THE DISAPPEARED CANAL, Wanchai/ Causeway Bay (灣仔/銅鑼灣), Hong Kong
Cutting through Happy Valley (跑馬地), Yellow Mud Stream or Wong Nai Chung (黃泥涌) once flowed past Morrison Hill (摩利臣山) and entered Victoria Harbour through an estuary in eastern Wan Chai, opposite to the tiny Kellett Island (奇力島/ 燈籠洲). In 1850’s, reformist Governor John Bowring (寶寧) allowed Chinese citizens to become lawyers, established the first commercial water supply system, ensured safer design for construction projects, and developed the river mouth of Yellow Mud Stream into an area known as Bowring City, or Bowrington (寶靈頓). At the heart of Bowrington lies Bowrington Canal (寶靈頓運河), where the water of Yellow Mud Stream was directed towards the harbour. Some locals found the narrow canal resembling a goose neck, and hence named it Goose Neck Creek or Ngo Keng Kan (鵝頸澗). First built in 1861, Bowrington Bridge or Ngo Keng Kiu (鵝頸橋) has become a landmark of Victoria City ever since. In 1970’s, the canal was covered and turned into an underground waterway during the construction of Canal Road Flyover (堅拿道天橋), connecting Cross Harbour Tunnel at Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter with Wong Nai Chung Flyover and Aberdeen Tunnel in Happy Valley.
Just as Kellett Island is no longer an island and Morrison Hill is no longer a hill, Bowrington Canal is no longer a canal, but only a historical reference to today’s Canal Road. Following today’s Canal Road Flyover and Wong Nai Chung Flyover would give us an idea where the original Bowrington Canal and Yellow Mud Stream once flowed. “Bowrington Bridge” (鵝頸橋) remains as a nickname referring to the intersection of Hennessy Road and Canal Road, despite the bridge was long gone. Many people, including me, who are too young to see the real Bowrington Canal and Bridge, would often mistake the concrete Canal Road Flyover as Bowrington Bridge. To many, the Bowrington Bridge intersection is the unofficial boundary between Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, and also the famous spot of traditional villain hitting or da siu yan (打小人). Performed by old ladies, villain hitting is an old folk sorcery once popular in Guangdong and Hong Kong. It is a small ceremony in which the old lady would help her client to curse the enemy, usually someone that the client hates. East of Canal Road Flyover stands Times Square (時代廣場), a luxury shopping centre and office complex occupying the original Sharp Street tram depot; while west of the flyover sits Bowrington Road Market (鵝頸街市), a large market that include street stores and a multi level complex. At the boundary between Wan Chai and Happy Valley where Morrison Hill once stood, Canal Road Flyover makes a bend and becomes Wong Nai Chung Flyover extending into Happy Valley. The hill was removed in 1920’s as part of Praya East Reclamation Scheme, when rocks cleared from the hill were used to reclaim the nearby waterfront.
CULTURAL CENTRE AT FORMER EXPLOSIVES MAGAZINE, Asia Society (亞洲協會), Admiralty (金鐘), Hong Kong
In late 1970’s and early 1980’s, the former Victoria Barracks at Admiralty have been torn down to make way for commercial developments, government buildings, and transportation infrastructure. Only a handful of the 19-century structures have been preserved and renovated with modern usage in today’s Hong Kong Park. East of the park, the abandoned Explosives Magazine Compound awaited its fate as rain forest gradually takes over the site. Two decades have passed. In 2002, the site was granted to Asia Society to establish their new home in Hong Kong. Founded in 1956 by John D. Rockefeller III in New York, Asia Society is an organization that promotes cultural exchange between Asia and the United States. In 1990, Asia Society arrived in Hong Kong to establish its Hong Kong Centre. After granted the site of the former Explosives Magazine Compound, Architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien were chosen to oversee the design and transformation of the site, erecting new structures and converting four former weapon production and storage buildings into one of the most fascinating cultural venues in the city.
As the New York based architects described, the 1.3 hectares site was overgrown with banyan trees and lush green vegetation despite its central location adjacent to the British consulate and Pacific Place Shopping Centre. In 2012, after a decade of construction work, Asia Society’s 65,000 s.f. new home was opened to the public. Seen as one of Hong Kong’s most successful adaptive reuse and heritage conservation project in recent years, Asia Society regularly host talks and exhibitions. The complex is separated by a nullah into two parts. Where the former explosive magazine buildings are located, the upper site houses a gallery, offices, and theatre. The lower site is occupied by a visitor centre, multi-function hall, gift shop, restaurant, and offices. Connecting the upper and lower sites, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien designed a double decker bridge that zigzags over the sloped rain forest. The upper deck is a pleasant open walkway offering great views of the adjacent commercial district. Combined with the roof of the visitor centre, the open walkway also serves as a sculpture garden.
HERITAGE VOGUE OF HOLLYWOOD ROAD (荷李活道), Central – Sheung Wan (中上環), Hong Kong
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.
COOLEST STREET IN TOWN, Tai Ping Shan Street, Tai Ping Shan (太平山), Hong Kong
Perhaps it is the lack of traffic, or its proximity to the adjacent business and entertainment quarters in Central, Tai Ping Shan Street in Poho is like no other residential street in Hong Kong. It has its dark history of the 1894 plague, and forgotten stories of the early Chinese migrant workers. It has its fair amount of heritage buildings, old temples, side street deadends and stone staircases to construct a certain kind of vintage and causal ambience. It could be precisely the unique and rich cultural history and the causal mood of the area that have attracted a diverse community to station in the area, making Tai Ping Shan Street the coolest neighborhood in Hong Kong. A few years ago, some travel magazines and websites put Sheung Wan as one of the world’s coolest neighbourhoods, and it was largely due to Tai Ping Shan Street in the district. The excitement of Tai Ping Shan Street originates from the influx of artists, designers, expats, and young residents who come to look for a more tranquil alternative to the nearby Soho. Gradually, it has become an interesting example of what Jane Jacobs would describes as a successful neighborhood focused on pedestrian permeability, mixed public uses, buildings of various ages, diversity of inhabitants, vibrancy of commercial and community activities, etc. While Teakha (trendy tea shop), Homey (family run cafe), Green Ginkgo Tea (Japanese lifestyle tea house), Frantzén’s Kitchen (Michelin recommended Nordic cuisine), Crit Room (sleek Italian cuisine), Reserva Iberica (ham shop), Espana Espana (Spanish fine dining), CRAFTISSIMO (international crafted beer), support a strong contemporary culinary scene, Fo Kee(科記), Yuk Kin(郁健) and Sun Bor Kee (新波記) continue to offer local fast food (street eatery) at street corners where neighbours and pet dogs mingle throughout the day. Art galleries, fashion boutiques, designer pop up shops, and hair stylists open their business just a few meters away from a cluster of the city’s oldest temples. The juxtaposition of the old and new, east and west, reveals the core spirit of what Hong Kong culture is all about. Apart from the exciting foodie scene and designer stores, Mount Zero Books has stood out in recent years as the hub that has brought the Poho community together. Situated at a dead end, the bookstore often organizes events right outside their door, fostering a strong community bonding. This is the bygone sense of community that has somehow disappeared in time as Hong Kong is being developed into a global financial hub. All the above excitement is miraculously packed in less than 200m of the one way street, forming some lovely streetscape that won’t be found anywhere else in Hong Kong.
But Tai Ping Shan Street wasn’t always about the stylish and trendy. Lying one street lower than Po Hing Fong, Tai Ping Shan Street was once the densest neighborhood in the Victoria City during the 19th century. While the terraces around Po Hing Fong and U Lam Terrace were home to upper and middle class Chinese residents, Tai Ping Shan Street was cramped with shared housing for migrant workers arriving from Qing Imperial China seeking opportunities in Colonial Hong Kong. Most of them had families in Canton or beyond, and they hardly knew anyone when they first arrived. The Buddhist temples, especially Pak Shing Temple (百姓廟), served as the main community hub for these newcomers. Free meals and accommodation were provided for the sick. When one passed away, body of the deceased would be stored in the temple for later transport back to Mainland China, or for simple burial in the nearby Po Yan Street near the current Tung Wah Hospital. News of the poor living environment and dire treatment of the sick and dead circulated back to London, forcing the colonial government to support local charity groups to establish Tung Wah Hospital as the city’s first hospital in 1870 to treat the locals with Chinese medicine (as most Chinese refused to take Western medicine during that time). Then the plague came in 1894 and the government was determined to tackle the poor living conditions of Tai Ping Shan by clearing some buildings to make way for the Blake Garden, and building the city’s first public toilet and shower facility at Tai Ping Shan Street. The area was cleaned up as time went by, but among the older generations, Tai Ping Shan is still haunted by the memories of the sick and dead. Even today, coffin stores and funeral homes still exist around the area, reminding people its darker past despite its contemporary bohemian flair. Today, Tai Ping Shan remains as the rare location in the city where a pub or a hamburger eatery can coexist with a coffin store side by side. It is the juxtaposition of paradoxes and clashes of cultures that make Tai Ping Shan Street and the Poho area the coolest neighbourhood in Hong Kong.
[Credit: Wellcome Library, London. http://wellcomeimages.org. Creative Commons CC BY 4.0]
ART, ARCHITECTURE + NATURE, Hiroshi Senju Museum (千住博美術館), Karuizawa (軽井沢) , Japan
In a November evening in 2012, we attended an architectural lecture at University of Toronto by Ryue Nishizawa (西沢立衛), one of the two principals of the world acclaimed architectural firm SANAA. In that lecture, he talked about several of his projects, including his recent projects (back then), the minimal Louvre Gallery in Lens of France and the sculptural teardrop of Teshima Art Museum (豊島美術館). At about the same time, he also finished an art gallery in Karuizawa, famous for the undulating gallery floor that resembles the natural terrain and the curvilinear glass enclosure of landscaped lightwells. Hiroshi Senju Museum of Karuizawa (軽井沢千住博美術館) was the main reason for our Karuizawa day trip out of Tokyo. Hiroshi Senju (千住博) is a Japanese painting known for his large scale waterfall paintings. He was the first Asian artist to receive a Honorable Mention at the Venice Biennale in 1995. Admiring Hiroshi Senju’s landscape paintings in Ryue Nishizawa’s landscape inspired architecture is like seeing art in a minimalist manmade forest in Karuizawa.
The museum is located out of the tourist area of Karuizawa. After getting off at the nearest bus stop, we walked a bit along a country road to reach the museum. A unique white sign greeted us at the museum forecourt.
Before seeing the white and minimalist main museum building, we passe by another interesting piece of architecture, the panel cladded visitor centre.
From the parking lot, a winding pathway led us to the entrance of the main museum building.
We entered the main exhibition space through the transparent entrance vestibule. From outside, it was impossible to imagine what surprises lie ahead in front of us.
Once inside, we were immediately captivated by the harmonious relationship between art, architecture and nature.
Walking on the gently sloping floor of the museum as if strolling on the pre-existing natural terrain of the site. Even the seating matches the curvilinear forested lightwells inside the exhibition space.
Curvilinear glass enclosure of various sizes create a number of naturalistic lightwells or miniature forests.
Walking between two lightwells felt like wandering through two art installations in a forest.
Other than the paintings by Hiroshi Senju, the lightwells of the building were definitely unique art pieces for me.
Back at the main parking lot, the sleek and dark visitor centre expresses a totally different tone.
While the main museum is all about its nature-inspired interior, the visitor centre contrastingly tells a form-driven design story.
LONG MUSEUM (龍美術館), West Bund, Shanghai, China
Before our trip, a number of people recommended the Long Museum to us. Designed by a focal firm Atelier Deshaus, the Long Museum is a fine piece of contemporary architecture that has been featured in many design magazines. Despite our tight schedule in Shanghai, we managed to squeeze in two hours to visit this contemporary art museum at the West Bund of Xuhui. The riverside promenade of Xuhui district hosts a number of cultural establishments like the Long Museum, and also occasional art events such as the West Bund Biennale of Architecture and Contemporary Art. Along with upcoming developments such as the movie production and entertainment complex – Dream Centre, the once industrial area West Bund of Xuhui is gradually transforming into a lively cultural corridor by the Huangpu River. The privately-owned art museum near the former Expo ground stands as a proud revelation of Shanghai’s ambitions to boost the local contemporary art scenes.
We arrived at Long Museum in the mid afternoon. Dozens or so visitors were busy photographing the cherry blossoms in front of the museum. Others were having fun taking seflies against the backdrop of a well preserved industrial structures, which has now become a significant feature outside the museum. At the museum’s rear side facing the riverside promenade, locals were enjoying themselves playing badminton and skateboards. We entered the museum through its main entrance at the side. Once inside, we were immediately captivated by the high vaulted space of the main exhibition hall. There is not a single white wall in the museum. With high volume spaces and half-vaulted ceiling, the museum is like a minimalist concrete cathedral, offering visitors diverse spatial experience, and a sleek atmosphere and backdrop for showcasing contemporary art.
Exhibited in galleries and a number of international biennale around the globe, Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson is a prominent figure in the art world. Eliasson creates interesting art installations that often engage spectators through the use of basic elements like water, light or shadows. We were delighted to see Eliasson’s solo show at the Long Museum. Playful reflections, shadows, and lighting effects of his pieces did a fine job engaging spectators in multiple ways. We spent about two hours seeing Eliasson’s exhibition until the museum was about to close its doors. After the visit, we strolled along the riverside promenade to take in the relax atmosphere.
Visitors gathered in front of Long Museum to photograph the fine cherry blossoms.
Concrete structure from an old factory is preserved as an exterior feature of Long Museum.
The old structure becomes a local favorite for portrait photography.
The old industrial structure create a beautiful scene of shadows and textures.
Visitors walking beyond the old industrial structure.
A visitor and dramatic sunlight casting onto the vaulted concrete wall.
Main exhibition space of Long Museum.
Olafur Eliasson’s installation art took over every wall and corner of Long Museum.
Spectators having fun with their own reflection at one of Eliasson’s piece.
Mirrors are used in many of Eliasson’s pieces.
A sphere that allows visitors to enter is a popular piece.
Moving shadows and interesting reflections was a result from lighting effect and a suspended ring.
Elegant shadows of an abstract installation.
Visitor and the semi-vaulted ceiling.
Visitors queuing for a glimpse of their own reflection at one of Eliasson’s piece.
A mother photographing her daughter from the other end of the piece.
A room with alternating lighting that changed the hues of wall decorations from black and white to rainbow colours.
The passageway between the old industrial structure and the museum facade made of pour concrete and expanded metal.
Locals having a good time with badminton and skateboards at the back of Long Museum.
The riverside promenade behind Long Museum links the museum with other cultural establishments at the West Bund of Xuhui.
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Read other posts on Shanghai 2016:
0.0 SHANGHAI, 2016
1.0 SUZHOU MUSEUM, Suzhou, China
2.0 HUMBLE ADMINISTRATOR’S GARDEN, Suzhou, China
3.0 LION GROVE GARDEN, Suzhou, China
4.0 SOUP DUMPLINGS AND MORNING STROLL, Shanghai, China
5.0 ROCKBUND, Shanghai, China
6.0 M50, Shanghai, China
7.0 1933 SHANGHAI (老場坊) , Shanghai, China
8.0 POLY GRAND THEATRE (上海保利大劇院), Shanghai, China
9.0 FORMER FRENCH CONCESSION, Shanghai, China
10.0 POWER STATION OF ART, Shanghai, China
11.0 LONG MUSEUM (龍美術館), West Bund, Shanghai, China
12.0 THE BUND (外灘) AT NIGHT, Shanghai, China
13.0 TIANZIFANG (田子坊), Shanghai, China
14.0 CHINESE HAND PRINTED BLUE NANKEEN GALLERY (藍印花布博物館), Shanghai, China
15.0 LUJIAZUI (陸家嘴) OF PUDONG (浦東), Shanghai, China
POWER STATION OF ART, Shanghai, China
After a morning of the former French Concession, a short taxi ride took us to the former Expo ground by the Huangpu River for an entirely different side of Shanghai. Opened in 2012, Power Station of Art is China’s first state run contemporary art museum. Like London’s Tate Modern, the 440,000 sq.ft art museum is housed in a former power station. We spent about two hours at the art museum.
Upon arrival at the grand hall on the ground floor, we were immediately astounded by the gigantic piece of installation art that involved a life-size train carriage and a number of mounted animals. The piece belongs to French-Chinese artist Huang Yongping (黄永砯) as the centerpiece of his exhibition, Baton Serpent III: Spur Track to the Left. On the upper floors, through a retrospective exhibition marking his 60th birthday, we got to know about the magnificent works and tragic life of Datong Dazhang, a Chinese artist from Shanxi Province active in the 1980s and 90s, and eventually committed suicide in the year 2000. With vivid posters, drawings and videos illustrating renowned architect Bernard Tschumi’s design philosophies, we spent a brief time full of architectural thoughts at Tschumi’s exhibition, Architecture: Concept & Notation. The last thing we saw before leaving the museum was In the Name of Architecture, a design exhibition by Atelier FCJZ encompassing the studio’s ideas on architecture, fashion, lifestyle, and graphic design.
Built in 1985, the Nanshi Power Station was turned into the Pavilion of Future in 2010’s Shanghai Expo, and subsequently converted into an art museum by Original Design Studio.
Today, the Power Station of Art has become a prominent cultural venue in Shanghai.
The life-size train carriage of Huang Yongping’s Spur Track to the Left.
Huang Yongping’s Spur Track to the Left.
Huang Yongping’s Spur Track to the Left.
Other installation by Huang Yongping’s on the ground floor.
Other installation by Huang Yongping’s on the ground floor.
Other installation by Huang Yongping’s on the ground floor.
Huang Yongping’s Baton Serpent on the second floor.
View of Huang Yongping’s Spur Track to the Left from the third floor.
Huangpu River and the former Expo ground as viewed from the museum’s outdoor terrace.
Outdoor terrace of the Power Station of Art.
Greatly under valued and seen as a social dissident during his lifetime, Shanxi avant-garde artist Datong Dazhang (大同大張) lived a harsh life in the 1980s and 90s as an artist who was way ahead of his time. Entirely self-taught and self initiated, Zhang works ranged from installations, photography, performance art, and drawings.
Datong Dazhang’s Questioning the Weight of Scales.
Datong Dazhang’s The Fear of Math, where pig heads were arranged in an abacus arrangement.
Prohibited from showcasing his art because of political issues, Zhang continued to make art during the 1990s and documented a number of performance arts with zero audience.
Bernard Tschumi’s Architecture: Concept & Notation.
Architectural model at Atelier FCJZ’s In the Name of Architecture.
Cool copper partitions at the entrance of FCJZ’s exhibition on the ground floor.
***
Read other posts on Shanghai 2016:
0.0 SHANGHAI, 2016
1.0 SUZHOU MUSEUM, Suzhou, China
2.0 HUMBLE ADMINISTRATOR’S GARDEN, Suzhou, China
3.0 LION GROVE GARDEN, Suzhou, China
4.0 SOUP DUMPLINGS AND MORNING STROLL, Shanghai, China
5.0 ROCKBUND, Shanghai, China
6.0 M50, Shanghai, China
7.0 1933 SHANGHAI (老場坊) , Shanghai, China
8.0 POLY GRAND THEATRE (上海保利大劇院), Shanghai, China
9.0 FORMER FRENCH CONCESSION, Shanghai, China
10.0 POWER STATION OF ART, Shanghai, China
11.0 LONG MUSEUM (龍美術館), West Bund, Shanghai, China
12.0 THE BUND (外灘) AT NIGHT, Shanghai, China
13.0 TIANZIFANG (田子坊), Shanghai, China
14.0 CHINESE HAND PRINTED BLUE NANKEEN GALLERY (藍印花布博物館), Shanghai, China
15.0 LUJIAZUI (陸家嘴) OF PUDONG (浦東), Shanghai, China
Blue Lapis Road 