Redeveloping Old Hong Kong - a Miniature Exhibition

[hkskyline]

A major project happening in the eastern part of Kowloon involves redeveloping a number of older residential and commercial buildings across a few blocks. As a result, some expensive and unaffordable residential skyscrapers have arisen on part of the site. With the area's poorer demographic dismantled and an upper middle class moving in, some traditional shops have been sacrificed. Ironically, as part of the new buildings' opening, an exhibition was held to celebrate some of these old crafts, where the last shopkeepers across the street were freshly evicted.

Visit the Chinese doctor and pick up your herbs prescriptions to boil at home.





It feels like finding a needle in the haystack when exploring small shops with crowded interiors.



Shops can even squeeze into small spaces underneath staircases.





Family meals at major festivals would feature expensive dried seafood like fish maw or sea cucumbers.



Tai O is one of a few fishing villages still hanging onto its way of life. Residents still dry their own seafood and make shrimp paste.











Small shops tend to be specialized, but with many market streets that once surrounded the old Kwun Tong town centre, you could easily get all the groceries within a few blocks.



Grab a snack, such as a soy milk or a noodle soup.



The exhibition's centerpiece is a re-make of the old town centre.

















There are more models of local life, such as eating a meal at a cha chan teng restaurant, grabbing an egg tart in a bakery, picking up a new pen at the bookstore, and more.















The brick-laned Pottinger Street was once home to many small stalls. A small number is still around but it is no longer a grocery market street.







In the old days, residents lived in less than ideal conditions with extended families crammed in small spaces. The metal shack slums are now history. The government's urban renewal authority had pitched this redevelopment program being able to achieve this. To be fair, the pre-existing buildings were quite run-down so this project was indeed necessary.









Street food carts have gradually been phased out over the years due to sanitation concerns. Today, they are a rarity, typically offering snacks such as chestnuts, potatoes, and quail eggs rather than full meals.

















Even dining outdoors isn't common anymore. We've become a lot more spoiled, expecting air-conditioned comfort indoors.





The traditional newspaper stand is also a disappearing icon. People are increasingly receiving the news online and since these vendors typically don't accept contactless payments or cards, getting your magazine at the convenience store may be more attractive.



The Cheung Chau Bun Festival began in the late 19th century to appease the spirits of those who died in a plague. Celebrated during the 4th lunar month, a key part of the festival is a scramble up the bun tower.



More photos on my website : Love at Kwun Tong

[Murphy de la Sucre]

Very cool, very very cool, one of the coolest things on this forum.

[DetroitSky]

This is awesome! Those are some crazy realistic models.

[mousquet]

Originally Posted by DetroitSky

This is awesome!

It is.

He'd already posted a thread about such models in Hong Kong. I can remember because it made me think about older, traditional terracotta Santons that they've produced in southern France since the French Revolution and related anti-church ideology. Santons from Provence are old, well known and were originally some kind of Christian reaction against the anticlerical views of a number of revolutionaries.
Anyway, that's only history.

I wonder what materials they use for theirs over there. Maybe a wide range of materials. This looks far more realistic and neater than older Santons.

It also makes me think of this guy from Italy who works on ultra realistic painting / drawing. It is quite impressive because of the skills it requires. I think the Italian dude has worked in marketing rather than "art" (whatever it means, that's a philosophical question here), because so-called art fans and speculators like abstractions. Some say that "art" would be more about meaning (an abstract notion related to soul or something) than mere skills that they call craftsmanship instead of art.

However, I saw the Italian dude had his work exhibited in Seoul, South Korea. He's had a fairly large room in one of their museums over there.
It just seems that Asia is more sensitive than Europe about realism.

[LAsam]

The level of detail in these is beyond belief. Thanks for sharing!

[geomorph]

Do you happen to know the scale of these models? They are astounding.