’s oldest dessert restaurant. Traditional Chinese dessert is usually served hot. We sometimes drop by Yuen Kee after grocery shopping, especially during winter when we crave for something warm and sweet. [2022]Nothing inside Yuen Kee seems to be over a hundred years old, as the dessert shop has moved three times during the course of history. [2022]Yuen Kee is well known for a number of traditional Chinese dessert, especially the sweet herbal tea with lotus seeds and egg (in photo right to the bowl), and the steamed egg cake. We usually ordered one of the more common ones such as almond soup, black sesame soup or walnut soup. [2022]On Western Street, Tuck Chong Sum Kee Bamboo Steamer (德昌森記蒸籠) has become a tourist attraction in recent years, thanks to handicraft fairs, blogs, magazines, and social media, and the fact that it is one of the last handmade bamboo workshops in Hong Kong. [2022]Not every product is handmade by the shop. For the ones that are, they will be reflected in the price tag. [2022]The shop sells all kinds of bamboo steamers from large to mini. Some foreign tourists would get the small ones as souvenirs. We got a medium size handmade one for steaming dishes at home. [2022]Snake King Hoi or She Wong Hoi (蛇王海) has been serving the Sai Ying Pun community for over thirty years. In the evening during winter months, there are usually two lines queuing in front of the shop, one for sit in dining and the other for takeout. [2022]Snake soup, mutton stew, smoked chicken and glutinous rice are the signature dishes. [2021]Cha chaan teng (茶餐廳) or Hong Kong style cafe is a type of local restaurants emerged after WWII, providing fusion dishes in economical prices for locals who couldn’t afford Western fine dining. Signature dishes of cha chaan teng include Hong Kong style milk tea, yuenyeung or coffee with tea, egg tart and pineapple bun. Every neighbourhood in the city has its collection of cha chaan teng. 60-year Luen Wah Cafe (聯華茶餐廳) on Centre Street is probably most well known one for Sai Ying Pun. [2022]With a row of banquette seating and a mezzanine over the main dining area, Luen Wah Cafe maintains a typical cha chaan teng layout from mid 20th century. [2020]Out of all the shops in Sai Ying Pun, Kwan Hing Kee (關興記) on Third Street is probably the one that we have visited the most. Opened in 1928, Kwan Hing Kee is specialized in tofu, soy products and a range of local ingredients. We often come for tofu, tofu dessert, tofu skin, beansprouts, fish balls, beef balls, etc. [2020]Being one of the 20 old shops participating in Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation‘s Hong Kong Urban Canvas project, the shutter of Kwan Hing Kee has been painted with the image of the owner and her cat. The NGO aims to promote traditional shops in Sai Wan, Central and Wanchai with art and tours. [2020]Forgot since when, there would always be a bottle of Yu Kwen Yik (余均益) chilly sauce in our fridge. Recently we just found out that Yu Kwen Yik is going to celebrate their 100th anniversary this year in 2022. Starting from a market hawker, this famous shop on Third Street has become a Hong Kong classic, serving the community of Sai Ying Pun and beyond for generations. [2022]Recommended by Michelin Guide, Ying Kee (英記) on High Street is a well known noodle in Sai Ying Pun famous for beef flank noodles, BBQ pork noodles and deep fried wanton. We sometimes come here for late lunch or afternoon light meals. [2022]As a “southern goods” store (南貨店), Ming Kee (銘記) on Third Street sells all sort of traditional condiments and food products that are originated from south of Yangtze River. We used to get our sauces and cooking wine here. Sadly, like many small shops in Hong Kong, Ming Kee Sai Ying Pun is closed down for good during the pandemic. [2021]It is sad to know that we won’t be able to see the big cat of Ming Kee again. [2021] As a traditional rice shop, Sing Tak Lung (成德隆) on First Street has become a rarity in Hong Kong, as most people would get package rice from supermarkets nowadays. Nonetheless, this old shop is still serving restaurant clients and elderly residents in Sai Ying Pun, who come for their “house blend” mix of rice. [2020]Hing Kee Wine Shop (興記酒莊) on High Street is a traditional convenient syore selling everything from Chinese and Western alcohol to snacks and soft drinks. [2020]Between 1973-85, Hong Kong was the biggest garment manufacturer in the world. At its peak, the industry employed between 250,000 and 300,000 skilled workers. As factories began to move elsewhere where wages were lower, some former garment workers have switched to become garment alteration specialist. Occupying the space below the stair of an old tenement apartment, Gum Sha Garment Alteration (金莎) on Queen’s Road West has been around for quite some time. [2020]Compare to the adjacent cafes and restaurant on High Street, the shopfront of Lei Kuen Plumbing and Construction (利權) presents another kind of chaotic beauty that is down to earth and causal. [2020]Established in 1960’s as a street vendor, Tropical Fish Aquarium (熱帶魚水族) on Second Street is the last remaining aquarium shop in Sai Ying Pun. Aquarium shops have seen better days when keeping fish and turtles at home was a popular hobby, and there were more than ten aquarium shops in Sai Wan alone. [2022]At night, the violet lights of Tropical Fish Aquarium adds a dreamy feeling to the tranquil street. [2022]Access from a side alley off Queen’s Road West, Wong’s Hair Salon (亞黃理髮), a traditional hair salon attracts pedestrian’s attention with delightful colours and friendly prices. [2022]At the corner of Western Street and Second Street, the no-frills barber shop Wing Kee (榮記) offers affordable haircuts to the community, HK$40 (about US$5) for haircut only. [2022]Apart from Wing Kee, there are quite a number of small hair salons in the area, including MW Hair Design on Second Street, an one-man salon richly decorated with objects that the owner gathered from flea markets in different countries. [2022]Traditional Chinese medicine is quite popular among the elderly. Opened since 1977, Fung Wun Gam (馮煥錦) Chinese bonesetter and traditional Chinese medicine practitioner on Second Street has been serving the community for over forty years. [2022]Lau Ying Leung (劉英亮) bonesetter on Queen’s Road West is another traditional medical consultant in Sai Ying Pun. [2021]But perhaps the most well known traditional bonesetter should be Chiu Sing Nam (趙醒楠) on Queen’s Road West. [2022]Established for half a century, Chiu Sing Nam is famous for its massage oil to treat minor bone injuries. [2022]Other traditional shops in an old neighbourhood includes zhizha (紙紮鋪) or Taoist ritual paper shop. These shops sell everything related to traditional Chinese religious rituals (combination of Taoist and Buddhist). First established in 1933, Wing Sing Ho (永盛號) has been at its Pokfulam Road location since 1973. [2022]Jun Sing Hong (俊城行) on Queen’s Road West is probably one of the biggest zhizha (紙紮鋪) in Hong Kong. Traditionally, people would burn paper products (usually paper miniature of objects from the real world) in funerals as gifts for the deceased, believing that the products burnt would be received in the afterworld. [2021]While there is still demand for this tradition, over 90% of paper products are now imported from China. Zhizha craftsmen in Hong Kong have almost disappeared in recent years. Even as big as Jun Sing Hong, only one craftsman remains in the shop. Imported paper products for the deceased have been evolving over the years. Today, for a few hundred HK Dollars, customers can get paper miniature of a Lamborghini, or a house with a pretty housekeeper, or a 5G Iphone. [2021]Adjacent to Jun Sing Hong, Bo Tai Hong (寶泰行) also sells zhizag paper products. Their craftsman master Mak has been making custom paper products from Toy Story figures, grand buildings to even football stadium. These zhizha stores also sell traditional decorations for Chinese New Year and Mid Autumn Festival. [2021]
East of Shek Tong Tsui, between the foothill of Victoria Peak and Victoria Harbour lies Sai Ying Pun (西營盤), one of the oldest neighborhoods in Hong Kong. Sai Ying Pun is well known for several things: very steep streets, a well mix of old and new shops, Dried Seafood Street, and perhaps the most famous of all, High Street Haunted House (高街鬼屋). In 1841, the British first set up a military camp in the area, and hence the Chinese named the area “Sai Ying Pun”, which literally means “West Camp Site”. Between 1855 and 1861, the colonial government expanded the City of Victory by establishing Sai Ying Pun adjacent to the old Chinese quarter of Tai Ping Shan. Different from Tai Ping Shan’s labyrinth of ladder streets (stepped alleys) and winding roads, the government adopted a grid street system in Sai Ying Pun, attempting to create a healthier living environment. The grid of Sai Ying Pung centered at Centre Street (正街), a steep thoroughfare that runs straight up the hill from the waterfront. On the slope, Centre Street bisects a number of horizontal streets, from First Street (第一街) near the bottom, Second Street (第二街) and Third Street (第三街) in the middle, to High Street (高街) near the top. These horizontal streets are bounded by Eastern Street (東邊街) in the east direction, and Western Street (西邊街) in the opposite. Applying this urban layout to the sloped site had created some really steep streets. Centre Street, with the steepest part at 1:4 slope, is one of the steepest streets in Hong Kong. With parts at 1:5 slope, Eastern Street is not too far behind.
With its 160+ years of history, steep streets, mix of locals and expats, and a rich variety of street shops, Sai Ying Pun presents a diverse urban scenery that is hard to find elsewhere in Hong Kong. After the MTR metro system extended to Sai Ying Pun in 2015, the area has become an instant hit for photographers and tourists, or anyone who looks for a cafe to chill out. In between the curtain wall apartments from recent years, and the postwar tenement buildings whose ground shops generate most of the area’s vibrant street life, there lies a much tranquil side of Sai Ying Pun, another half of the jigsaw which contributes to the unique identity of the neighbourhood. Behind bustling market and dining scenes, there is a range of colonial buildings standing like silent backdrops. Without notice, they have become the cornerstones of collective memory for the community. These remnants from the colonial past scatter across the entire neighbourhood. Masonry buildings of former hospitals, anonymous century-old retaining walls, stone wall trees, iron railing, historical gardens, churches, school complexes, courthouse, police station, all aged structures that have somehow managed to survive waves of urban redevelopment up to this point. On a quiet morning before the bustling day begins, wandering in Sai Ying Pun offers a poetic experience as if walking back in time, that is, for anyone who don’t mind climbing up and down some of the steepest streets in Hong Kong.
View of Sai Ying Pun in 1873. [Photograph by William Pryor Floyd. Credit: Wellcome Library, London, public domain]Looking down to the Harbour along Eastern Street in 1890 [Photographer unknown, public domain]From Des Voeux Road West, the steepness of Eastern Street reminds some Americans of San Francisco. [2022]Similar to Peel Street in nearby SoHo, Centre Street is one of the steepest street in Hong Kong. Like SoHo, a set of escalators has been installed at the upper part of the street to enhance pedestrian circulation. [2022]Shops along Centre Street are accessible from stair landings. [2021]Cascading down Centre Street, the multi storey Sai Ying Pun Market can be entered from different levels. [2021]The steepness of Centre Street may cause nuisances for pedestrians in the area, but nonetheless these sloped streets are part of the unique characteristics of Sai Ying Pun. [2021]Sai Ying Pun Market is also connected by bridge to the Centre Street Market further down the street. Instead of supermarkets that are dominating the grocery business in many new neighbourhoods in the city, the vibrant scenes of the indoor markets and the adjacent meat shops and fishmongers suggest Sai Ying Pun is in fact an old neighbourhood established long time ago. [2022]Targeted at the local community, a plumber at Queen’s Road West covers their shopfront with all kinds of signs describing their multiple capacities. [2022]The emergence of cafes and bars adjacent to traditional restaurants and shops indicate gentrification has already arrived in Sai Ying Pun. Adjacent to a dried seafood shop and a roasted meat restaurant on Queen’s Road West, the cute coffee shop TIL (Today is Long) attempts to introduce the coffee scene of Melbourne to the community. [2021]As the population of expats increases, cafes like TIL have mushroomed across the neighbourhood in recent years. [2021]Looking eastward from Third Street, the view of the International Financial Centre (IFC) reminds everyone that the financial district is just 2km away. Given its close proximity to the downtown, Sai Ying Pun has become popular with expats. [2022]Referring itself as a French Wine Library specialised in Rhone Valley and Burgendy wines, the establishment of Premier Cru on High Street reflects a significant population of expats living in Sai Ying Pun. [2022]A diverse drinking and dining scene has emerged since the opening of Sai Ying Pun MTR Station in 2015. Since 2016, Bali hospitality group Potato Head opened its delightful restaurant in the neighbourhood. Potato Head Hong Kong consists of an Indonesian restaurant, cocktail bar and audiophile listening room. [2021]Some cafes or bars intend to incorporate the aged characteristics of the neighbourhood with their shop design, 2015, including this lovely cafe Sol High at the corner of High Street and Centre Street. [2021]Between century old colonial buildings and contemporary residential towers, there are still a large amount of postwar tenement apartments in Sai Ying Pun. Compared to other areas in Hong Kong, buildings in Sai Ying Pun are relatively old. A 2017 study indicates that the average building age in the neighbourhood is 43.4 years. 94 buildings are over 50 years old. Such scenario is indeed very attractive for real estate developers for redevelopment projects. [2022]The metal railing at the middle section of Hospital Road is believed to be over a hundred years old, according to some history enthusiasts who managed to dig up old photographs of the area. [2022]Following the death of King George in 1936, a memorial park was built on the site where the former garden of the Government Civic Hospital stood. Across the street stands the new Tsan Yuk Hospital, which has been serving the community at this location since 1955. [2022]The retaining walls, stone steps, and majestic old trees of King George V Memorial Park are some of the most iconic features of Sai Ying Pun. [2020]Sai Ying Pun was once a hub of medical services for the City of Victoria, including Government Civic Hospital, Western Public Dispensary, Tsan Yuk Hospital, Lock Hospital, Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, etc. [2022]The western boundary of King George V Memorial Park is Eastern Street, one of the steep streets of Sai Ying Pun. [2022]Near the top of Eastern Street stands the preserved facade of the former Nursing and Staff Quarters and Lunatic Asylum. [2021]Due to its use as a mental hospital and rumored to be an execution ground during the Japanese occupation in 1940’s, accounts of ghost sightings began to emerge after the building was abandoned in 1970’s. Two decades later, the government decided to replace the vacant building with a new community complex, but preserving the old facade on High Street. [2022]Despite its new use, the former Nursing and Staff Quarters and Lunatic Asylum (舊精神病院) is probably still the most famous haunted house in Hong Kong. [2022]Nursing and Staff Quarters and Lunatic Asylum in the colonial time. [National Archives UK, public domain]Founded in 1922, the old Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital (贊育醫院) offered Western labour and delivery services for Chinese women. [2022]The service proved to be very popular because of its lower mortality rate compared to traditional Chinese delivery methods. This led to long queues outside the hospital. After WWII, Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital was moved to a larger establishment on Hospital Road. The old hospital building has been converted into a community centre ever since. [2021]Behind the Old Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital stands the Old Western Public Dispensary, a former clinic to treat patients affected by the bubonic plague at the end of the 19th century. [2022]The former plague clinic is now home to The Conservancy Association Centre for Heritage (長春社文化古蹟資源中心, an NGO that advocates heritage conservation in the city. [2022]At the intersection of Western Street and Bonham Road (般咸道), the iconic entrance vestibule of King’s College (英皇書院) has been around since 1926. [2021]The grey granite columns, red bricks, arched colonnade and sunken garden of King’s College have become the collective memory of local residents for several generation. [2021]The school building was damaged and used as a military mule and horse stable during the Japanese Occupation in 1940’s. [2022]Visually hidden from street pedestrians, several 1930’s tenement houses on Yu Lok Lane were preserved while all other buildings on the lane were demolished for a luxurious residential development. [2021]The preserved houses offer a glimpse of the living conditions of Sai Ying Pun residents ninety years ago. [2021]Kau Yan Church (救恩堂) originates from the German speaking Basel Mission led by Theodore Hamberg and Rudolf Lechler. They had successfully established a Hakka Christian community in Sai Ying Pun in the 1860’s. [2022]At the intersection of Pokfulam Road and Queen’s Road West, the yellow sign of “Chiu Sing Nam” (趙醒楠) traditional bone setter marks the boundary between Shek Tong Shui and Sai Ying Pun. [2022]Across the street from Chiu Sing Nam, the Western magistracy building elegantly guards the western gateway of Sai Ying Pun since 1965. [2022]On the other side of Chiu Sing Nam, the white walls of the third generation of Police Station no. 7 is also another prominent fixture in the neighbourhood since 1952. [2022]
Blue Lapis Road 