Join us on a tram ride through 1920s Hong Kong, keeping an eye out for these along the way:
- Typhoon damage: Several photos show trams damaged in a strong typhoon that hit Hong Kong in August 1923
- Industrial action: One photo shows a tram with a banner, “Tramways volunteers apply here”. The photo was taken during the strike and boycott of 1925-26.
- The trams' changing appearance: At the start of the 1920s, the upper decks on trams had a canvas roof, but open sides. The canvas roof was later replaced with a solid roof, and by the end of the decade all trams had enclosed upper decks, looking similar to the trams we see today. It took time for changes to work their way through the whole fleet, so you'll see some photos show two different generations of tram.
Now on with the photos:
You can click on any of the photos above to visit that photo's page. Many have larger copies of the photo, and additional information about the scene.
Thank you to everyone who uploaded these photos for us to enjoy. If you have any other views along the tramline from the 1920s, please can you upload them for us to see? We're especially short of views taken west of Central, or east of Causeway Bay. Click here to learn how to upload a photo to Gwulo.
Regards, David
Further reading:
- 110 years of Hong Kong Trams in photos shows how they've changed over the years.
- "Views along the tram line in the ..." Take similar journeys along the tram line in the 1930s, 1950s, and 1960s.
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Hong Kong Tramways
( Above and below) Two
( Above and below) Two additional photographs of Hong Kong's early tramways. Both taken in Queens Road (now Queensway) in the vicinity of Victoria Barracks. The second picture is obviously on a special occasion with decorative flags festooning the buildings and Indian Sikh troops also out on parade . Perhaps this occasion was to mark the occasion of the arrival of Hong Kong's new Governor, Sir Matthew Nathan in late July 1904 or the birthday celebrations for King Edward VII in November 1904. ( UPDATE: Upon close examination of a repeat copy of the second picture, it appears that the lower photograph might be later than the suggested 1904. There is a very faint pencil inscription in the album margin with the word "coronation" so it is perhaps more likely that this photo was taken in June 1911 during a ceremony to mark the coronation of George V. )
Note the two diffrent types of tramcars, fully enclosed cars for 1st Class passengers and open-sided cars for those taking 3rd Class. No close up mixing of Hong Kong's elite with sweaty "coolies" in those days.......
( Photos are from an album belonging to an NCO of the Bombay Sappers and Miners, courtesy of the Royal Engineers Archives)