For 50 years, lampposts, electrical boxes, concrete pillars, pavements, benches, planters, and retaining walls on the streets of Hong Kong could be seen as one large canvas for the “King of Kowloon” (九龍皇帝) to leave his unique calligraphy works. Sometimes, he wrote to proclaim his ancestral land ownership of the Kowloon Peninsula before the British rule, while at other times he would write about his family. Seen by many as acts of a crazy man, the “King of Kowloon” or Tsang Tsou Choi (曾灶財) was probably the most well known graffiti artist the city had seen in the 20th century. Fined by the government numerous times, insulted by neighbours, and even disowned by his own family, Tsang Tsou Choi was mocked by Hong Kong for decades. Whenever his calligraphy was washed or painted over by the authorities, he would restore the works right after. His works were largely seen as public nuisance until the 1990’s, when local artists, fashion designers, art directors, interior designers, furniture makers, graphic designers, musicians began to use Tsang’s unique calligraphy on design products. In his final years, Tsang’s works finally began to gain public recognition with successful shows both in Hong Kong and abroad, including the Venice Biennale in 2003, and even went for auctions at the Sotheby’s.
A decade after Tsang’s death (2007), street art in Hong Kong has already entered a new chapter. Far from the vibrancy and sophistication of London’s or New York’s, street art is nonetheless much widely accepted and welcomed by the public in Hong Kong nowadays. In recent years, the city has been frequented by international street artists, such as Invader from France, who has secretly put up his iconic pixelated 8-bit video game images all over the city. In December 2019, the popular show “Banksy: Genius or Vandal?” arrived in Hong Kong and created quite a stir on the social media. The free spirit, unique artistic expression, cool character, coupled with satirical imagery, political controversy, and social criticism of street art have been welcomed by the young generations, especially in the era of social media when everybody has something to say and share.
In Hong Kong, one of the most popular areas to see interesting street art is Central-Sheung Wan (中上環). Thanks to HKwalls, the non-profit organization who has been organizing annual street art festival since 2014, several neighbourhoods in Hong Kong have already become hotspots showcasing the talents of local and international artists. In their debut year of 2014, HKwalls paired artists with properties owners in Sheung Wan and successfully added 17 street murals in the neighborhood, then another 50+ works in Sheung Wan and Stanley Market in the following year. The event moved to Sham Shui Po in 2016, Wong Chuk Hang in 2017, then returned to Central and Western District in 2018 before moving on to Wanchai (2019) and Sai Kung (2021). HKwalls has successfully brought in great artistic talents from all over the world to Hong Kong, transformed the urban scenery of old neighborhoods, and raised public appreciation of street art to a whole new level.
For a city well known of its quick, dramatic and relentless urban changes, the impermanent and transient beauty of street art suit perfectly to echo the ephemeral spirit of Hong Kong. Here if you see an interesting street art, you better document it right away. Next time around, the mural may be gone forever.
Most of the street art by Tsang Tsou Choi (曾灶財) did not survive. After public outcry, the government finally agreed to preserve the last few remaining works by the King of Kowloon (九龍皇帝), including the one at the Star Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀). [Star Ferry Terminal, Tsim Sha Tsui, 2020] Renowned French undercover artist Invader has left his marks in 79 cities worldwide, including Hong Kong. [Forecourt of Harbour City Mall, Tsim Sha Tsui, 2020]In December 2019, the Banksy show came to Hong Kong and was quite a hit among the younger generation. [A mock up of Banksy studio at the “Banksy: Genius or Vandal?” show, Kowloon Bay, 2019]Often referred to as the Instagram Wall, local artist Alex Croft created one of the most photographed street art in the city. Depicting the fast disappearing tenement apartments on Graham Street, the famous mural stands proudly across the street from GOD (Goods Of Desire), a local lifestyle store that was one of the first design business to incorporate Hong Kong street art into merchandises. [Junction of Graham Street and Hollywood Road, Central, 2020]Renowned British street artist Dan Kitchener participated in the annual street art festival by HKwalls in 2018. Kitchener often takes inspirations from urban sceneries of Tokyo and Hong Kong to create his works, which appear in many cities in Europe, Asia and North America. [Junction of Graham Street and Hollywood Road, Central, 2020]Kitchener’s murals often depict imaginary urban scenery inspired by a fix of streets scenes from Hong Kong and Tokyo. [Junction of Hiller Street and Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan, 2020]For the show Street Art Challenge on Insight TV, British artists Dan Kitchener and Charles Williams created this wall mural with a juxtaposition of a natural and an urban scene, and a Chinese message saying “don’t let it go to waste.” [Junction of Elgin Street and Caine Road, Central, 2020]In Sheung Wan, Tank Lane (水池巷) is one of the best spot to check out graffiti art. Brazilian artist Alex Senna was another street art superstar participated in HKwalls 2018. Appeared in many cities around the world, his black and white (and different shades of grey) human figures depict various scenarios of human life, and are often open for interpretation. [Junction of Tank Lane and Bridges Street, Sheung Wan, 2020]Known as the King of Graffiti in his home country, South Korean artist Xeva (Yoo Seung-baik) painted a multifaceted Bruce Lee for HKwalls 2015. Xera often collaborates with different commercial brands in both Korea and abroad. [Tank Lane, Sheung Wan, 2020] Further down Tank Lane from Xeva’s Bruce Lee is another eye-catching piece, a stylish woman face painted by Hopare from France for HKWalls 2015. [Tank Lane, Sheung Wan, 2020]Well known for his deconstructed pop icons from Mickey Mouse and the Simpsons in America to the Astro Boy and Dragon Ball characters of Japanese anime, LA based Matt Gondek has also left a melting Mickey Mouse (and also Donald Duck) in Sheung Wan. [Junction of Tank Lane and Lower Lascar Row, Sheung Wan, 2021]Apart from Tank Lane, the nearby Water Lane (水巷) and the lane between Upper Station Street and Sai Street are also the must-sees for street art lovers. [Lane between Upper Station Street and Sai Street, Sheung Wan, 2020]Begins from a traditional Chinese landscape painting, then evolves into geometric shapes and ends with a dragon head, artist WEST & Megic from Foshan of China made this long mural for HKwalls 2018. [Lane between Upper Station Street and Sai Street, Sheung Wan, 2020]Detail of the dragon head made by WEST & Megic. [Lane between Upper Station and Sai Street, Sheung Wan, 2020]From billboards to planes, British artist 45RPM from Bristol is a multi-disciplinary artist who has collaborated with many international brands. He has also left his mark in Sheung Wan for HKwalls 2018. [Water Lane, Sheung Wan, 2020]Since 2015, Portuguese artist Alexandre Farto (Vhils) has been making street art in Hong Kong. Known as “Scratching the Surface projects”, one of his signature art creation methods is to remove paint and plaster from the wall to expose the concrete inside. [Sai Street and Water Lane, Sheung Wan, 2020] At Water Lane, the 2014 HKwalls mural by Stern Rockwell and 4GET from New York creates a big contrast to the adjacent historical shrine for a local deity. [Near junction of Water Lane and Tai Ping Shan Street, Sheung Wan, 2020]Danish artist Christian Storm made this eye-catching koi fish mural for HKwalls 2018. Recently, the mural has been replaced by a new painting depicting a large rhino. [Junction of Shing Wong Street and Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, 2020]In SoHo, Barcelona artist Cinta Vidal Agullo created this Inception-like mural for a wine cellar/bar as part of HKwalls 2018. [Junction of Aberdeen and Staunton Street, Central, 2019]La Bouffe, a French resturant, Seoul Brothers, a Korean restaurant and Yuk Yip, a dai pai dong street eatery commissioned a French artist to create this mural in the street corner where the three businesses are located. [Junction of Elgin Street and Hollywood Road, Central, 2020]Local artist KristopherH created this 6-face animal for La Cabane Bistro and wine cellar to capture the attention of pedestrians. [Junction of Shin Hing Street and Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, 2020]The same wall of La Cabane has been repainted recently with a treasure map also by KristopherH and calligraphy by Woodnink. [Junction of Shin Hing Street and Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, 2021]Japanese celebrity Shingo Katori (香取慎吾) has created this mural underneath the Central-Mid Levels Escalator in 2018. [Junction of Shelley Street and Hollywood Road, 2020]One street down from Hollywood Road, locally based French artist Elsa Jean de Dieu painted this delightful mural for Bedu, a cosy Middle Eastern restaurant popular with expats. [Junction of Gough and Shing Hing Street, Sheung Wan, 2020]Also by Elsa Jean de Dieu, this laughing woman outside Uma Nota restaurant has become an icon for SoHo. [Junction of Peel Street and Hollywood Road, Central, 2020]For HKwalls 2018, Elsa Jean de Dieu is also responsible for a large mural next to the shop of Lush, the British cosmetics retailer. [Junction of Cochrane Street and Lyndhurst Terrace, Central, 2020]Local artist Joe Yiu and his team of Creative Master Group has created this large mural at the popular tourist attraction of historical Pottinger Street. [Junction of Pottinger Street and Wellington Street, Central, 2020]Sometimes, a surprised encounter of an anonymous graffiti art is more delightful than purposefully checking out a large scale mural commissioned by a certain business. This “ET nun” caught my eye when I walked pass the in one afternoon. [Near Lan Kwai Fong Amphitheatre, Central, 2021]
Linking a number of tourist attractions like Tai Kwun, PMQ and Man Mo Temple, Hollywood Road is always popular for tourists in Hong Kong. While tourists come for the historical attractions, many locals, on the other hand, come to Hollywood Road for food and drinks. South of Hollywood Road, the narrow Staunton Street (士丹頓街) was once home to wet market vendors, trading offices, family-run stores and small Buddhist convents (庵堂). In fact, Staunton Street was once nicknamed the Street of Buddhist Nuns (師姑街). After the Central – Mid Levels Escalators opened to the public in 1993 and brought an influx of pedestrians from the business district downhill, Staunton Street and the adjacent Elgin Street(伊利近街) have quietly undergone a dramatic transformation. Expatriates started to move into the area. Old shops and Buddhist convents were gradually replaced by bars, pubs, restaurants, comedy clubs, cafes, and wine shops. In 1996, Thomas Goetz, a restaurant owner from Elgin Street, came up with the acronym “SoHo” (蘇豪) for this new entertainment and dining area of Central, referring to the location “South of Hollywood Road”. From then on, the Staunton Street that I used to go as a child to get fresh grocery and pay ritualistic respect to my grandfather at a small Buddhist convent has silently disappeared. Today, SoHo would remain sleepy most of the day, and then bursts into life after sunset. The yell of market vendors and pungent incense smoke have been replaced by causal giggles and laughter, and the smell of beer.
Further away from the Central – Mid Levels Escalators and less than 150m northwest of the buzzing SoHo, Gough Street (歌賦街), Kau U Fong (九如坊) and Aberdeen Street (鴨巴甸街) offer a much more laid-back and tranquil ambience. Once home to family run shops and small printing presses, these sleepy back streets have become a hipper cousin of the nearby SoHo. Known as NoHo for “North of Hollywood Road”, this area is particular attractive to locals who come for the foodie scene: Chinese cuisine, dai pai dong dishes, beef brisket noodles, Japanese ramen, sushi, Western fine dining, unadon, Vietnamese pho, hand-drip cafes, bubble tea, chocolate, etc. Despite its abundance of dining options, the shops here remain small and peaceful. Compared to its noisier neighbour, NoHo is much more low key, as if deliberately staying away from the public limelight. Here visitors would enjoy a sense of discovery and intimacy that is hard to find anywhere else in Central.
Looking down from PMQ, the stepped Shin Hing Street (善慶街) marks one of the entrances into Gough Street from Hollywood Road. [Junction of Hollywood Road and Shin Hing Street, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]An old furniture store still occupies the corner of Hollywood Road and Shin Hing Street. [Top of Shin Hing Street, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]Many love the tranquil and “European” feel of NoHo, which is a rarity in urban Hong Kong. [Shin Hing Street, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]Art installation related to the history of Sun Yatsen, the Father of Modern China, has become a playground for children. [Junction of Shin Hing Street and Gough Street, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]Before the pandemic, the steps of Shin Hing Street was often turned into a stepped seating and drinking area in the evening and during weekends. [Shin Hing Street, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]At Mee Lun Street (美輪街), a small ladder street just a few shops away from Shin Hing Street, a simple dai pai dong street eatery has been a pedestrian magnet for years. Opened in 1959, Sing Heung Yuen (勝香園) dai pai dong is a big attraction in NoHo. Before the pandemic, there would always a long queue (mainly tourists and young couples) whenever the eatery is opened. [Junction of Mee Lun Street and Gough Street, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]One of the most famous dishes at Sing Heung Yuen (勝香園) is tomato beef and egg noodles. [Junction of Mun Lun Street and Gough Street, NoHo,Sheung Wan, 2020] Sasa the cat of Sing Heung Yuen (勝香園) is a popular member of the Mun Lun Street neighbourhood. Without tourists during the pandemic, Sasa got a little more freedom to linger around. When the eatery is busy and all seats are taken, the owner would take Sasa back to their apartment nearby. [Junction of Mun Lun Street and Gough Street, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]Kau Kee Beef Briskets（九記牛腩) is another tourist favourite in NoHo. Kau Kee’s business during the pandemic is greatly affected. [Gough Street, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2021]Apart from food, design shops such as Homeless offers another crucial aspect of urban living in Hong Kong. [Gough Street, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]One street downhill from Gough Street, Kau U Fong (九如坊) offers another clusters of tranquil options for foodies. [Kau U Fong, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]As chill as SoHo but with smaller crowds, that is the real beauty of NoHo. [Kau U Fong, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]In recent years, one of the most well known establishments in Kau U Fong is The Chairman (大班樓), a Michelin 1-star Chinese restaurant that uses mostly organic ingredients from small local suppliers and fishermen. [Kau U Fong, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]The most famous fish at The Chairman is undoubtedly steamed crab in aged Xiaoxing wine with Chan Village rice noodles. [The Chairman, Kau U Fong, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]Perpendicular to Gough Street and Kau U Fong is the sloped Aberdeen Street. Despite its slope, the street is also filled with new restaurants and cafes, including Tenkai, a Japanese fine dining restaurant specialized in tempura omakase. [Aberdeen Street, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]Further downhill, the more causal Ode has also attracted a constant queue outside. The restaurant is specialized in ramen in sea bream fish broth. [Aberdeen Street, NoHo, Sheung Wan, 2020]The relatively new and sleek looking Aesop store at Gough / Aberdeen Street is a neat addition to the NoHo neighbourhood. [Junction of Aberdeen Street and Gough Street, NoHo, Sheung Wan,2020]
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Near Hollywood Road, the vivid wall paintings at Graham Street remind visitors that we are now about to enter an interesting and fun neighbourhood. [Junction of Graham Street and Hollywood Road, SoHo, Central, 2014]Since 1993, the world’s longest covered escalator system has brought tens of thousands of pedestrians up and down the slope of Central, from 34,000 daily usage in 1996 to about 85,000 in 2010. This influx of energy has directly contributed to the development of the SoHo District. [Junction of Shelley and Staunton Street, SoHo, Central, 2014]The Central – Mid Level Escalators was the unexpected driving force behind the creation of the entertainment district of SoHo in Central. [Junction of Shelley and Staunton Street, SoHo, Central, 2014]Restaurants and bars cascade up along the escalator system of Shelley Street. [Shelley Street, SoHo, Central, 2020]Staunton has become the central axis of SoHo entertainment district. [Staunton Street, SoHo, Central, 2014]Staunton Street ends at Old Bailey Street where Tai Kwun, the former Central Police Headquarters is situated. [Junction of Staunton and Shelley Street, SoHo, Central, 2020]A simple restaurant serving British food marks the eastern entrance of SoHo at Old Bailey Street. [Junction of Old Bailey and Staunton Street, SoHo, Central, 2020]From crafted beer to high end whiskey, sake, and wines, Staunton Street offers plenty of options to anyone looking for fun after work. [Staunton Street, SoHo, Central, 2020]A constant queue from morning till dusk, Bakehouse is the clear winner of SoHo during the Covid 19 pandemic. Operated by Grégoire Michaud, a renowned baker who has an impressive resume of work experiences in high end hotels and restaurants, the famous bakery has become an urban sensation in the past few years in Hong Kong. [Staunton Street, SoHo, Central, 2020]The former shops and Buddhist convents below old apartment blocks have been converted into restaurants and bars. [Staunton Street, SoHo, Central, 2021]The ambience of Staunton Street would dramatically transformed as evening approaches. [Staunton Street, SoHo, Central, 2021]One street further uphill from Staunton Street, Elgin Street is also at the heart of the bar hopping circuit of SoHo. [Elgin Street, SoHo, Central, 2014]Like other old neighborhoods in Hong Kong, there is a deity shrine in SoHo that protects all in the community. [Junction of Staunton and Peel Street, Soho, Central, 2021]Across from the shrine, a bar specialized in shesha water pipes has an interesting wall painting at its door. [Peel Street, SoHo, Central, 2020]During the Covid 19 pandemic, many bars and pubs were asked to temporarily close their doors. The restaurants remain opened have to follow strict regulations for number of customers per table, distance between seats, shorter opening times, stringent mechanical requirements for air changes, regular disinfection of spaces, etc. [Peel Street, SoHo, Central, 2020]SoHo is not all about fine dining and bar hopping. Other businesses such as custom tailor and second hand bookstore have also left their marks. [Flow Books, Hollywood Road, SoHo, Central, 2014]The true beauty of SoHo is about how people with different backgrounds may come and mingle in a few small streets uphill from the business district of Central. [Flow Books, Hollywood Road, SoHo, Central, 2014]
For a whole year we walked by the junction of Ladder Street (樓梯街) and Circular Pathway (弓弦巷) every morning and never did we notice Nhau, a new contemporary Vietnamese restaurant just 30m down Circular Pathway, until one Saturday morning when we decided to give it a try after reading about it on the Internet. We ended up enjoying the lovely food by Chef Que Vinh Dang and the relaxing ambience of the restaurant. But what truly amazed us was the fact that we have never noticed the restaurant’s existence despite it is just 3 minute walk away from our apartment and we passed by the junction almost everyday. In fact, Nhau was not the only pleasant surprise we have encountered during our strolls in Tai Ping Shan. Be it a hidden restaurant, or a tiny vintage shop, or a new hand-drip coffee house, or an alleyway full of street art, the labyrinth network of ladder streets in our neighborhood are full of hidden treasures. Every spontaneous detour we make may end up a journey of discoveries. Being a flaneur in our own neighborhood has become our weekend pastimes, as if a recurring treasure hunt that brings us delightful surprises from time to time.
Treasure Troves
Tai Ping Shan in Sheung Wan has been a treasure trove for several generations. The area around Hollywood Road (荷李活道) and Upper Lascar Row (嚤囉上街) have long been the largest antique market in Hong Kong. Today, the area still host a large concentration of antique stores. Apart from traditional antique shops, new vintage shops have emerged in recent years, attracting nostalgic vintage lovers across the city coming over to test their luck. Film directors and designers in particular love to linger in the area to search for inspirations and film production props. Select 18 at Tung Street has an impressive collection of vintage objects from jewellery, posters, photos, vinyls, toys, housewares to furniture. We can easily spend hours just to go through every single items that might have appeared somewhere in our childhood memories. Recently, it is Chenmiji (陳米記): A Department Store For Only One Person at Water Lane that has captured our attention. Housed in a metal shed measured no more than 1.5 x 2.5m in a 3m wide alleyway, Chenmiji truly epitomizes the tiny living conditions in Hong Kong, where the average living space per capita is 160 sq.ft (compared to 220 in Japan, 323 in Singapore, and 800 in the United States. Space is intimate at Chenmiji, and the atmosphere is cozy and the collection personal but charming, especially attractive for people who adores the 1960s and 1970s Hong Kong. Checking out these vintage shops have become another hobby of ours recently. Just a gentle touch of an old toy or movie ticket would trigger distant memories that we haven’t recalled for years, reminding us how we used to live in an era without smartphones, computers, and the internet.
Treasures for All
Checking out the vintage store You Wu Studio (遊誤工房) would bring us to a popular community gathering spot at Shing Wong Street (城皇街), another famous ladder street between Hollywood Road and Caine Road. In the midst of “30 House” (卅間), an old community of tenement buildings, or tong lau (唐樓) in Chinese, a series of pedestrian landings and steps have become a causal meeting place for the community, as if a small piazza in Europe. Surrounded by two coffee shops and the vintage store You Wu Studio, these landings can be considered as the community’s “third place”, which sociologist Ray Oldenburg describes as a relaxing mingling place away from our home and office. Every weekend, You Yu Studio would set up chairs and tables outside their store, encourage members of the community to sit down for a causal chat, or a cup of locally made ice cream, or a handicraft workshop. Such breathing space just a stone throw away from the business district is truly a treasure for Tai Ping Shan community, and a valuable open space for all pedestrians to enjoy. As a dense and vertical city, Hong Kongers are unfortunately enjoying far less open spaces than residents in many other Asian cities. A study in 2017 reveals the average open space per capita in Hong Kong is about 2.8 sq.m, way behind Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai and Singapore (ranging from 5.8 to 7.6 sq.m). Without adequate outdoor spaces for social activities, Hong Kongers have long been using the streets creatively for both commercial and social purposes. This is the case for You Yu Studio at Shing Wong Street, and so as the tiny Chenmiji at Water Lane.
Circular Path (弓絃巷) was once a lively street with shops and vendors lined along both sides of the street. Decades of urban redevelopment, street alterations and relocation of most street vendors, vibrant scenes of Circular Path have long gone. Today, only two street stalls remain, and one of the vendors is already 96 years old. The opening of Nhau Vietnamese restaurant has injected a new stream of energy into the stepped alleyway.Occupying a quiet location at Circular Path, Nhau Vietnamese restaurant was a pleasant surprise for us in a lovely June morning.Ping On Lane (平安里), a narrow ladder street a little more than 1m wide between Hollywood Road and Bridges Street, is another hidden alleyways in Sheung Wan. Just 10m in from the entrance of Hollywood Road stands a stone gateway inscribed with two Chinese characters 蹈和, pronounces “dou woo”, referring to an old Chinese idiom meaning one should walk straight peacefully in life. The old stone doorway is a remnant from the former Chung Wah College (中華書院), a charity school established by Tung Wah Hospital Group in 1880 to provide free education to low income citizens operated with public donations from the adjacent Man Mo Temple（文武廟).Just a landing up from the stone doorway leads a rustic entrance with a cool bulldog graphic. Hidden from daily vehicular and pedestrian traffic, SHBJJ is a martial art school training students on Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). A popular martial arts with a solid base of practitioners around the world, including Hollywood actors Keanu Reeves and Naomi Watts, BJJ itself is another story of East meets West, where the Carlos brothers of Brazil were taught by Mitsuyo Maeda (前田 光世), a master of Japanese Judo at the turning of the 20th century. About 100m from Ping On Lane, another hidden ladder street between Queen’s Road Central and Gough Street is home to Sleeep, an award wining capsule hotel that promotes what many Hong Kongers are lacking in their busy life, the culture of sleep. In the antique market area of Upper Lascar Row (嚤囉上街) and Hollywood Road (荷李活道), a series of narrow ladder streets have become treasure troves for vintage collectors. Select 18 is one of the most well known vintage store in Sheung Wan. Many filmmakers and art directors would come to search for furniture or household objects for filming.No matter the age, visitors would likely find objects that belong to their childhood years.All objects in the shop come from the colonial years of Hong Kong. From the objects on display, it’s not difficult to see the British influences to the city.Everything has a price tag, and so as one’s memories. Just 20m from Select 18, hidden in the narrow Water Lane (水巷) between Hollywood Road (荷李活道) and Upper Lascar Row (嚤囉上街) is the super cool Chenmiji (陳米記): A Department Store For Only One Person. Chenmiji is managed by two interesting owners: a designer/ vintage furniture collector and a vintage book collector.A signed photograph of famous Taiwanese actress Brigitte Lin from the 1970s guards the entrance of Chenmiji.Probably due to spatial restrictions, most items at Chenmiji are small. Displayed on the ledge against the shop window include vintage board games and pencil sharpeners from the 1960s and 1970s. Apart from vintage stationery, games, and household items, Chenmiji also offers a selection of vintage books. It is amazing to see such a cozy and personal space emerges in the middle of a hidden alleyway.Tuck in a side alleyway off Shing Wong Street stands a traditional barber shop. With only two seats, the old-school barber shop has become an one of the kind in the neighborhood.East of Shing Wong Street between Staunton Street and Hollywood Road stands the former Police Married Quarters (PMQ), a listed historical building converted into a mixed-use art and design centre. It stands on the former site of Queen’s College, the city’s largest building complex during late 19th century. Before erection of the Queen’s College, Shing Wong Temple, the earliest temple in the Victoria city, occupied the very same site in mid 19th century.Shing Wong Street (城皇街) is the central axis of an old neighborhood known as Thirty Houses (卅間), a battleground between the profit making Urban Renewal Authority and the local community who is fighting for the conservation of historical buildings in the area.In recent years, the vintage shop You Wu Studio (遊誤工房) has become a focal point in the neighborhood.According to their website, “You Wu Studio provides a place for fun. People are able to re-create their own space here: organize exhibitions, workshops, or just come and taste our tea, read books and enjoy life.” Shing Wong Street has become a stepped piazza where the community would gather and interact outside the shopfront of You Yu Studio.A few steps further up from You Wu Studio, another landing is often used as an outdoor patio for the two adjacent cafes.
Blue Lapis Road 