【Festive Offer】Autumn 2025 Issue

# Festive Special Packaging 【Hong Kong Exclusive】 **For delivery before Christmas, please complete your online order by December 19th at the latest.** -- About this issue: Geo, as in Geology and Geography. How has Hong Kong's "geology" shaped the "texture" of its urban landscape? How did Hong Kong, once described as a Barren Rock, build a metropolis? From the extensive quarrying of stones a century ago, building a city of granite; Boundary stones hidden in various corners of the city, silently recording historical changes; Clearing land on hillsides, building retaining walls with stones, constructing roads and buildings; Leveling small hills to create densely populated communities; Diverse mineral resources fostering industries and forming villages; Planting trees and flowers on barren rocks, nurturing lush country parks...... What if the story of Hong Kong began with a stone? Let’s Rediscover the Hong Kong Stone Age..... -- **Free Gift with Purchase: "Hong Kong Backyard Paradise" Hand-Drawn Illustrated Map** Backyard Trails refer to the green belts located between urban areas and the countryside. They are not only secret havens for residents to de-stress and enhance their physical and mental well-being but also showcase the vitality of community spaces built together by the public. "Just Hong Kong" collaborates with Parks and Trails, an organization dedicated to nature conservation, and invites illustrator Cat Siu to create an illustrated map, inviting you to discover the human stories hidden in the backyards of various local districts. Highlights of this issue: REmember// The Dawn of Victoria City, A City of Granite In the early days of the opening of the port, not only houses but also various infrastructures were built using abundant local Hong Kong granite, creating a "City of Granite." Today, Hong Kong still preserves buildings constructed from granite from different eras. Despite enduring a century of wind and rain, their solid characteristics remain unchanged. REmark// Defining Hong Kong with Stones as Boundaries Hong Kong is one of the cities with the densest concentration of boundary stones in Asia, yet these stones are the most silent historical imprints. How many boundary stones exist in this city? How many remain undiscovered or have been lost amidst urban development? What aspects of our city's transformation are recorded on these boundary stones? REmove// Moving Mountains and Reshaping Land: Seeing Mountains No More Many public housing estates and various public facilities now spread across districts were created by removing small hills from their original locations. However, the speed and magnitude of these changes are often so rapid and extensive that it's hard to imagine the original landscape dotted with small hills. REmind// Hills Within the City: Pictorial Representations of Sites As one walks through the city, more and more hidden "Hills Within the City" are discovered. These small hills, with elevations of one to two hundred meters, exist independently, not connected to larger mountains. This issue invites the "Living Construction" team to deconstruct the pictorial representations of 15 hills in Kowloon. REveal// How a Sacred Hill Became an Isolated Island – Sung Wong Toi On the pedestrian tunnel connecting Kowloon City and Kai Tak, sandwiched between busy roadways, stands a large stone in Sung Wong Toi Garden that once rested on a "Sacred Hill." In the past, it was not only a revered sacred symbol but also a historical trace of Hong Kong in the Song Dynasty eight centuries ago. REtain// Trees on Stone Walls Wandering through the "mountain cities" of Hong Kong Island, one frequently encounters stone wall trees spreading across the surfaces of vertical stone retaining walls or penetrating the gaps within the walls, displaying incredible vitality. Hong Kong's stone walls are not only varied in form but also bear witness to the process of early "mountain city" construction. REdiscover// The Prelude to Hong Kong's Country Parks – From Barren Rock to Green Park In the 19th century, Hong Kong was described as merely a "barren rock." But how did this small place, full of mountains and rocks, gradually sprout abundant flowers and trees, establishing botanical gardens? How was widespread afforestation carried out in reservoir catchment areas, leading to the development of the later country parks? Other highlights: REtell// Between Disappearance and Existence – Reconstructing Sung Wong Toi The sacred hill is gone, and one-third of the Sung Wong Toi stone remains, yet it is located 300 feet away from its original site. How can eight centuries of historical time be connected? Architects/artists Ng Kai-yi and Sun Yan propose different perspectives and methods for contemplating these questions through the digital landscape reconstruction of the Sung Wong Toi stone. REsources// HK Mine Mapping In the 19th century, local stone mining was already extensive and exported; other minerals were also mined sequentially in the 20th century. Although local mining declined after the 1970s, the mining blueprints of the past still remain in different areas, becoming an indelible part of the city's memory. REmains// Ma On Shan – From Mining Village to New Town Beneath the rolling hills of Ma On Shan, there was once a mine developed by thousands of people. In recent years, it has transformed into a thriving new town. The mountains and the area below weave together a history spanning over three hundred years. How did Ma On Shan transition from a remote, desolate mountain mining village to the prosperous new town it is today? REconnect// Stone Wall Tree Community Local artist Tang Kai-yat has consistently explored Hong Kong's urban landscape in his works, revealing the underlying narratives of colonialism, urbanization, and historical events that have shaped the local scenery. This time, through the stone wall trees in Ladder Street, Central, and Tung Mei Garden, Wan Chai, he presents the connection between nature and the community. ISBN: 978-988-74818-8-1 Price: HK$180 Printed and Produced in: Hong Kong Publication Date: Late September -- Exclusive Offer for Online Store Autumn Issue: With every order, receive: A postcard of the "Hong Kong Mountain and Sea Map from the 1870s" (available in four colors, one randomly selected) A topographical map of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula drawn by Italian missionary Simeone Volonteri (1831–1904) during his visit to China in 1874, depicting the predominantly hilly terrain of Hong Kong and Kowloon at the time. (Limited quantity, while supplies last)