A Walk Down Memory Lane: Life of Kwun Tong Residents in the Old Days

History

A Walk Down Memory Lane: Life of Kwun Tong Residents in the Old Days

Cheng Po Hung, Museum Expert Adviser to Hong Kong Museum of History and Hong Kong Heritage Museum

From a deserted landfill to a modernised town, Kwun Tong has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past 50 years.

Cheng Po Hung, a renowned collector and Museum Expert Adviser to the Hong Kong Museum of History, personally encountered the still-developing Kwun Tong back in the 1960s as part of his work. He recalls that the view from Ngau Tau Kok Road outside the newly built “Flower Buildings” (buildings named after flowers) in Phase 1 of Kwun Tong Garden Estate had shifted from a waterfront to a vase expanse of reclaimed land, with the reclamation border reaching as far as today’s Hoi Bun Road. “When I set foot in Kwun Tong again in around 1964, the Ngau Tau Kok Road vicinity had become such a hustle and bustle hub, filled with factories and shops!” As the veteran scholar cast his mind back to the old days, he guided us into history, retracing the traces of bygone life.

In the early days, the bay opposite Kwun Tong was called “Garbage Bay” as it had been used as a landfill for a long time. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, this area was also known as “Jinkai Bay” (塵芥灣), with “Jinkai” meaning “garbage” in Japanese. (Photo courtesy of Cheng Po Hung)

A former landfill transformed into an industrial centre

According to historical records, Kwun Tong District was a deserted land with hardly any residents several decades ago. “As early as the mid-1930s, the bay area around Kwun Tong being a remote location distanced from the urban area at that time, had been planned as a landfill by the Hong Kong government.” said Cheng.

In 1954, the Hong Kong government decided to reclaim the bay for development into a new industrial zone. “Reclamation was conducted alongside land sales, as well as the construction of new roads by the government. Roads such as Hoi Yuen Road and Wai Yip Street were planned and built at that time.” In 1961, nearly 70 factories for various industrial purposes were built in Kwun Tong, including the paint factory “Camel Paint Building”, the garment factory “Crocodile Centre”, and “Kowloon Flour Mills”, etc. He said, “it is believed that back then, the vast majority of residents in Kwun Tong Garden Estate were employed in factories within the district. While the rest might be engaged in the catering and retail industries, or they might take up some jobs in the factories and work at home.”

In the old days of Ngau Tau Kok, there was a soy sauce factory from Xiamen named “Amoy”. The factory site was subsequently converted into Amoy Gardens. There also used to be a row of shipyards in the bay opposite the site at the same time. As the bay underwent reclamation, the shipyards were relocated to Tseung Kwan O to continue operation. (Photo courtesy of Cheng Po Hung)

Successive completion of housing estates and provision of public facilities

With the rapid development of the Kwun Tong industrial area, and to meet the housing demand of residents, the Hong Kong government built a number of public housing projects in the Kwun Tong District from the late-1950s to early-1960s. Among them, Kwun Tong Resettlement Area, nicknamed “Kai Liu”, located along Tsui Ping Road, was successively erected in 1959 and became the first government-built public housing in Kwun Tong. From the 1960s onwards, the “Flower Buildings”, Phase 1 of Kwun Tong Garden Estate, a low-cost housing estate on Ngau Tau Kok Road provided by the Hong Kong Housing Society, were gradually completed and available for factory workers in the area to apply for residence. Moreover, to meet the housing demand of refugees and people affected by disasters, the Hong Kong government built a number of low-rise housing areas in Kwun Tong District, such as Fuk Wah Tsuen. The successive completion of these public housing projects promoted the clustering of population in Kwun Tong District, leading to the development of Kwun Tong from an industrial area to a residential area.

Being the earliest-built low-cost housing estate in Kwun Tong District, Kwun Tong Garden Estate not only witnessed the rapid changes of Kwun Tong, but also literally grew and progressed alongside Kwun Tong. Cheng said that Garden Estate has indirectly accelerated public facilities deployment in the district. “To name a time when Kwun Tong District really took shape, I would say it was 1962, as the first post office, government offices and clinic were finally opened. The “Flower Buildings” and “Bird Buildings” were also developing and progressing gradually together with Kwun Tong town centre.” From then on, Kwun Tong residents finally had their basic community service facilities. Built around Yue Man Square, these facilities brought along commercial development and prosperity in the town centre. With private housing also springing up, Kwun Tong’s population quadrupled in 10 years. In 1970, as the population of Kwun Tong exceeded 500,000, it became a densely populated community integrating industrial, commercial and residential purposes.

Upon the opening of Kwun Tong Road, the main road connecting Prince Edward Road and Kwun Tong, in the early 1950s, transportation for Kwun Tong became increasingly convenient. (Photo courtesy of Cheng Po Hung)

Goldsmith’s shops once stood as a major business on Ngau Tau Kok Road

Having set foot in Kwun Tong for the first time in the 1960s, Cheng still vividly recall the vicinity of Garden Estate – it turned out that the shops appearing on Ngau Tau Kok Road in the early days were not limited to businesses serving the general needs of people’s livelihood, but also included a number of goldsmith shops. He explained that at that time, grassroots citizens generally were not used to dealing with banks or depositing money into bank accounts, while many preferred to “exchange money for gold”, purchasing various items of gold jewellery, such as bracelets, necklaces, rings, and even belt buckles and anklets, etc. When they needed money, they took the gold jewellery to a pawn shop in return for cash. It was an alternative way of saving money.

On the other hand, while most families living in the low-cost housing and resettlement areas were from the working class, the thriving industrial development in Kwun Tong District has led to a strong demand for factory workers. Recruitment advertisements would be published in newspapers to “compete for talents”. “Back then, one could earn up to $200 per month working in a Kwun Tong factory, a wage higher than those in factory areas like Cheung Sha Wan and San Po Kong, etc..” This group of Kwun Tong “pioneers” were offered ample employment opportunities and received good remuneration packages. Coupled with the low rent environment, many of them were able to accumulate a decent amount of wealth. “The residents of Garden Estate also benefited from this and enjoyed better living conditions.”

These factors contributed to the booming goldsmith business in Kwun Tong. Goldsmith shops on Ngau Tau Kok Road extended all the way from the “Flower Buildings” to Yue Man Square. “With the rapid development of Kwun Tong, goldsmith shops were gradually moved to the vicinity along Mut Wah Street, including trade names such as ‘Lai Sang’ (麗生), ‘Tung Shing’ (東盛), ‘Hang Seng’ (恆生) and ‘Chow Tai Seng’ (周大生).” Meanwhile, as banks noticed that workers had a high potential for placing deposits, branches of banks sprang up in Yue Man Square. The HSBC Kwun Tong branch stood out as a landmark back then.’

Since the reclamation in the 1950s, Kwun Tong had seen many factories moving in. The upper left corner of the picture shows the “Flower Building”, Phase 1 of Kwun Tong Garden Estate. (Photo courtesy of Cheng Po Hung)

Yue Man Square: a hub of life and entertainment

In the past, transportation to and fro Kwun Tong and outside areas was not convenient. During the early days, only Ngau Tau Kok Road served as the main trunk road, while Kwun Tong Road, the main road connecting Prince Edward Road and Kwun Tong, was completed in the early 1950s. As for bus services, route 2A, the first bus route serving Ngau Tau Kok, started operation after the war. With factories being set up and the population gradually growing in Kwun Tong, the number of bus routes running to and fro Kwun Tong continued to rise.

Cheng recalled his experience of commuting from Hong Kong Island to Kwun Tong for work in the mid-1960s, “At that time, I thought Kwun Tong was quite far away. I had to take the Star Ferry to Hung Hom, and change to bus route 5B to Kwun Tong. The whole journey takes an hour. Otherwise, I would go to North Point and take the Hongkong & Yaumati Ferry to Kwun Tong Ferry Pier, then walk from the waterfront to the town centre along Hoi Yuen Road. There was no covered walkway, making it quite a tough walk.”

Thanks to the remoteness of Kwun Tong from the urban area that most local residents gathered within the district for daily activities such as shopping, dining and entertainment, rarely spending money in other districts. Therefore, commercial activities in Yue Man Square flourished remarkably. “In the 1960s, there were two major Chinese restaurants, namely ‘Tin Yin’ (天然) and ‘Kwun Wah’ (觀華), as well as three cinemas, namely ‘Silver Theatre’ (銀都), ‘Bonds Theatre’ (寶聲) , and ‘Kwun Tong Theatre’ (觀塘). There was a bustling flow of people, especially around Mut Wah Street, which was the busiest area as it faced away from the market, and various well-known brands set up their stores there.”

The completion of Kwun Tong Government Offices and Kwun Tong Jockey Club Health Centre in the early 1960s boosted the development of Kwun Tong District. The upper left part of the picture shows a number of new buildings built in the high-class residential area of Yuet Wah Street. (Photo courtesy of Cheng Po Hung)

Kwun Tong Garden Estate and Kwun Tong progressed together

With the opening of the Cross Harbour Tunnel in 1972, cross harbour tunnel bus route 101, running between Kennedy Town and Yue Man Square via the section of Ngau Tau Kok Road opposite Kwun Tong Garden Estate, was commissioned in the same year. Then in 1979, the MTR line connecting Kwun Tong and Shek Kip Mei was also opened. As such, the location of Garden Estate became an important hub, with transportation available in all directions.

“In the 1960s, people fancied living in urban areas and found Kwun Tong too far away. However, in a serene and thriving location like Garden Estate, with a comfortable living environment, affordable cost of living, plenty of job opportunities and improved convenience in transportation, I believed the residents were going to like the place more and more.” Indeed, whether for its environment or convenience, many old residents who have lived in Garden Estate for half a century express high regard for their home.

Cheng Po Hung, a renowned collector and Museum Expert Adviser to Hong Kong Museum of History, personally encountered the still-developing Kwun Tong back in the 1960s as part of his work duties.

細遊花園

Kwun Tong Garden Estate
Documentary Project

Planned by｜Hong Kong Housing Society

Partners｜Dragon Foundation, Lion Head Culture, Hide and Seek Tour