"Cheong Hing" House on Castle Peak Beach [c.1938-c.1987]

Submitted by philk on
Current condition
Demolished / No longer exists
Date completed
(Day, Month, & Year are approximate.)
Date closed / demolished
(Day, Month, & Year are approximate.)

An unnamed house that was located at the north end of Castle Peak Beach. I've created a place in case anyone can provide more information about when it was built and who owned it.

More information forthcoming shows the house was constructed by Cheong Hing circa 1938 (see aagg's post here: https://gwulo.com/media/52686) and was later (unknown date) turned into the "19 Miles Cafe".

According to additional information, the building then held what was the first version of the Hoi Tin Garden Restaurant from circa 1971 - a business venture run by the same person (Ho Dik) behind the 19 Miles Cafe.

The house appears to have remained until circa late 1986/early 1987 (Govt aerial images show the building still there in Sept 1986) after which the site was cleared and replaced by the current Hoi Tin Garden Restaurant circa 1989.

Later place(s) at this location
Hoi Tin Garden Restaurant [c.1971- ]

Photos that show this Place

Building at Castle Peak on the water's edge, owned by Cheong Hing
1938
George Wladyslaw PIO-ULSKI on Castle Peak Road - Qilin Stone / 19 Miles Cafe later 海角龍樓
1938
1951 Castle Peak Beach
1951
See more photos of this place

Comments

There's a 1949 Govt aerial image of the area that looks as though the house is already there. I don't think the land is reclaimed, it looks like a natural coastline.

Would this be Boulder Lodge, the Kadoorie's weekend house at the far end of Castle Peak Beach, at the opposite end to Gordon Hard ? 

No, Boulder Lodge is to the southeast of this property and is still there. This house has been demolished for some time.

We already have a marker for Boulder Lodge (https://gwulo.com/node/38240) although it looks to be on the wrong building at the moment.

That's a great find aagg and pushes the completion date to pre-war. If it was owned by Cheong Hing, can we assume it was the home of one of the directors of the company?

I was wondering about that too, who Cheong Hing was.  I could not find this name on jurors lists.  I noticed that the magazine uses the word "building" instead of "house" or "residence".  I wondered if the building was built for a commercial purpose like a hotel.

With the magazine, Hong Kong and South China builder in the 1940s and '50s, there are several entries for "Cheong Hing & Company" described as "General Contractors".

Cheong Hing is a famous local construction company. Hugh's website has an in-depth article on their history: https://industrialhistoryhk.org/50087-2/

It's possible it was built for one of the company directors? It seems Kenneth Fung had a property in Repulse Bay so perhaps this was for someone else? It seems a bit small to have been a hotel.