What's new and updated on the Gwulo website:

General

• Pan Am's "Clipper" flying boats revolutionised passenger travel and mail services between Hong Kong and America. Stuart Braga tells us their story in his post: The China Clipper: Pan Am flies to Macau and Hong Kong, 1937-1941
    

  

   

• Watch several films of Hong Kong in the 1930s
   
• The 80th anniversary of the Japanese surrender will soon be here. Follow the dramatic events of August / September 1945 via daily entries from diaries written 80 years ago:
  • Read today's diary entries
     
  • Sign up to receive daily diary entries from 80 years ago via free email
     
  • Read "Sweet Waters", an account of the Allied fleet's entry to Hong Kong's harbour in late August, 1945.
     
• Readers ask:
  • When was ice cream first sold in Hong Kong?
     
  • Do any enrolment lists for Ying Wa Boys School around the 1850s still exist?

The Chinese version of Gwulo's book

It is now available in bookstores including Book Punch 一拳書館, Cosmos Books, Hong Kong Reader, and Lion's Ink Bookstore.

You can also buy it online at Chung Hwa, HKTV mall, and My Book One.
 

Places

What's new and updated on the Gwulo website:

General

• Robin Bottomley-Smith has uploaded copies of the postcards his grandfather sent from Hong Kong to his fiancée back in Yorkshire between 1924 and 1928. There's an example below, then see the full set here.
   

  

  
   

• The 1887 Jurors List was finished in record time and is now online to view. We've started work on typing up the list for 1886, so if you can spare around half an hour, please join in and type up a page.
   
• Memories of “Fred Brown” and Far East Farm in 1970s Stanley.
   
• Readers ask:
  • Which year was this nighttime view of Hong Kong island taken?
     
  • When were palm trees first planted in colonial HK, and where did they come from?
     
  • Has anyone seen any photos of the construction of the Peak Tram?
     
  • Where was Club Germania first located?
     

  • Where is the foundation stone that Prince Philip laid at Queen Elizabeth Hospital?

    

    
     

  • Was this photo of Robin's mother taken on the balcony of Havelock Terrace, with the Whampoa Foundry in the background?

    

     

The Chinese version of Gwulo's book

If you bought a copy of the Chinese translation of my first book, or let a friend know about it, thank you! The publisher's website was showing 'sold out' a few days ago, but is now taking orders again, with 20% off any orders placed in July and delivery expected in mid-August. I'm waiting for their confirmation, but I'm hoping that this means the first print run sold out, and that the book is now being reprinted. 

It's a great start, so thank you all very much for your help.
 

Places

[19 July update: If the 一本 My Book One website shows 'out of stock', another option is to order direct from the publisher's website (it shows the full list price on the first page, but it applies a 20% discount when you checkout).] 

To celebrate the launch of 老照港古:香江華洋舊事相中尋, you can get the new book for just HK$126.40 if you buy in July. That's a saving of 20% off the list price.

Buy in person (16-22 July 2025)

Visit publisher 非凡出版 on stand 1D-C02 at the Hong Kong Book Fair to buy a copy in person.

Buy online (14-31 July 2025)

[If the 一本 My Book One website shows 'out of stock', another option is to order direct from the publisher's website (it shows the full list price on the first page, but it applies a 20% discount when you checkout).] Visit the 一本 My Book One website to buy your copy online. 

Questions & Answers

Q1. Is this a new book, or a compilation of your English books, or ... ?

A1. This is the Chinese translation of my first book, Volume 1 of Old Hong Kong Photos and The Tales They Tell.

Q2. Are Chinese translations of Volumes 2-5 available too?

A2. Not yet, but I hope that if this first book gets a good response, then the later volumes will also be translated.

Q3. Can I order a copy if I live outside Hong Kong?

A3. Yes, both My Book One and the publisher ship orders to countries outside of Hong Kong.

Q4. Can I see a sample?

A4 Yes, please click here to see a PDF with several sample pages from the book. 

Q5. What happens after 31 July?

A5. After 31 July the book's price will be the regular list price of HK$158. The book will still be available to order online at the My Book One website, and it will also be available in Hong Kong bookstores.

Q6. Are the English-language books still available to buy?

A6. Yes, all five English-language books in the original Old Hong Kong Photos and The Tales They Tell series are still available to buy - please click here for details.