Welcome

Gwulo.com is for everyone that is interested in old Hong Kong.

If it's your first visit, you might like to start with one of the popular articles listed on the right, or just scroll down to browse through recent articles.

I hope you'll join in too, and ask a question or share your knowledge. Most pages let you leave a comment, and there's always the Forum where you can post a new message.

Enjoy the site,

David

PS 'Gwu lo' is roughly how '古老' sounds in Cantonese. It means 'ancient' or 'old-fashioned'.

Railways & Ropeways

Submitted by David on Fri, 2009-08-07 09:11

A question for you - how many railways and ropeways have there been in Hong Kong?

For 'railway' I'll include any place where there were wheeled vehicles running on metal tracks. A 'ropeway' is what we call a cable-car today. And let's say they had to have been built before 1950, to exclude more recent constructions like the MTR, or the Tung Chung cable car.

How many did you count? Read more »

Chinese Methodist Church, Wanchai

Submitted by Admin on Thu, 2009-08-06 12:23
in
Image (external): 
wanchai
The above image is hosted on the Flickr website. Click the image to view it on that website.

Hilton Hotel

Submitted by Admin on Wed, 2009-08-05 13:21
in
Image (external): 
hilton hotel
The above image is hosted on the Flickr website. Click the image to view it on that website.
Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1965

Today's SCMP article

Submitted by David on Mon, 2009-08-03 19:20

If you're visiting for the first time after reading the article in today's SCMP, hello! Here are links to the other resources mentioned in the article: Read more »

TST in the mid 1960s

Submitted by Admin on Fri, 2009-07-31 13:41
in
Image (external): 
TST in the mid 60s
The above image is hosted on the Flickr website. Click the image to view it on that website.

A good aerial view of TST, from longhaircheungmo's collection on Flickr.

Chungking Mansions and Mirador Mansions are both looking very bright & new. In fact almost everywhwre to the east of Nathan Road seems to have been re-developed - with the exception of an old residential building at the base of Signal Hill on the right of the photo.

It's worth viewing the large version of this photo, as there's lots to see.

Date picture taken (to nearest decade for older photos): 
1960

What's there to see at Gwulo.com?

Submitted by David on Mon, 2009-07-27 15:30

Here's an overview of what there is to see on Gwulo.com. Read more »

Love is a many-splendored thing

Submitted by David on Sat, 2009-07-25 17:31

This film is set in Hong Kong, between 1949 and the start of the Korean War in 1950. It was filmed a few years later, and released in 1955.

As the opening credits roll, we're given an aerial view of Hong Kong Harbour. The camera starts above Green Island, then flies east along the harbour-front towards Central.

Then we move to street-level (02:00), following an ambulance along Queen's Road Central, past Central Market (02:13), then up until we arrive at the hospital.

The hospital Read more »

Hong Kong 1949 strolling from midlevel to downtown

Submitted by David on Sat, 2009-07-25 11:30
Video clip: 

Michael Rogge's video on YouTube:

Going to the office from MacDonnell Road through Icehouse street to the bank in des Voeux Road Central in the (g)olden days - twenty years old!
See my other 190 video clips here:
www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=MichaelRogge&p=r Read more »

Mysterious marker stone 24 near Wanchai Gap

Submitted by David on Fri, 2009-07-24 11:40
in

I saw this one yesterday, but have no idea what it's for.

If you walk down Aberdeen Reservoir Road from Wan Chai Gap, it's up on the right, just where the Hong Kong Trail branches off from the road.

The left side of the stone has the text '<- 24' engraved, pointing along the Hong Kong trail. The other side has the text '242 ->', pointing along a muddy looking trail that leads off to the right. There are traces of red paint in the engravings.

Can anyone explain what it was for?

Military Boundary Stones

Submitted by David on Fri, 2009-07-17 08:36

You've likely seen at least one of these around Hong Kong:

These old stones marked the boundary of a piece of land used by the British Armed forces. Here are the stones we know of (click an entry in the list, or a marker on the map, for more details about that stone):

Read more »
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