Inside Hong Kong’s cage homes
When houses are the size of parking spaces.
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Hong Kong is the most expensive housing market in the world. It has been ranked as the least affordable housing market on Earth for eight years in a row, and the price per square foot seems to be only going up. The inflated prices are forcing Hongkongers to squeeze into unconventionally small spaces that can affect their quality of life.
Tens of thousands of Hongkongers are living in spaces that range from 75 to 140 square feet. To put that in perspective, the average parking space in the US is about 150 square feet. And in the most extreme cases, Hongkongers have resorted to homes the size of a coffin.
I spent some time exploring the living situation in Hong Kong to find out why housing has become so expensive and spaces so tight.
To understand how Hong Kong’s housing market turned out this way and see how it’s affecting people’s lives, watch the final episode of Borders Hong Kong.
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Vox Borders is an international documentary series by Emmy-nominated producer Johnny Harris exploring life at the edge of nations. For more, visit vox.com/borders.
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Blue House Hong Kong
Blue House refers to a 4-storey balcony-type tenement block located at 72-74A Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai, Hong Kong, China. It is named after the blue colour painted on its external walls. It is one of the few remaining examples of tong lau of the balcony type in Hong Kong and is listed as Grade I historic building.
Po Toi, the tiny island a stone’s throw from Hong Kong
original publishing date : Sep 12th 2017
On a map, the island of Po Toi looks barely a stone’s throw from the southeastern tip of Hong Kong Island. It’s small, too, seeming as if it would fit comfortably on the Kowloon peninsula.
It might not look like much, but to visit Po Toi is to leave the city and arrive in a small world with villages, hills, coastal inlets and rocky headlands, trails to hike, places to explore, and some of Hong Kong’s best coastal scenery. Plus there are simple cafes and a restaurant, with fare ranging from noodle soup to seafood banquets favoured by junk party-goers.
Junk and ferry passengers arrive via a pier in Tai Wan – Large Bay, a cove in southwest Po Toi. With its shelter against typhoons and a stream flowing to a tidal pool behind a beach, this became home to most of the island’s residents. Around a thousand fishermen and farmers lived here in the middle of the 20th century, though numbers have since dwindled to a couple of hundred as younger generations moved to the city.
There are ruined houses beneath grand old trees at the end of the pier. A footpath heads left, towards the tiny beach and main village area. There’s also a junction at an old shanty store; turn right here if you’d like to roam the wilder parts of the island. Soon, steps lead uphill, and you can pass a long disused school building.
A path climbs the hillside, with shrubs and trees affording welcome shade against hot sun. The trail eases, and there’s one of the sturdy signposts that point the way along walking routes. Partly blackened with time, these signposts now seem like relics from an earlier era, and this one still indicates the way to “Mo’s Old House”, even though a newer sign warns the area is private.
It was once a grand old house, built by a pirate called Mo Shui-tong, and served as a base for the Japanese army during the second world war. Now it’s a ruin hidden among dense young woodland, abandoned due to its reputed bad feng shui and rumoured to be haunted.
Higher up the hillside, the trail emerges from the vegetation and crosses a patch of gently sloping, weatherworn granite. There’s another sign, and the Rugged Trail heads off to the left, while the main path heads up a broad ridge to the right.
The Rugged Trail is indeed rough underfoot. Stretches of it are slender dirt trails, and in parts it crosses granite outcrops – sometimes with old chain link fences you might hold while scrambling up and down. It leads over an area of rolling hills, with views to the steep slopes of neighbouring Beaufort Island, and southern Hong Kong Island, then drops down to a Tin Hau temple at the mouth of Tai Wan.
To the right, the trail is easier, with concrete steps. It soon reaches Ngau Wu Teng, which is the highest point on Po Toi, 188 metres above sea level. A pavilion here makes a fine place to rest, shelter from the sun – or rain – and enjoy looking out over southern Po Toi and the sea beyond.
Then, flights of steps lead down to a neck of land that connects to a peninsula. Just below, on the right, there’s a tiny beach that’s pleasant for paddling. Head straight on, and the path climbs a low hill, dotted with boulders amid vegetation kept low by fires started by grave sweepers doubling as accidental arsonists.
Some of the rocks here have been named. Monk Rock is like a pillar rather taller than a man, recalling a monk bowing in supplication. A sign by it also points to Turtle Rock, though this is better appreciated from farther along the path.
There’s a lighthouse atop the hill. It’s not a classic round white building, run by a man in a thick jersey with a bushy beard and an attentive cat, but a squat square concrete structure, operating automatically.
Who Built a Secret Mountaintop Mansion on Top of This Skyscraper?
What on Earth?
Drone and satellite images revealed an enormous garden on top of a skyscraper, complete with a vineyard and swimming pool.
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百年石墙树 Stone Wall Trees in Hong Kong
位于香港西环科士街的一堵80米长，拥有140年历史的石墙，生长着十多棵挺拔的大榕树。盘缠交错在石墙上的树根，显示大树并非 长在平地，而是生长在近乎垂直的石墙上。茂密高耸的枝叶，覆盖了 大半条道路，形成了一道世界难得一见自然景观。科士街的百年石墙树，可真是香港的宝贝。
Shanghai's Underwater Quarry Hotel | The B1M
Extending 90 metres down into an abandoned quarry, the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland is a structure like no other. For more by The B1M subscribe now:
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Live in a water pipe: potential answer to Hong Kong's housing crisis
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SCMP’s Alkira Reinfrank tried living in the Opod, which is a house made out of two concrete water pipes, for a night to see if it is a potential solution to Hong Kong's housing crisis.
Saving Ancient Chinese Architecture; While Building a Luxury Resort!
Saving China's Vanishing Past and It's Ancient Chinese Architecture; While Building a Luxury Resort!
How Aman Resorts Turned a Centuries-old Chinese Village Into a Five-star Resort
With the Help of a Passionate Chinese Businessman, Aman Resorts Saved and Restored an Entire Village From the Qing and Ming Dynasties. Now You Can Sleep in It.
Threatened by Construction of a Major New Reservoir, a Forest of 10,000 Trees and a Collection of 50 Historic Houses Have Been Transported 800 Kilometres to Shanghai, Where They Are Being Transformed Into an Expansive Holiday Retreat.
Chinese Businessman Ma Dadong Was So Upset to Discover That the Forest of 2,000-year-old Camphor Trees Was Set to Be Destroyed, He Embarked on a 10-year Conservation Project to Move Them to a New Site.
The Project Has Also Involved the Dismantling of More Than 30 Villages, Which Resulted in 50 Ming and Qing Dynasty Houses Being Carefully Taken Apart and Rebuilt in the New Location, on the Outskirts of Shanghai.
Together, They Will Provide a New Resort for Aman
During the Process, the Team Rediscovered 400-year-old Building Techniques. They Also Uncovered Carvings and Reliefs That Would Have Taken Decades to Complete, and Which Trace Family Histories Dating Back 2,00o Years.
Called Amanyangyun, the Resort Opened Its Doors in 2017. The 50 Reconstructed Houses Provide 26 Antique Villas – Some Containing Guest Homes and Some Housing Amenities – Plus 24 One-bedroom Suites.
Facilities Include a Variety of Dining Spaces, Including a 200-seat Banquet Hall, a Club Lounge, Swimming Pools and a Spa. Guests Are Invited to Learn Calligraphy and the Process of a Tea Ceremony.
Australian Architect Kerry Hill Designed the Minimal Interiors, With a Brief to Blend the Old With the New. His Designs Use Simple Unfinished Materials Including Bamboo, Wood and Stone.
According to Aman, the Resort is Be a Peaceful Sanctuary That Safeguards Priceless Natural and Cultural Treasures, Giving a New Life to These Dynasty Houses and Ancient Forest.
#Architecture #China
Ancient Chinese architecture
Chinese architecture demonstrates an architectural style that developed over millennia in China, before spreading out to influence architecture all throughout East Asia. Since the solidification of the style in the early imperial period, the structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details.
Ancient Chinese architecture is mainly timberwork. Wooden posts, beams, lintels and joists make up the framework of a house. Walls serve as the separation of rooms without bearing the weight of the whole house, which is unique to China. As a famous saying goes, 'Chinese houses will still stand when their walls collapse.' The specialty of wood requires antisepsis methods to be adopted, thus develops into Chinese own architectural painting decoration. Colored glaze roofs, windows with exquisite applique design and beautiful flower patterns on wooden pillars reflect the high-level of the craftsmen's handicraft and their rich imagination.
The layout of a courtyard complex is also unique to China. The main structure is located on the central axis of a court while less-important structures are located to the left and right. The whole layout is symmetrical. Compared with European architectural style which is open and shut, a courtyard is like a hand scroll of painting which should be unfolded little by little. The scenery is different in each courtyard. Even in moving several steps within the court yard, you will be surprised at the changing of prospects. Likewise from the interior of the buildings the view from no two windows is the same.
Together with European and Arabian architecture, ancient Chinese architecture is an important component of the world architectural system. During its long development, it gradually formed into a style which featured timberwork combining stone carving, rammed earth construction, bucket arch buildings and many other techniques. Industrious Chinese laboring people created many architectural miracles such as the Great Wall, Forbidden City and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor.
Kenson 周圍去之九龍城石屋家園遊記 Stone House Family Garden @Kowloon City (26/12/2018)
Monkey breaks glass enclosure with stone at zoo in China
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A monkey was filmed breaking a glass pane of the enclosure it was in, with a stone at a zoo in central China’s Henan province. The staff later removed all the rocks in the enclosure.
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China’s last cave people
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Zhongdong Village, or Middle Cave, is China’s last cave village.
It was built after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 by Miao ethnic minorities to evade bandits.
For nearly seven decades, the villagers have lived off the land and maintained an agrarian lifestyle.
But they might be soon forced to relocate by Chinese authorities aiming to ‘eliminate poverty’ by 2020.
Protesters point lasers, throw eggs at Hong Kong police station
Masked demonstrators pointed laser pens at the Tseung Kwan O police station on Sunday (Aug 4), and threw bricks and eggs at the glass, prompting cheers from the crowd.
This was the second consecutive night of unrest in Hong Kong, which culminated in riot police entering the fray with teargas. (Video: Reuters)
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Ricky Stone White Party Hong Kong Dec 15th 2007
RS back in HK
2016-Jul-29【香港行街 Hong Kong Walk】中西區文物徑 - Western District and the Peak Route (Section A)
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0:01:17 -02- Peak Cafe
0:16:16 -03- Gate Lodge of the Former Mountain Lodge
0:22:29 -04- Original Site of the Mountain Lodge and Lugard Road
0:57:37 Lugard Road Lookout
1:41:26 -05- Pinewood Battery
1:59:20 -06- Boundary Stone, City of Victoria
208:10 -07- Stone House
Stone Church Sacred Heart of Jesus, Guangzhou (Canton), Guangdong, China, Asia
Stone Church Sacred Heart of Jesus, Guangzhou (Canton), Guangdong, China, Asia by Col Escape/Austmon Lee.
The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Chinese: 耶穌聖心主教座堂) also known as Stone House (Chinese: 石室) by locals, is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Guangzhou (Canton), South China. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guangzhou (Canton).
The cathedral is located at 56 Yide Road (or Yat Tak Road), Guangzhou. It is on the north bank of the Pearl River and stands at the heart of the busy old town.
Welcome to the Old Stone House Tea House
The Old Stone House is a unique, historic, country experience Tea House and Meeting Place where our past is preserved and our present is treasured.
Old Chinese hotel moved 35.5 meters
A 5,000-tonne hotel was moved northward by 35.56 meters after 40 hours of effort on Friday in central China's Hunan Province without any demolition work. The displacement work of the 64-year-old Xiangjiang Hotel started on Wednesday. After the displacement, the hotel will undergo renovation.
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The last Hong Kong governor: Chris Patten on 20 years after the handover
Chris Patten, Hong Kong’s last governor, handed the former colony back to China on 1 July 1997 to be ruled with a degree of autonomy under a system called “one country, two systems”.
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Anger at China’s refusal to grant genuine democracy to the former British colony sparked an unprecedented 79-day street protest in 2014. Here he reflects on leaving Hong Kong and what the game plan should be going forward.
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Wuhan-Zhengzhoudong-Guolingcun-Yuntaishan-Glass sky walk- Red stone gorge. China
China trip to Wuhan-Zhengzhoudong-Guolingcun-Yuntaishan-Glass sky walk- Red stone gorge. by aof, feb2016
Luk yu tea house, a blast from the past, 24 Stanley Street, Hong Kong
My niece treated me to dinner at this classic Chinese Tea House called Luk Yu Tea House, located at 24 Stanley Street, Central, Hong Kong. No fusion cuisine and nothing super creative, just plain old great food. I have used all the cliches I know to describe the food and I think they are pretty accurate. Enjoy your lunch or dinner there. A little pricey but great food don't come cheaply.
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