As stated by William H. Whyte, “The street is the river of life of the city, the place where we come together, the pathway to the centre.” [1] It is a crucial network-like public space that keeps the city alive. This video essay therefore investigates the contrasting characteristic of streets in Tsuen Wan District. In this case, the term Street is defined in a broader dimension, not only did it refer to the roads of traffic and sidewalks, but also includes the facades of adjacent parcels and shop fronts, since these are all crucial components that shapes street life.
Tsuen wan, the geographical centre of Hong Kong, started its new town development since the 1950s. Noticeably, the streetscape of this place greatly varies, and even contrasts with each other. For instance, through taking a short walk on Sha Tsui Road, one of the primary roads of Tsuen Wan, a strong juxtaposition of street ambience could be observed. Along the same street, there is a stark transition from a vibrant and dynamic marketplace at the intersection of Chung On Street, to the void and static decayed industrial zone at the Northwest end of Sha Tsui Road. Time seemed to have stopped in the industrial streets, where lines and cracks on facades are the only remains that tells the tale of the past. The video therefore seek to depict the contrasting characteristic of streets at the vibrant marketplace near Tsuen Wan Market (i.e., Ho Pui Street, Chung On Street etc.) and those at the declining industrial region (i.e. Pak Tin Par Street, Chai Wan Kok Street), featuring and juxtaposing their pedestrians, traffic conditions, shop fronts, and facades through lenses of sound and vision, and hence revealing the underlying reasons of such contrast.
Research
Through conducting both on-site field trips and library research, two main reasons were suggested to be the main culprit: the functions of adjacent parcels and the evolving nature of history.
Regarding the first reason, functions of the bottom floor of buildings are influential to its nearby street life. As stated by Jane Jacobs in the book The death and life of great American cities, “A sidewalk life arises only when the concrete, tangible facilities it requires are present.”[2] It could be observed that most of the ground floor space of buildings at the market place are either grocery shops, or restaurants and bakeries; while that of industrial areas are usually reserved for load and unload zones, or entrance of industrial buildings. The lack of shopfronts that attracts pedestrians is the main culprit that leads to such emptiness of streets in the industrial area.
Regarding the second reason, Tsuen Wan was greatly influenced by the post war industrialization of Hong Kong [3]. The Shanghai industrialists who ventured to Hong Kong shaped the neighbourhood of Tsuen Wan nowadays [4]. While the 1970s was the peak of Hong Kong’s industrial development, and so does the factories in Tsuen Wan, since the 1980s, where factories move back to mainland China, the industrial area where factories originally clustered decays. [5] When Hong Kongs economy shifted from secondary to tertiary industry, the market area was able to respond with the change due to its commercial nature. However, the factory zones could only face the fate of decline . The streets in this case acted as a reflection of the transition of era, where contrast was gradually formed under the flow of time.
Video Production
Tutorials on street filming [6] and introductions on filming techniques [7][8][9] were taken as references in this video.
The video composes of a series of montage, timelapse videos, and collages. While montages help speed up the time in storytelling, timelapse videos featuring pedestrians and traffics at the market streets helps express its vibrancy and hecticness, full of livelihood, and collages acted as an effective method in highlighting the contrast.
Regarding the mise en scene, saturation of scenes that features the industrial streets were purposely lowered to create a colder atmosphere. Extreme long shots and long shots were also taken at the industrial streets to show the whole context of the streets, which is effective in showing how empty it is.
One interesting thing to note is that the composition of the scene (02:04-02:13) of an elderly pedestrian walking across the street sections of both commercial streets and industrial streets took reference from Tsai Ming Liang’s 2012 film, Walker. Extreme long shots were taken to reveal the characters scale with the environment [10]
At 00:54, the sudden echoing effect in the music highlights the transition from market streets to industrial streets. This helps accentuate the voidness of industrial streets.
Moreover, at 02:13 a collage showing close shots on the bags carried by the same lady under contrasting context of streets, tries to covey the life and death of the two types of streets. The red bag symbolizes life, and the white symbolizes death.
Reflection
As stated by Jane Jacobs, sidewalks of streets should have the function of safety and connection [11]. It seems that the industrial streets had failed to achieve this goal due to its nearby land use and decline in history. Nevertheless, the streets in that area were yet to fade. Vacant factories have found their new functions, arts and cultural hub.[12] The renewal of mills had once again brought people back again on the streets. As what Seng has mentioned, history occurs as a notion of coetaneous experience of disappearance and reappearance.[13] The rebirth of industrial streets awaits to be seen.
My essay ends with a quote by Chang Wai Hung : “The pedestrians walking into their camera frames—whether rushing or strolling, lost in thought or lost in the crowd—became an indispensable breath of life in the cityscape.” [14]
Bibliography
- Cyrus, “30 Catchy Quotes to Inspire You”, Owls Quotes, n.d., https://www.owlsquotes.com/topic/30-catchy-street-quotes-to-inspire-you.html
- Jane Jacobs 1993. The Death and Life of Great American Cities. New York, NY: Vintage Books.
- Catherine Schenk, “Economic History of Hong Kong”, EH.net Encyclopedia, March 16, 2008, https://eh.net/encyclopedia/economic-history-of-hong-kong/
- LUXE City Guides, “Tsuen Wan”, Hong Kong Tourism Board, n.d., https://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/explore/neighbourhoods/tsuen-wan.html#:~:text=A%20town%20of%20customs%20and%20traditions%2C%20from%20temples%20to%20textiles&text=Tsuen%20Wan%20became%20the%20neighbourhood,would%20create%20fabric%20and%20garments.
- LUXE City Guides, “The Mills: Weaving a story of Tsuen Wan’s past”, Hong Kong Tourism Board, n.d., https://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/explore/neighbourhoods/tsuen-wan/weaving-a-story-of-tsuen-wan-s-past.html
- B&W Photography Guide, “Guide to Film Photography”, B&W Photography Guide, n.d., https://www.guidetofilmphotography.com/tips-for-street-film-photography.html
- Kyle Deguzman, “What is a Montage? Definition, Examples & 6 Ways to Use Them”, Studiobinder, November 8, 2020, https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-a-montage-definition/#:~:text=Montages%20enable%20filmmakers%20to%20communicate,assembly%E2%80%9D%20or%20%E2%80%9Cediting.%E2%80%9D
- Matt, “Mise En Scene Elements: What You Need To Know”, filmlifestyle, n.d., https://filmlifestyle.com/mise-en-scene-elements/
- Adorama, “14 Basic Cinematography & Film Techniques for Better Cinematic Shots”, Adorama, May 6, 2022, https://www.adorama.com/alc/14-basic-cinematography-techniques-for-better-cinematic-shots/
- Tsai Ming-liang, “Walker”, Vimeo, 2012, https://vimeo.com/176551173
- Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities”
- LUXE City Guides, “The Mills: weaving a story of Tsuen Wan’s past”
- Eunice Seng. “Cuts through Hong Kong.” Collage + New into Old, Architectural Review (Jul./Aug. 2021): 102-107.\
- Wai Hung Chung, “I, Too, Am On My Way: On Being the Living Backdrop of Hong Kong Cinema”, M+, Jun 9, 2022, https://www.mplus.org.hk/en/magazine/pedestrians-in-hong-kong-cinema-locations/
Historical Image Archive Used in the video:
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/m039qh172#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-2848%2C-187%2C9247%2C3738
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/qn59vh783#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-1053%2C-94%2C4633%2C1873
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/1n79ng616#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-2427%2C-150%2C7390%2C2987
https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/z029tj502#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-1658%2C-142%2C7002%2C2831
-Yu Ko Chieh Joshua 3035934157