Officially named “The Blue House Cluster", it comprises three historic buildings: Blue House, Orange House, and Yellow House – all simply named after their exterior paint colors.
Each building dates from a different era. Blue House’s exact construction year is unknown; it originated as Wah To Hospital, with earliest records appearing in 1872 government rate books. Orange House (1950s) is the newest, while Yellow House was built in the 1920s.
Today, Blue House is a revitalization project housing F&B outlets and event spaces. Most uniquely, it remains a living community – unlike typical heritage sites, it pulses with authentic residential energy.
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番組内で紹介した場所は、以下の地図で確認・探索するのに便利です。
The following map indicates the places introduced in this column, which is convenient for you to check and explore.
Today, we return to discover more of its heritage. This episode begins at Nam Koo Terrace, a Western-style mansion built in the 1910s. Abandoned since the 1940s and left in disrepair, the building is now fenced off for restoration. Yet, its distinctive architectural beauty remains visible from the exterior.
Next episode, we’ll visit The Blue House in the same district – a rare example of a historic building still actively inhabited.
以下地圖標示了本節目曾經到過香港什麼地方,方便大家查閱及前往探索。
番組内で紹介した場所は、以下の地図で確認・探索するのに便利です。
The following map indicates the places introduced in this column, which is convenient for you to check and explore.
Hong Kong is renowned as a modern metropolis of skyscrapers, yet its century-long urban history has left certain districts visibly aged. These “old quarters"—like Shau Kei Wan on Hong Kong Island, Sham Shui Po and To Kwa Wan in Kowloon—are now undergoing redevelopment.
Before construction begins, an uncanny scene emerges in the wake of long-term residents’ departure: “no-man’s zones" abruptly materializing amidst bustling cityscapes. A silence resembling frozen time pervades these areas, starkly contrasting the surrounding urban cacophony. Derelict shops and peeling signage whisper fragments of vanished daily lives.
In this visual essay, we document To Kwa Wan’s redevelopment zone in eastern Kowloon. Through the lens, we trace the rapid erosion of old Hong Kong’s memories. Witness the transient aesthetics of these urban “voids"—vanishing realms suspended between demolition and rebirth.
以下地圖標示了本節目曾經到過香港什麼地方,方便大家查閱及前往探索。
番組内で紹介した場所は、以下の地図で確認・探索するのに便利です。
The following map indicates the places introduced in this column, which is convenient for you to check and explore.
Tin Hau Temple, Yaumatei: A Historic Oasis in Hong Kong’s Urban Jungle
Hong Kong boasts hundreds of Tin Hau Temples (dedicated to Mazu, the Chinese Goddess of the Sea), traditionally built along coastlines to protect seafaring communities. However, decades of land reclamation for urban development have dramatically reshaped the city’s shoreline. What were once seaside shrines now stand surrounded by skyscrapers, creating striking contrasts between timeless traditions and hyper-modern cityscapes.
Tin Hau Temple, Yaumatei, the largest and oldest Mazu temple in Kowloon, epitomizes this unique blend. First constructed near today’s Pak Hoi Street in 1865, it was destroyed by the catastrophic 1874 Great Typhoon (one of Hong Kong’s deadliest storms) before being rebuilt at its current location in 1876. For over 150 years, it has witnessed Hong Kong’s metamorphosis from fishing port to global metropolis.
The temple complex isn’t just a single shrine. Wander through its atmospheric courtyards to discover:
The Main Tin Hau Temple with its iconic tiled roof and incense-filled halls
Fook Tak Tsz (honoring the Earth God)
A transformed Kung Sor (community hall) repurposed as a Guanyin (Goddess of Mercy) pavilion
One of the Shu Yuen (study halls) now housing shops selling traditional crafts and souvenirs
This architectural time capsule reveals how Hong Kong preserves its heritage amid relentless urbanization. While high-rises tower overhead, the temple’s carved stone lions, red lanterns, and curling incense smoke transport visitors to another era.
Ready to explore? Hit play to step inside this tranquil sanctuary where history whispers through every archway – a quiet rebellion against the city’s breakneck pace.
以下地圖標示了本節目曾經到過香港什麼地方,方便大家查閱及前往探索。
番組内で紹介した場所は、以下の地図で確認・探索するのに便利です。
The following map indicates the places introduced in this column, which is convenient for you to check and explore.
Hong Kong has a lot of mountains and little land. In order to meet the needs of urban development, land reclamation is often necessary. Over the years, the results of land reclamation and urban development have gradually changed the appearance of the city and also gradually replaced some distinctive buildings. Buried in a cluster of high-rise buildings.
The Kwun Yum Temple in Hung Hom was built in 1873. At that time, the temple was built with the mountain behind it and the sea. After more than 150 years, the environment near the temple has changed greatly and it has become an urban landscape. The traditional appearance of the temple is in stark contrast to the modern city.
The day of the photo shoot was just before the Lunar New Year, and many people came to pay homage to the gods, making the temple very lively both inside and outside.
以下地圖標示了本節目曾經到過香港什麼地方,方便大家查閱及前往探索。
番組内で紹介した場所は、以下の地図で確認・探索するのに便利です。
The following map indicates the places introduced in this column, which is convenient for you to check and explore.
Traditionally, the seventh month of the lunar calendar is the Yu Lan month. In this month, different Yu Lan festivals can be seen in various districts in Hong Kong. Even in Central, the core of Hong Kong, in this highly commercial area, you can actually find this activity full of traditional flavor, which is the Yu Lan Festival which held by 30 Houses on Staunton Street.
This Yu Lan Festival is traditionally held on the 24th day of the seventh lunar month. Converted to the Western calendar, this year it will be held on August 27th. In fact, the event has been suspended since the outbreak of the epidemic in 2020, and it was not fully resumed until this year, allowing this unique event to be held again.
Without further ado, please watch the film and feel the unique atmosphere of the scene.
以下地圖標示了本節目曾經到過香港什麼地方,方便大家查閱及前往探索。
番組内で紹介した場所は、以下の地図で確認・探索するのに便利です。
The following map indicates the places introduced in this column, which is convenient for you to check and explore.
In the last episode, I went to Kowloon City to watch the Yu Lan Festival. This episode continues where the last episode left off, talking about the The Chinese opera I saw at the scene.
Every year in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, it is the time of the Yu Lan Festival. During this the Yu Lan month, many public sports venues in Hong Kong will be transformed into the Yu Lan Festival sites. This unique scenery may be unique to Hong Kong.
In this episode, we come to Kowloon City to see a 57-year-old the Yu Lan Festival.
Is this little-known monument hidden in a busy city special? In fact, it is a cemetery built to commemorate a tragedy. Today we will come here to take a look and tell some stories about it.
The tragedy mentioned earlier refers to the disastrous fire in the Happy Valley racecourse on February 26, 1918, which killed more than 600 people. A cemetery to commemorate this event was built near today’s Hong Kong Stadium.
An unexpected disaster turned the originally joyful racecourse into a living hell in an instant. Because there were too many dead, the bodies had to be disposed of as soon as possible. Therefore, the government arranged for family members to identify the bodies immediately. If the bodies were intact, they would be taken away immediately by the family members. Many of the victims had their bodies deformed or fragmented due to fire or being crushed by collapsed stables, making them difficult to identify. For the sake of public health, these mutilated bodies were immediately transported to nearby Coffee Garden for burial. Although the authorities have tried their best to clean up the scene, there are still some body parts mixed in the rubble. According to old newspaper records, after the cleaning workers cleared the scene, they scattered the rubble and garbage into the sea. Some people saw it at that time. He thought there might be something valuable in it, but one of them found a heavy object and planned to clean it and take a look at it. Unexpectedly…it turned out to be a cooked human head. He was so frightened and threw the head back to the sea…
After the accident, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals fully assisted in disaster relief and negotiated with the government to officially convert the temporary cemetery in the coffee garden into a cemetery to commemorate the victims. The cemetery was completed in 1922 and named
“Race Course Fire Memorial “. " Race Course Fire Memorial " was rated as a Grade I historic building in 2010.
The design of the cemetery is symmetrical, with a pagoda and a pavilion on the left and right sides. Because the victims included people from different nationalities, both Chinese and Western, the design of the cemetery combines the characteristics of Chinese and Western cultures, with Chinese-style tiles and Western-style pillars. As for the inscriptions, there are both Chinese and English, and the names of the victims are engraved and borrowed from various countries. It can be seen that most of the victims were Chinese, and there were also foreigners.
以下地圖標示了本節目曾經到過香港什麼地方,方便大家查閱及前往探索。
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髒神及雞口
髒神
香港人,卡通造型 John Dog 原創者,網上漫画「塵世海」編劇、信報連載漫画(2011 – 2012)「狗夢連篇」創作人、網台主持丶香港插圖師協會專業會長(2014 – 2016)。在2015香港動漫電玩節主辦的原創動漫人型設計比賽中,榮獲亞軍,對藝術創作有着濃厚興趣。
八十年代在出版集團工作,在此創作出多個書刊封面和繪畫插圖。之後在廣告公司任職創作總監多年。想藉廣告創作來磨練自己的腦筋及提升(creative service management) 的能力,現在主要從事插圖丶藝術創作及廣告創意統籌等工作。