"Made in Hong Kong" Summer 2024 Issue

This issue at a glance: Move for Mobility: Fluidity is essential for any major city to maintain its vitality. Trams, trains, subways, buses, minibuses, taxis… Hong Kong boasts a diverse range of transport options and is one of the world's highest users of public transportation. As you travel across Hong Kong daily using various modes of transport, have you ever considered how travel time and methods influence our life choices and quality of life? They connect over a century of Hong Kong's historical changes and have shaped community and urban development. 2024 marks a year of significant anniversaries for Hong Kong's transportation – the MTR's 45th, bus services over 100 years, and the tram's 120th. How has transportation, from past to future, nurtured and driven urban culture, keeping Hong Kong moving? Highlights: REmember // A Journey Through Time: The Evolution of Land Transport From sedan chairs, rickshaws, to carriages, Hong Kong embraced a new era with the introduction of trams, trains, buses, and the MTR, accelerating the city's pace with essential transport infrastructure. Looking back at the development of these land transport systems is like retracing our steps, understanding how they shaped Hong Kong today. REtrace // Memories as Long as the Railway Tracks The arrival of the Kowloon-Canton Railway heralded Hong Kong's entry into the 20th century. The city's layered memories stretch as long and endless as railway tracks. Steam or diesel carriages, faded seat upholstery, and transformed stations – from KCR to MTR – have all become enduring recollections. REconnect // Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade: Hong Kong's Maritime, Land, and Air Transport Hub When discussing transportation, Tsim Sha Tsui has been a historical centre of Hong Kong for over a century. Historian Dr. Chu Hoi-dick traces how Tsim Sha Tsui became a crucial hub for maritime and land transport after the opening of the KCR, contributing to its vibrancy and subsequent transformation. REvisit // A Voyage Through Time: King of the Main Roads Despite numerous urban reconstructions and expansions, the importance of certain roads and routes remains unchanged. Photographers Chan Tak and Lam Hiu-man take us on a journey aboard the century-old Hong Kong Island tram line and the No. 1 bus, which has traversed major Kowloon streets like Nathan Road and Prince Edward Road since before the war. They revisit these two of the oldest public transport routes, exploring the changes and constants along the way. REmode // Between Yau Ma Tei and Austin, Where is Jordan? The "Yau Tsim Mong" district encompasses these areas, with Jordan seemingly nestled between "Yau" and "Tsim." From its early 20th-century military zone origins, through the bustling Nathan Road of the 1930s, the community of the "Eight Mansions" near the Jordan Road Ferry Pier in the 1960s, to the Landmark Concord, symbolizing the mall culture of the 1980s after the MTR's completion, and the new high-speed rail community emerging from the West Kowloon reclamation in the last two decades... Jordan's stories are multifaceted and profound. REtell // The Metaphors of... Trams / MTR / Taxis / Minibuses Various modes of transport, including trams, MTR, taxis, and minibuses, frequently appear in local creative works. They not only form part of storylines or creative themes but also embody certain values, reflecting the unique urban atmosphere of Hong Kong in different eras, even becoming symbols and metaphors for the city's identity. REtreat // Lantau Island Highway: Bus No. 1 and Island Scenery The construction of the Shek Pik Reservoir led to the creation of the first highway on Lantau Island – South Lantau Road, and subsequently, bus services. Photographer Kevin Leung boards the No. 1 bus from Mui Wo to Tai O, passing through almost all major areas of Lantau Island, focusing his lens on the landscapes in the city's quiet corners. Other Highlights: REcap // Transcend... the Terminus: Tsim Sha Tsui & Hung Hom Examples of how railway stations have driven the development of new districts and communities can be found in various eras. Tsim Sha Tsui and Hung Hom have demonstrated over the past century how transportation planning has transformed these areas. Photographer Jeremy Cheung wanders through these districts with his camera, capturing how different transport hubs connect with the lives of Hong Kong people. REcall // I go to school by bus: Taking the bus is never just taking the bus KMB Route 1 has been running for nearly a century. Nathan Road and Kowloon City have undergone many changes. But for those who grew up in the 1950s and 60s, the memory of taking the bus across districts from Yau Ma Tei to Kowloon City for school, the cinemas, department stores, and Kai Tak Airport, remains vivid – like a grand adventure. REmote // Light Rail – Traversing the Northwest Frontier Taking the Light Rail from Tuen Mun to Yuen Long and Tin Shui Wai is almost equivalent to the total length of the tram network. It passes through three new towns, serving the lives of 900,000 people, offering a diverse range of scenery. Hop on the train and glimpse the face of the Northwest through the carriage window. REimagine // Ideal Streetscapes Streets are not just for people and vehicles to pass through; they are also spaces for our daily lives. Two members of "Street Kiến Tạo," a group focused on local street design, draw upon international experiences to envision Hong Kong's streets and communities beyond a car-centric approach, exploring their potential for a more human-centric design. ISBN: 978-988-74818-3-6 Price: HK$160 Printed in Hong Kong Publication Date: End of July Exclusive Summer Issue Offer from Online Store Receive a set of six vintage double-decker bus stickers with your purchase. Hong Kong's first bus company was established in the 1920s, and the first double-decker bus was introduced in 1949. Since then, Hong Kong has become one of the cities with the largest number of double-decker buses globally. KMB and the former China Motor Bus Company even custom-ordered various bus models from the UK. This set of six stickers features double-decker buses from the post-war 1950s to the 1980s, allowing us to reminisce about the days when red and blue buses traversed the streets of Hong Kong and Kowloon. (Limited quantity, available while stocks last.)