Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHQHqQopvuk
Transcript:
S: There exists a special and traditional type of signboards for stores in Hong Kong.
They generally use a combination of bright colors and white, like a white background with red lettering. It used to be widely used in Hong Kong, but it is gradually vanishing these days and would only appear in some old districts, like the Man Wah Sun Chuen. Do you notice this?
H: I do also notice that there are fewer and fewer such written billboards on the streets, but why is that?
S:Because this site itself, along with its traditional features, is vanishing.
The buildings have been around for more than fifty years, and the years have left visible marks on their surface. Nowadays, the site has been surrounded by many new residential and commercial buildings, so it is gradually being surrounded or engulfed by modern buildings.
S: Moreover, these buildings have been suggested to be demolished to make way for the new development area. Thus, stores that retained traditional signboards would be forced to close and unlikely to return. This is because most of them are owned by elderly locals and provide traditional (somewhat outdated) goods and services, like opening drains. After the redevelopment of the area, they may not be able to afford higher rents, and more importantly, their stores will no longer be able to integrate into the modernized community.
H: I think not only that, but at the same time the function of handwritten signboards themselves is gradually being replaced. With the continuous development of the Internet, only a few people still get information about shops by watching or reading the contents of billboards on the streets. People will first look up and decide on the shops they want to target on the Internet and then go there directly according to their needs. As young generations are gradually adopting the way of getting information by internet, the relevance of the existence of handwritten signs is vanishing.
H: In the past, when information could not be communicated quickly and accurately to everyone, people could only find out about a shop’s functions and services through handwritten signs. That’s why every shop tries to present all the relevant information as much as possible to potential customers through handwritten signs. Nowadays, however, a signboard usually only needs to contain the name of the shop and contact details, and the function of the signboard lies more in showcasing the style and aesthetics of the whole shop rather than introducing the function.
S:So, the elderly who are not able to adopt new ways of gaining information would be most directly affected because such new signboards cut off some of their information sources. The traditional signboards tend to be more informative than simplistic ones nowadays, and older people might also not be used to acquiring information online.
Besides, those elderly who used to live in that era would lose the familiar elements of the old days, the old memories are faded day by day.
H: Not only that, handwritten signboards have became a unique style of Hong Kong and a distinctive business card of Hong Kong. When such traditional signboards disappear, the streets of Hong Kong will lack part of its characteristics, which will make just like you mentioned those locals lose their sense of belonging, also tourists will not be able to appreciate this unique part of Hong Kong’s charm.
S: I understand that so with the vanishing of the traditional signboards, what is happening in this area and to those stores that used to have a lot of such traditional signboards?
H: With the disappearance of such traditional signboards, some of the shops are also disappearing if they try to use the new-style signboards with only name, fewer and fewer people will patronize those stores since they do not know the business area of those stores. Especially in Man Wah Sun Chuen where elderly people lived in, those traditional signboards and stores will eventually disappear altogether.
S: I agree, from my point of view, the old stores with traditional signboards could have the potential to integrated quite well into the modern urban context. The traditional signboards would exist for nostalgic people and the young generation who are interested in learning about the past. Thus, a combination of the simplistic modern signboards and the traditional ones would be adopted by stores to better fit into society nowadays.
This is a really good way to preserve Hong Kong’s traditional culture and memories.
H: Yes, this combination of traditional shops and new-style signboards will gradually become a more unique and innovative business card of Hong Kong. Just like walking along the streets of Hong Kong with those high rise buildings, it is the traditional style of the streets that catch one’s eye, the combination will also reflect the fact that Hong Kong itself is a city that incorporate a modern metropolis with its unique traditional culture.
Hu Dayu UID:3036100064
Shen Leyan UID: 3036100117