Liu Yuhan 3036126654
Zhao Yuxuan 3036127050
[All] Hello, everyone. Welcome to our channel! I am Zhao Yuxuan and I am Liu Yuhan. Today our topic is Tong Lau, which is currently vanishing in Hong Kong.
[Yuhan] Part 1
What is the space/place/artefact/building that is vanishing?
First, we will focus on what is Tong Lau. According to Wikipedia, Tong lau are tenement buildings built from the late 19th century to the 1960s in Hong Kong and Southern China. Tong Lau has several characteristics. The most distinct spatial feature is that their height is relatively low, usually no more than six stories, and there are no elevators, distinguishing them from the Western buildings and even the modern tall buildings that came after them. They are usually for both commercial and residential uses. While the ground floor is reserved for commercial use, primarily by small businesses like retail shops and food vendors, the upper floors are for residential use and cater to Chinese residents of Hong Kong.
The photo here is our first still. It is a picture of a classic Tong Lau. Light and shadow cut through the building, dividing it into two parts. Under the contrast of light and dark, the commercial part was bathed in bright lights while the residential one was hidden in the dark. It is worth noting that the shop below is a real estate agency which echoes the residential function of Tong Lau.
[Yuxuan] Part 2
Why is it vanishing? How do we know that it will no longer exist in the near future?
Tong Lau appear in Hong Kong as early as the middle and late 19th century. Before the mass construction of public housing by the Hong Kong Government, except for squatter residents, almost all Hong Kong people were residents of old tenement buildings. After World War two, the population of Hong Kong increased rapidly, resulting in insufficient living space. Therefore, many tenement houses are used for subletting. With the appearance of this rental form, health and security problems also became severe. The heyday of Tong Lau ended in the 1960s when population pressure resulted in many Tong Lau being demolished to make way for high-rise buildings and Tong Lau began to vanish inevitably.
After the 1960s, many Tong Lau were demolished to give way to taller buildings and commercial complexes, especially new towns or private apartments. As a result, fewer Tong Lau can be found in Hong Kong today. People with better economic conditions gradually choose to leave the tenement buildings. Tong Lau seems to no longer keep up with the pace of modernity, becoming progressively an obsolescent speck of dust among the many tall buildings.
Here is our second still. From this photograph, we can see the contrast between Tong Lau and skyscrapers. It is an awe-inspiring shot. The low old Tong Lau and the towering skyscrapers are in sharp contrast but very close together. Invisibly, the old Tong Lau forms a symbiosis with the modern skyscraper. This is the city silhouette of Hong Kong.
[Yuhan] Part 3
What do we know about its past and present?
Although Tong Lau used to act as residential buildings, currently the residence function is only a small part. Nowadays, Tong Lau is more like a symbol of Hong Kong in the last century. Many visitors come specially to see and take photos. Lots of films also choose to shoot there. Tong Lau’s tourism, historical, and cultural roles become increasingly significant.
The still here is a glance of ordinary tenement life from the outside. The colorful flowers are blooming on the dark balcony, looking like a dot of orange pigment on a grey sketch. Tong Lau wrapped this flower’s short and gorgeous life with a silent mark of time. It may seem interesting that your everyday life may be the scenery through someone else’s lens.
[Yuxuan] Part 4
Who are and/or will be affected when it no longer exists? What are their feelings and attitudes toward this?
For local residents, they are losing an object they used to be familiar with. The poor people who still choose to live in Tong Lau have no choice but to find other suitable rooms, which may increase their living costs. For visitors, the vanishing of Tong Lau is also a loss of culture. The face of Hong Kong in the last century has gradually been replaced until it was nowhere to be found.
However, although academics and non-locals feel sorry for the vanishing of Tong Lau, many locals, by contrast, think it is a good thing. We interviewed our local friends, who believe that the vanishing of Tong Lau is a symbol of a better life. They told us that the existing Tong Lau still has serious hidden dangers regarding sanitary conditions and residential safety. In our fieldwork, we investigated one Tong Lau and found some notices. One mentions that there is rat poison on the stairs. This really shocked us. So, by moving out from Tong Lau, people can have a better living environment.
The disappearance of Tong Lau during the modernization, on the one hand, represents a phased end of history. The golden age of Hong Kong in the minds of outsiders has passed, and the peak was followed by a gradual decline. On the other hand, it is also a necessity and progress. People’s living standards need to be safeguarded and improved.
This still shows a common condition of a Tong Lau. From the photo we can see that the iron door has already rusted and could not be closed. Flyers are posted everywhere. Walking along the narrow stairs, on either side were musty, damp walls. Under a dimly lit tube is a dark corridor, and there is no end in sight.
[Yuhan] Part 5
What is being done about its impending disappearance?
Currently, several measures have also been taken in the face of Tong Lau’s disappearance. For instance, the government invests money for the renovation and maintenance of tenement buildings. Some of the renovated tenement buildings can be put back to better use with healthier and safer living conditions. Meanwhile, some former Tong Lau sites have been turned into places for visiting and entertainment. 618 Shanghai Street is an excellent example of reusing. The building retains some classic tenement signs and appearance, and the interior was rebuilt to a modernized complex. There are restaurants, and common facilities for resting inside the space, where people can enjoy. There are also some vintage retail shops on the ground floor, which are quite popular on social media. Transforming Tong Lau into cultural and creative attractions seems to be a feasible option for adapting the tenement buildings to modern life.
This is our last still. The image in the photo is a window of 618 Shanghai Street. On the far right of this photo is the label saying “A time journey of 618 Shanghai Street ”. The window is printed with stick figures of Shanghai Street in the past, and inside the window is a modern and renovated Tong Lau space. But in the mirroring reflection of the window, we can see some remaining Tong Lau on the opposite side of the street. We think this scene is very interesting because it’s about the collision of the old and the new, the past and the innovation.
[Yuxuan] Ending
On January 29, 2010, in Ma Tau Way, a five-story tenement building collapsed and killed four people. This is a rare incident of its kind in Hong Kong after the Second World War, which has aroused the government’s and the community’s concerns about the safety of tenement buildings. Tong Lau is vanishing, both physically and spiritually. We accept it with remembrance and move on after acceptance.
References
Hong Kong Buildings Department, REPORT ON THE COLLAPSE OF THE BUILDING AT 45J MA TAU WAI ROAD TO KWA WAN, KOWLOON – K.I.L. 8627 ON 29 JANUARY 2010. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Buildings Department, 2010. Https://Www.Legco.Gov.Hk/Yr09-10/English/Panels/Dev/Dev_bs/Papers/Dev_bs0427cb1-1716-1-e.Pdf.
Wikipedia. “Tong Lau,” January 18, 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tong_lau