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'.

1920s Excavation of Morrison Hill

Submitted by David on Mon, 2012-02-20 12:58
in

What: The men are digging away Morrison Hill, so that the rock and soil can be dumped in the sea to form the large 1920s Wanchai Reclamation.

Given the scale of the project, it's remarkable to see the excavation is done by hand. Here's a man working at the top of the hill, digging away with his pick:

The rock and soil runs down a channel, and ends up in this temporary silo at the bottom of the slope. They've cleverly left a wall of rock at the bottom, with V-shaped holding areas. The one in this photo is blocked with a couple of boards:

Read more »

c.1910 Ma Tau Wai & surroundings

Submitted by Admin on Sat, 2012-02-11 15:13
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Where: Here's a 1903 map [1] of the area shown in the photo above:

The Blue arrow shows my best guess at where the photographer stood, and the direction he was looking.

The dotted line running left-to-right across the map (between the red H and B) marks the

Read more »

A short history of the five cent coin

Submitted by Admin on Tue, 2012-02-07 11:45

The following guest post was written by Ben Huang.

Introduction

The five cent coin, also known as the dao ling (斗令), is an integral part of Hong Kong’s history, and was in use from as early as 1866 right up to 1980.

Different materials from silver to nickel to nickel-brass have been used for the coin which has seen all the monarchs from Queen Victoria through to Elizabeth II. Throughout this time the design of the coin has largely remained unchanged - the sovereign’s effigy is on the front of the coin and the legend ‘Hong Kong Five Cent’ in Chinese and English on the reverse. Small in size and handy to use, its longevity as well ubiquity meant that it played a big part in everyday life in Hong Kong, earning it the affectionate moniker the 'dao ling'.

A silver start

In Jan Morris’s book ‘Hong Kong’ [1], she

Read more »

1930s Naval wedding

Submitted by David on Wed, 2012-02-01 18:45
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What: Can any readers tell us more about customs at a Naval wedding?

The car in the background is dressed up with ribbons:



Two ropes lead out in front of it, with these handles attached at regular intervals:


Read more »

Traffic-Police Pagodas

Submitted by moddsey on Wed, 2012-01-25 13:51
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Thanks to regular contributor Moddsey for this compilation of photos showing the old Traffic-Police Pagodas through the years.

The first photo is from the 1920s. It shows the corner of Pedder Street and Queen's Road Central, with Wyndham (Flower St) on the left. Note the Chinese policeman with the black and white traffic stave (2 1/2 feet long). Traffic police were armed with traffic staves for the first time on 21 November 1922 for the pupose of signalling traffic to halt at busy road junctions. (Source: HK Daily Press 22 November 1922). Read more »

70 years ago

Submitted by David on Sun, 2012-01-22 06:09

Seventy years ago, Hong Kong had recently surrendered to the Japanese, and the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong had begun.

A new project on Gwulo.com gives you a daily summary of news from 70 years ago, compiled from diaries and newspapers of the time. Here are some recent examples: Read more »

c.1910 Ship's crew at Hong Kong

Submitted by David on Wed, 2012-01-11 21:43
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The seller didn't include much detail for this photo, so we'll have to make do with a bit of guesswork. If you can add anything to the story, please let us know in the comments below.

Who: Certainly not a bunch of tourists, they're Read more »

Gwulo in 2012

Submitted by Admin on Thu, 2012-01-05 18:55

Here's how we did in 2011, plans for 2012, and some ideas if you'd like to help. Read more »

29 Dec 1941. Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reports "Ceremonial entry into Hong Kong by Imperial Japanese Army and Navy"

Submitted by David on Thu, 2011-12-29 23:28
Book / Document: 
Asahi Shimbun
Date of events described: 
Mon, 1941-12-29

I bought this Japanese newspaper on eBay a couple of years ago. It is seventy years old today.

I can't read any Japanese, but the seller included this description:

The main headline is:

"Ceremonial entry into Hong Kong by Imperial Japanese Army and Navy "

Some articles and pictures: Read more »

Merry Christmas, 1927-style

Submitted by David on Thu, 2011-12-22 14:00
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What: If last week's photo was an odd choice for a postcard, this is an even stranger choice for a Christmas card!

But it originally appeared in a 1927 Christmas card, no doubt meant to give an interesting view of foreign life for the folk back home.

It's a pretty card. Here's how it looks as it comes out of the envelope: Read more »

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