In a city that changes as fast as the weather, it can be easy to overlook Hong Kong's past. But on a winding street in Wan Chai, one of the city's oldest neighborhoods, a house painted brilliant blue stands out. The "Blue House," a Chinese tong lau from the 1920s, is at the heart of a cluster of historic buildings that paint a picture of old Hong Kong. The Blue House exemplifies Hong Kong's old tong lau architecture. The word tong lau translates to "tenement house". "Blue House", situated at 72 Stone Nullah Lane in Wanchai, is a pre-war building with more than seventy years of history that shows architectural characteristics of both Chinese and Western styles. Many of the internal structures like purlin, staircase, railing are still preserved in their authentic wooden fabric. There are still residents living inside and some of them have to share the kitchen. Since there is no flushing toilet facility inside the building, it still needs the service of "Tao Ye Heung" (somebody helps to remove the excrement from the building every night)! 如果,你和我是一样喜欢探索老味道风华的旅人,那么,来到香港,这个景点你不能错过 - 湾仔蓝屋。 每次旅行,我总是很喜欢看每个国家的古蹟、博物馆等。尤其是能代表那个国家的建筑特色,更是我不会错过的景点行程。尤其是一些能代表当地生活的历史建筑物,不一定是华丽的古蹟建筑,像一些古宅官邸等的保留,都能让我们一探当年时代的风华面貌,进而回味。 出发香港前,我在搜寻行程时,很快的便决定一定要来湾仔蓝屋这里走走。 "Blue House" is a four-storey building, which is named from the brilliant blue colour painted on its external walls. When i walked closer to the building, it is not difficult to recognize that not all the external walls are coloured in blue. It was said that the workers of the Lands Department only got blue paint during the period of repairing work, so it was used to renovate the external wall at the time. 位在香港湾仔区,这一带多是港人很生活家居的区域, 是属于一区不是那么商业的区域范围,而且,有许多老味道的建筑都被保留在此。我拐了几条巷弄,蓝屋显目的外观就在街道中出现了。 I made a pose before crossing over to Blue House upon arrival in Wan Chai. The buildings were common commercial and residential constructions in Hong Kong until the 1960s. Typically no more than four stories tall, they featured balconies and partitioned rooms with high-rise bunk beds, where families crammed into close quarters - sometimes 20 people to a room. 所谓 “唐楼” 与香港盛行的建筑风格,为分辨中国人与外国人居住的楼房,蓝屋即为箇中代表,内部窄窄的木制楼梯刻[划画]着湾仔的岁月,屋内横樑、扶手依然维持旧有木制风貌、熟铁几何窗櫺扶栏加上开放式大露台,纪录着曾经拥有过的风采。 Tenement houses like these were once common in the neighborhood and the city. Now, along with two other tenements next door, the Blue House is one of the few remaining. 蓝屋建筑群展示香港20世纪初上居下舖的中式居住形态,目前仍有人家居住,家家以笼为界,一床分两代,爸妈睡床上,兄弟姐妹睡床下。部分人家的厨房和厕所共处一室,坐厕旁就是灶头,卫生环境不能与现今家居相比,但居民对这样的居住环境却已习以为常。特色地砖、木制楼梯及板间房的设计,则展现了上一代香港生活的典型风貌。 Stone Nullah Lane (literally means 'Stone canal street') is one of Wan Chai's oldest streets. The unusual word 'nullah' is "an Anglo-Indian word that means a stone- or concrete-revetted drainage channel". The old drainage channel has long disappeared, and only its name reminds of its past existence. 根据记载,蓝屋在1872年就已经出现了, 当初是一街医院,后来曾改为庙宇。而现在是洪拳林镇显的医馆及一些老居民居住于此。 黄飞鸿的徒弟林世荣在1950年代在蓝屋设馆授徒,其后人林镇显后来改为跌打医馆,并开业至今。 The Lam Chun-hin Clinic, which specializes in setting broken bones using traditional Chinese methods, is located on the ground floor of the Blue House. Still active today, it is considered the oldest bone-setting practice in Hong Kong that has been operating continuously at the same address. The same spot used to house a temple dedicated to the god of medicine, Wah To. Later the space was rented to Lam Cho, a Chinese martial artist practicing the art of folk hero Hung Kuen. Lam Cho was actually the nephew of Lam Sai-wing, himself the most famous disciple of the legendary kung-fu master Wong Fei-hung. Lam Cho used the space to both set up the bone-setting clinic and teach martial art students. (Often those two practices occur near each other, to ensure that the injured martial artists have access to fast and effective treatment.) Later, Lam Cho passed down the shop to one of his sons, Lam Chun-hin. The son passed away more than 20 years ago, but his widow is still running the clinic today. 相当具有港味的医馆,很像时代停留,即使旁边也有不少科技感的高楼大厦。但这里角落的时光,就仿佛停滞在那个迷人的年份。 The 1920s-era Blue House, then, is by no means special from a traditional standpoint, that is, because of its aesthetics. The building itself is neither glamorous nor grand; no important historical figures lived there or even stopped by. Instead, its value lies in its relative rarity. Buildings of similar designs were demolished, and the Blue House remains one of the very few of its kind. 岁月在蓝屋的身上,刻下一道一道的印记,或许让它陈旧,但越陈、越香。 我不知道住在老旧的房舍内,会不会觉得屋旧而带来困扰。但,我喜欢那种窗边即景的诗意,每一景、每一物,都不是现代化下的科技大楼,能带给我的迷人感受。 蓝屋一共有四层楼,即使通往楼上的阶梯发旧、斑驳了,但此地仍有居民居住,所以在楼下观赏就好,千万不要上去打扰人家了! 而我,就恣意的在这个停滞的时光里,找寻令我沉醉的怀旧角度。 “社区是什么?” 这是一个很好的辩题。 首先,现在的香港仍然有社区这个概念吗?从定义上,“社区” Community: 词源于拉丁语,可理解成一群人共同居住的一个地方,因共同关系(例如邻里或朋友关系)而产生共同意识,经由互助合作而自然形成的一个社会组织。社区意识是居民对自己所居住的社区在心理上有认同感及归属感,对所属的社区具有责任心与荣誉感。还有,社区居民亦自动地共同参与改善社区和宣扬的工作。 而湾仔蓝屋便可以说是社区的范本:居住在这里的左邻右里早已互相认识,建立了密切的邻里关系,他们对这里的一屋一瓦,一草一木都有浓厚的归属感。反观现在许多新市镇,盖便是多栋四五十层高的住宅物业和一式一样的商场,尽管几万多人共同住在同一地区,但邻里关系非常薄弱,更不用探讨居民有否对所住的地方有归属感与荣誉感。所以香港在金钱和经济发展的挂帅下,真正的 “社区” 快要被城市化的推土机清除得一干二淨。 Stone Nullah Lane is quiet and traditional, and the Blue House plays a key role fostering its peaceful ambience. If the government didn’t keep the shop-house structure of Blue House, and had changed it into commercial use, it would disrupt the mood of the whole community. 来访蓝屋,不妨可以选择午后的时光。下午一点后,蓝屋一楼有间 “湾仔民间生活馆” 可以让遊客们一探湾仔蓝屋所保留下来的怀旧物品风味。虽然只有小小一间,但充满怀旧风情的古物,仍是可以让人回味一番那年代的魅力。 A quirky little shopfront called The Hong Kong House of Stories caught my eye. Walking into the shop was like being transported back 80 years. The entire space was filled floor to ceiling with nostalgic memorabilias. A classic bike shared wall space with retro posters and folkart, vinyl records competed for space with old toys. I knew I’d hit a treasure trove of classic Hong Kong moments. A friendly lady inside rushed over to share with me the idea behind the House of Stories. The venue was established in 2012 through funding by the HSBC Foundation, and aims to promote cultural conservation through community tours and education programs. In the past decade, the Wan Chai area went through massive upheaval, with many old tong laus (tenement buildings) having fallen victim to new skyscrapers. Many facets of the old Wanchai local community were uprooted and, sadly, disappeared. In 2007, a group of enthusiastic residents began collecting antiques and recording old stories from the locals. Today, they hope to keep the old Wan Chai spirit alive through community action, exhibitions and workshops. Anyone is welcomed at the Hong Kong House of Stories to sit down and listen or share their unique tales. 原本蓝屋也曾面临拆除重建的命运,但在地方人士的努力之下,这间具有历史风味的蓝屋才能被保存,也才能让湾仔早期的生活民情风貌,到现在都还能流传。 最后,不妨可以带些具有港式风味的湾仔生活纪念品吧! Just when I lament the loss of historical remnants to urban restructuring, the House of Stories gives us a shining example of local communities fighting back to preserve their heritage. The Blue House, at least, is saved from the wrecking balls, and I hope the Hong Kong planning agencies can appreciate that where Hong Kongers come from, is just as important as where they are going. 蓝屋这里,不止有蓝屋。。。我一直觉得香港是一个很热情又很有活力的城市,即使在一片的旧社区之中,还是有跳动的色彩,让社区充满动力。这是新加坡社区少见的活泼。 Cultural heritage is not only everyone's treasure, but also helps to remind us many memories of the society. It is sometimes regretful that we pass some historic buildings without noticing them. In fact, many buildings of great historic and cultural significance are around us, they all worth our efforts to explore. Although this is not a thorough study, I have learned a lot through this trip to Wan Chai and have recognized the importance of heritage conservation.
As time changes, old buildings still survive in every city. In some miserable cases, however, the buildings have to be demolished or left abandoned. While others that are lucky enough will be renovated or reconstructed into museums or venues for creation and performances. It is hoped that the "Blue House" can also be turned into a living history museum, which illustrates the perplexing past of Wanchai to the future young generations. 来到香港旅遊时,除了感受忙碌喧嚣的香港街头,可别忘了到湾仔蓝屋区逛逛,住屋剥落的蓝色墙漆、暗红窗花雕[划画]着片段回忆,加上老旧腐蚀铁信箱,使人仿彿掉入另一个静置空间,空气中缓缓流动的氛围,让人不禁细细品尝起特有老香港的怀旧风味人情。 蓝屋,由于有上百年的历史了,保留下来的风情,怀旧、陈香,很适合喜欢探索老味道的旅人。
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Author
|