Wan Chai Market

a few weeks back one half of qmark (Hongguan) and one half of proconservation (me) were in Hong Kong to intern as part-time lan kwai fong trash collectors(the pay was good you see). On our day off we went to visit the Wan Chai Market after hearing much about it online and through some friends from Hong Kong.



Wan Chai Maket was constructed in the 1937. People call its facade bauhaus inspired but its more streamline moderne to me (and according to wiki)

Anyway this article isn't about style or facades but more of the resilience against opulent development.

Wan Chai Market, originally uploaded by jonolist.

Here are the store owners who refuse to move out after the authorities repossessed the building and sold it to some developer. Its gonna be another high density residential/commercial area (with only its front area and facade preserved). we heave a collective sigh at its poor attempt in conservation.

power to the people who refused to move out though. Stall holders once held banners (angry looking passionate ones, not the toned down non existent Singapore variety) protesting against the governments plan to remove certain streets and redevelop the market. It then got political with complaints against the democratic system which resulted in the China government sending people there to survey hong kong's political system. I don't really have a clear picture what happen all i know was that it got quite messy. (i shall find out after submissions though...of if anyone can email us some clarifications?)

this place has damn lots of history which you can read more about here. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wan_Chai_Market
and the protest here
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6223506.stm

(apparently its basement was once used by Japanese troops as a corpse storage facility during the Occupation.)


when your in Hong Kong, do visit this place and the nearby "blue house" to see what hong kong really is all about. (its much cheaper than Disneyland!)