Hongkong Stonehouses Family Garden, Kowloon City History

Hongkong Stonehouses Family Garden, Kowloon City History

Arek Madiun   7:04 AM   Comment  

Anyone who makes the effort to head over to Kowloon City for some exploration should also try and schedule some lunch (or at least a coffee break) at the Stonehouses Family Garden. I became aware of this place last year when Chris DeWolf penned an article for the SCMP detailing some of the interesting history of the local area, Lok Fu.

It then slipped my mind until later in the year when a friend invited me out for some lunch and chose this place because of its previous association with the Hong Kong film industry.

It turns out the site has fair amount of history, the modern part of which, I suppose, dates back to the late 19th Century when this plot of land was owned by a family surnamed Ho (actually the Cantonese pronunciation of this name ? is actually closer to "haw"). The family built a rather splendid traditional Chinese residence there and named it ??? (Ho Ga Yuen) or "Ho Family Garden".

The garden was abandoned by the 1930's (it's not clear why) and was demolished during the Japanese Occupation and replaced by a number of stone cottages. The reason was to help cope with some of the refugee influx into HK during the war years. The proximity to the famous Hau Wong Temple (on the opposite side of Junction Road) led it to be referred to as Hau Wong New Village. Following the war the cottages were used for housing refugees and then in the 1950s they were taken over by various film studios including a company called Great Wall Film Studio (???????). The site was also occupied by various other ventures over the years and in fact one of the companies that used the site is still remembered by its company name etched into the front facade (??? - see below).

Nam Yan Kee Grave and Tombstone Construction Company

It seems that Nam Yan Kee was just one of many small firms that utilised the area over the years. This particular company probably got most of its business courtesy of the adjacent Chinese Christian Cemetery that sits on a conical hill on the other side of Junction Road. It's possible that as the cemetery reached capacity for grave stones (now it seems to just offer columbarium services) their business faltered.

The site was cleared in 2001 and the only remaining structure was the Stone house that incorporated 5 units in a single granite brick building. Thankfully, someone saw the historical significance of the building and plans were drawn up for its revitalisation. The restoration work took around 2 years and it was eventually reopened as a mall local style cafe with indoor and outdoor seating (a rare accomplishment in HK).

Aside from the (very reasonable - I recommend the deluxe all day breakfast) cafe, there is also a small museum next door that details the development of Kai Tak airport and also the revitalisation and history of the building. It's just a shame that all the displays in each of the museum exhibits are in Chinese - no English at all!

Hongkong The view from the Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal, Tsim Sha Tsui History

Hongkong The view from the Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal, Tsim Sha Tsui History

Arek Madiun   9:18 PM   Comment  

As the year draws to a close and I look out of my window and see the rather grim state of the air at this time I felt the need to rehash an old post done in a time of much nicer weather and infinitely more breathable air. Also quite timely for those wishing to find a decent vantage point to watch the New Year fireworks. Well, actually I've never bothered to go and see what the fireworks are like from here (or anywhere else for that matter) - just can't stand the crowds - but this place may be worth checking out because it is one of the lesser-known (or at least lesser-considered) views across the harbour. It's the roof terrace of the HK-China Ferry Terminal on Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. I say "lesser-considered" because the ferry terminal building's location is a little further away from the harbour compared to the more favoured spots, but it still provides some great views with the added bonus that it isn't very busy. When I was there in the height of the summer a few years ago I was the only person there.

HK China Ferry Terminal Building

You don't even have to wander along the crowded pavement of Canton Road to reach here because there is a very handy link bridge that connects to ferry terminal building to the west side of Kowloon Park. All you need to do is to wander past the "Bird Lake" behind the Heritage Discovery Centre and the path will take you to the bridge.

Looking back across the Bird lake at Kowloon Park

Once you cross the bridge you walk alongside the Royal Pacific Hotel and if you are offended by the sight of gold-coloured windows you may want to consider either closing your eyes for the next five minutes or invest in a pair of heavily tinted sunglasses because this place is just one big gold colour. Thankfully, once you are actually on the roof terrace you should be okay as long as you don't turn around.

Gold overload

Absolutely deserted!

Anyway, onto the views. I should note that these pictures were taken in the height of the summer (early July) which is why you can actually see Hong Kong Island on the opposite side of the harbour. I often get asked about the best time to visit HK and my answer isn't always a popular. For the clearest views (i.e. lowest pollution/haze) there is a window of consistently good weather between the latter part of May and early part of June. From my 10 years here, this has consistently been the clearest time of year largely due to strong winds from the south. The downside for most visitors not used to the heat is that this is also one of the hottest parts of the year and summers in HK can be oppressive if your not used to it. So, to maximise the chance of visiting with good skies then come in June/July. If you prefer cooler weather then winter is the time to come but you will find that the pollution and haze ruin all of your city vistas.

Ocean Terminal in view on the left

 Looking to the west

West Kowloon peninsula

What I hadn't realised at the time of my visit - which happens to have been 3rd July 2010 - was that that very morning a Macau-bound helicopter had crashed into the harbour due to a faulty tail rotor. Thankfully it wasn't a fatal crash and the 13 passengers and crew were rescued by passing boats. The fire boat below was still inspecting the area when I arrived in the afternoon even though the chopper had already been taken away. I only heard about the incident on the evening news. 

Looking for the tail rotor?

Hongkong Garden Hill, Shek Kip Mei History

Hongkong Garden Hill, Shek Kip Mei History

Arek Madiun   8:05 AM   Comment  

Garden Hill is a small hill (about 90 meters high) in Shek Kip Mei that overlooks the area once occupied by the famous Shek Kip Mei resettlement estate. The hill is unnamed on all of my local maps - simply identified by the fact that its summit holds the local freshwater service reservoir - but I believe the Chinese name (??? - gar dun saan) is the local nickname due to its proximity to the famous local Garden Bakery. Regardless of the name, it's one of the highest vantage points in this part of Kowloon and is therefore a very popular spot for local photographers. The summit was also once home to a light that either (unsure which one) lit the way to the airport or warned low flying aircraft of its whereabouts. Since the airport closed in 1998 the hill's summit, as well as one of the shaved tiers on its western slope, have been turned into rest gardens for those fit enough to climb the rather steep steps that lead to the top.

If you are ever in the vicinity there are several things that are worth taking a look at including the recently revamped Mei Ho House (the only surviving H-block of the former resettlement estate) which has been turned into a YHA Hostel. It also contains a rather excellent museum on the ground floor as well as a fairly decent cafe. Another building worth a look is the nearby former North Kowloon Magistracy now used by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and of course the aforementioned Garden Bakery building that has been here since time immemorial.

Mei Ho House

You can get up the hill by two paths. The first can be reached by going around the outside of Mei Ho House (it's signposted) and zig-zags up to the top right next to the hostel. The second way is to walk up past the SCAD building and take the steps there.

Option 1: Steps by Mei Ho House

Former North Kowloon Magistracy on Tai Po Road

I recommend going up past SCAD because the steps, though seemingly steeper, are shaded much of the way by tree growth plus you can stop halfway at the so-called mid-level rest garden and take a breather. It' not a massive hill but the steps are steep and any movement in HK weather - even during the "cooler" winter months - can be fairly stifling.

Option 2: Steps by SCAD

Mid-level rest garden

Although there's not much to see on the hill itself (unless you like walking around the deserted but still fully functional covered reservoir), it does afford some great views of the local area.

View south towards Sham Shui Po

Trig point at 90.6 metres

One of the tiers along the slope that provides some rather pleasant breezy shade.

The small shelter and seating seen below is at the top of the hill and occupies the spot that was once taken up by the airport light, hence why there was a pre-built concrete platform here.

Summit with Beacon Hill in the background

From here you can wander around the top and get some fairly decent views. Of course, this being Hong Kong then you have to time it for a day when the sky isn't filled with dirty mucky pollution (hard to do outside of the summer). Local photographers seem top get around that by heading up at night when the air quality improves slightly and the buildings lights start to come on.

Looking east with Lion Rock on the far left

The temple-like building is actually St Francis of Assisi Anglo Primary School

Mei Ho House Youth Hostel

View south along Yen Chow Street

Hongkong The Dragon Centre and its indoor roller coaster History

Hongkong The Dragon Centre and its indoor roller coaster History

Arek Madiun   9:56 AM   Comment  

I'm not sure why, perhaps just curiosity, but during my inaugural Nov 95 HK trip I decided to head into Sham Shui Po and check out the Dragon Centre on Yen Chow Street. The object of my curiosity was actually the indoor roller coaster. Being a child of the UK in the 70's and 80's my expectations concerning roller coasters was coloured by school trips to Alton Towers (before the accidents) and watching chubby cub scouts trying to drink milkshake on the Revolution at Blackpool Pleasure Beach courtesy of Jim'll Fix It (and boy did some kids get fixed, it turns out). It turns out the roller coaster at the Dragon Centre wasn't on quite that scale (pardon the pun) but there was still enough novelty for me to stay and watch it running for a while.

Dragon Centre

My one remaining vivid memory of this little excursion (and I don't have that many vivid memories these days) was being told I was too old to play on the various entertainment machines by a rather embarrassed assistant when I attempted to get some change/tokens for the machines. So, I had nothing better to do than watch the various families board the roller coaster for their 1 minute of top- floor-of-the-mall fun.

It never really occurred to me back then that I would one day be living just up the road from this place, so on a hot sweaty summer afternoon (and having dropped my youngest off at school just around the corner) I went back to the mall to relive some of my youth. Back in 1995, the Dragon Centre was still a fairly new building and was nice and shiny. These days it has lost some of its shine but remains steadfastly aimed at the local demographic (i.e. not dripping-rich Mainlanders) and is therefore stacked full of local businesses selling reasonably priced stuff rather than floor after floor of high end boutiques and jewellery stores. In other words it's a nice change.

After looking up through the mall atrium I was a bit disappointed to note that although the roller coaster tracks are still there there was no rumbling noise or movement coming from that direction and heading up to the top floor confirmed that the thing had - very disappointingly - been decommissioned several years before.

The entertainment zone (one of those places where you feed in lots of tokens, play a game in the hope of winning a gazillion tickets just so you can exchange them for a tiny plushy toy) was still there, as well as a very popular ice rink, but the roller coaster was sort of just sitting there unused and a bit sad. The cars were still parked on the track but the ticket booth had been closed and access was now pretty much off limits because the mall management company was using it as a sort of open storage area.

The roller coaster was called the Sky Train (the Chinese name was: ????? or the "sky dragon passing the mountains" - things are always more poetic in Chinese) and was one of the several previously mentioned attractions on the top floor of the mall. It seems to have been quite famous at the time although I can't quite remember where I heard about it at the time (I can only guess it was mentioned in one of the many guide books I was perusing).

Anyway, after coming home and doing a bit of digging, it turns out that the roller coaster was permanently shut down about 10 years ago. I can't find the exact reason for it's shutdown but it looks to be in part due to safety concerns. This isn't surprising given its location and, I guess, to keep everyone safe would mean a lot of maintenance. An accident on here wouldn't just impact the people in the ride but also everyone wandering around the mall below so I perhaps the cost of maintenance started to make it uneconomical? I can't find any mention of it being involved in any accidents, so while it was running it seems to have been perfectly safe. The only mention of any unfortunate incidents involving the Dragon Centre is one (I can remember reading it in the paper) from a few years back. Some nutty school-obsessed woman decided it was better to kill her daughter rather than have her suffer the ignominy of attending a normal school (as opposed to a more prestigious one) and threw her off the 7th floor. Luckily, the girl was saved by the safety netting (see below). The mum also jumped but because the netting wasn't strong enough she plunged to her death. This incident occurred several years after the closure of the ride though so it had no bearing on its fate.

I did find another mention of the roller coaster on the famous local Golden Forum. I'm not sure if my Chinese is correct but it appeared that someone has a relative who works at the mall and was saying that despite the roller coaster no longer being in use they still let it run once a month, after hours, when the mall has closed. I guess it's a good way to keep the dust off but maybe the closure was never meant to be permanent and they keep it moving just in case?

If anyone knows any more information about it, please feel free to leave a comment because I personally would love to see this thing up and running again. In the meantime, here are some pictures of the track. Sadly I don't have any from 1995 with me.

Hongkong Some pictures of No.2 Devon Road in 1961. History

Hongkong Some pictures of No.2 Devon Road in 1961. History

Arek Madiun   6:36 AM   Comment  

A little over a year ago I republished a blog entry about the original houses that can still be found in Kowloon Tong. You can read about it here: Down in the Tong. I'm very lucky because a very nice person called Kathryn has sent me some photos of one of the houses that is (currently...) still standing.

No. 2 Devon Road is still in fairly decent condition and looks to have had very little done to it over the years, unlike many of the other original buildings that have been extensively remodeled or even worse, just demolished. Here's a picture I took of it a year or so ago - unfortunately, this was the best shot I could get without making people think I was a burglar.

Anyway, here is how the property looked 50 + years ago, all the way back in 1961.

The pictures have been scanned from 50 year old slides (one of several thousand from Kathryn's mum's 1960s Asia trip) and so I've had to guess which way round the house should be. But judging by the current layout with a path from the front gate on the right hand side, I think this should be the right way around. The house next door - #3 Devon Road - can be seen on the right of the picture and was demolished more than 20 years ago to make way for a more modern property.

There are also a few pictures taken inside the house.

The dining room

A party in the living room/lounge

Family dog chilling out

One of the most interesting shots for me though is this one that looks to have been taken from the front upstairs balcony (all the old houses had open balconies).

It's interesting because it is looking over to the area where the Baptist Hospital and Broadcast Drive now stands. Look closely and you will just see hills typical of the type that once covered the whole of Kowloon. Pretty much all of them have been removed for development. The ridge at the back is actually the eastern side of Lion Rock. The two buildings you can see are Cornwall Terrace in the far background (it's still around, see below) and what looks to be either #6 or #8 Dorset Crescent (I'm erring on the side of #8). 

Cornwall Terrace seen from Cornwall Street

Although Cornwall Terrace is still around, the view from Devon Road is now obscured by a profusion of theological institutes built along Dorset Crescent.

Anyway, once again, many thanks to Kathryn for her generous sharing of some very old pictures - although to be honest the quality of the colour on them makes them seem much more recent.