Given Hong Kong’s surging home prices, public housing flats are increasingly sought after by residents whether or not they are genuinely needy. But how many of us know how the public housing concept works, let alone its history?
The 60-year-old Mei Ho House in Hong Kong stands out in the aging district of Shek Kip Mei with its bright orange exterior that is easily discernible from afar. As the only building left in a defunct housing block that once resettled thousands of squatters made homeless by a fire in 1953, it is an important relic of Hong Kong’s early public planning. Mei Ho House marked the beginning of Hong Kong’s public housing policies, making it an ideal site for setting up a museum focusing on the history of the local community and the evolution of public housing and folk life. The estate underwent another major facelift in 2000, except Mei Ho House or Block 41 which was preserved for historical reasons. It is listed as a Grade II historic building and has been used as a youth hostel and heritage museum. Hong Kong movie director John Woo was one of Mei Ho House’s former residents and he made his first film at age 26, when he was still living in the housing block. A touching essay about the estate by Woo is now displayed at the museum. 在香港,很多人都是“屋邨仔”(在公共房屋长大的人)。要找现代香港的起点,鸦片战争好像太遥远,而九七回归却太接近,我认为1953年12月发生的石硖美大火是一个合适的起点。就在当年这个不平安的平安夜石硖美木屋区发生了大火,火灾导致50,000多名灾民无家可归,迫使当年港英政府不得不问始制定公共房屋政策,兴建公屋让数以万计的灾民和往后的低下阶层入住,让他们得以在香港安居和扎根,做就香港六十年代开始的经济起飞。现在,您也可以走进、甚至住进香港昔日的公共房屋,体验这种地道的草根生活。位于石硤尾的美荷楼生活馆就是一所记录了当年居民生活的博物馆。 美荷楼在1954年落成,属于当年灾后建成的石硖尾徙置区,也即是香港第一个公共房屋。2013年美荷楼终于完成改建,由青年旅舍协会负责营运,大部份单位将以宾馆形式出租成予旅客,有两层则成为了生活馆,其目的是通过文物收藏和保存、研究、教育及展览1950年代起香港的社区发展、生活环境变化和人文面貌,推动香港的物质及非物质文化遗产、传统及人文精神的保育和传承。感觉这里就是香港市民的一个缩影,把因为在这里可以体会到香港生活的一个很直接的体验。不说不知道,香港大导演吴宇森小时候也住在这个区。
0 Comments
My Photo Essay《 走访孙中山夫妇上海与狮城故居》Published in LianheZaobao 联合早报 Newspapers Dated 23 November 201723/11/2017 My photo essay under pen name 蓝天游 on the former residence of Soong Chingling in Shanghai and The Sun Yat Sen Nanyang Memorial Hall, a.k.a Wan Qing Yuan in Singapore《走访孙中山夫妇上海与狮城故居》is published in today's LianheZaobao 联合早报缤纷版 dated 23 November 2017! 感谢、感恩! Thrilled to see it being featured nationwide in print! Special thanks to Lianhe Zaobao, you have made my day! :)
The old Shek Kip Mei neighbourhood may not be an obvious tourist hotspot in Hong Kong but the eclectic Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre (JCCAC) building alone warrants it a visit. The former 9-storey factory estate was built in 1970s. It has been successfully transformed into a community arts centre and turned the building into studio for artists and designers to pursue their creative work. It made a good use of the decommissioned factory building as an arts and cultural hub for the community. In addition to studio space for artists and art groups, the Centre features a black-box theatre, art galleries and communal studios/workshops for resident artists and the community to use.
The inauguration of JCCAC surely is a good start to nurture the local upcoming artists and to introduce arts to the public; it is also a milestone of developing the art and design industry in Hong Kong. I give it a 5/5 because I think this place deserves to be more visited, especially if you're into art. It's a building full of little ateliers / exhibition spaces for local artists. I found it very interesting to see the corridors, as there were interesting art pieces here and there. 前阵子打算开始一个新的系列,叫作香港巡礼,趁著这次香港旅行的规划是艺术之旅,就去一些比较特别的香港地方拍照。我渐渐明白香港最重要的风景不在高楼而在寻常巷弄之间。我就来到石硖尾区,参观赛马会创意艺术中心 (JCCAC)。JCCAC是一个致力推动香港创意艺术发展的崭新艺术项目。 到赛马会创意艺术中心,是一趟时空交错之旅,让您回味香港传统手作工艺历史的同时,也见证了当代艺术的发展。这幢由“山寨厂”(指香港上世纪六、七十年代家庭式轻工业工厂)石硖尾工厂大厦改建而成的艺术村。其实香港有不少工厂大厦可以好好利用。就例如赛马会创意艺术中心的前身是一所工厂大厦,后来改建而成创意艺术中心的。内里除了有不同艺术家的工作室外,也有不同时段不同主题的艺术展览,是都市人可以忙里偷闲欣赏艺术品及轻松一下的好地方。 My photo essay under pen name 蓝天游 on Shanghai's creative hip place Tian Zi Fang & SG's Haji Lane《创意老街一座城市的记忆, 新加坡与上海创意文区哈芝巷与田子坊》is published in today's LianheZaobao 联合早报缤纷版 dated 2 November 2017! 感谢、感恩! Thrilled to see it being featured nationwide in print! Special thanks to Lianhe Zaobao, you have made my day! :)
|
Author
|