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。 The Mei Ho House heritage museum, housed within the revitalized building has since attracted hundreds of visitors eager to learn about its historical significance. It is now an easy-to-navigate museum showcasing some 1,200 antique pieces and furniture, as well as historic images provided by its former residents. In 2015, Mei Ho House received honorable mention in the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation. Rooms have been reconstructed on the site, walls repainted, and furniture salvaged, to show living conditions from the 1950s, while some former Mei Ho House residents have also formed a “Mei Ho House Alumni Network” to give guided tours. 展览馆主要分三部份,地下一层是石硖尾的回忆简介,展示1953年石硖尾大火、美荷楼居民生活的情怀,也有部份历史展品展出,极具历史价值和意义。 The old-school living room furniture in Mei Ho House apartment. 50年代徒厦单位,因单位细小,特色是每户都有阁仔和帆布床。 Rice shop for the Mei Ho House residents in the past. 70年代的公屋。这时代香港经济起飞,小康家庭也开始有电器了。 Bedroom with mahjong table at Mei Ho House apartment. 80年代家居。 HOUSE 41 is a cheerful café located on the ground floor of Mei Ho House. House 41 serves yummy food in cheerful, laid-back surroundings. While in the front courtyard, that is the spacious outdoor space right at the hostel entrance, a old-time playground game “Hopscotch” has been sketched on the ground for visitors to have some nostalgic fun. 香港,一个繁华先进的城市。来到这里却发现很多年轻人都喜欢让时间倒退,追求复古的根源,其中最明显的就是饮食文化。香港虽然是个国际都市,城市内开着来自世界各地的美味餐厅,但像冰室文化这样的古早味却一直都大受年轻人的欢迎。 The dining room is divided into several spaces, offering a sense of intimacy you don’t normally find in Hong Kong at eateries. Through illustrating old-time school life, vintage toys, cartoon comics and old street views with their original techniques, they introduce the theme of “Sharing Happiness” in the café and convenience store area to invoke Hong Kong people’s collective memories. The old Hong Kong can also be experienced in the hostel’s cafe with decor reflecting the old time. Mei Ho House serves to conserve and perpetual culture, giving the public an opportunity to experience life in public housing between the 1950s and 1980s. Through various special exhibitions and reconstructed old public housing units, the livelihood museum preserves the unique humanistic scenes of Sham Shui Po while allowing international visitors to learn about Hong Kong’s humanistic culture.
As traveler with a journalism background, Mei House House fascinated me. A city is much more than its buildings. It’s the people and community that create the environment that make cities worth visiting. This place with such a deep history of the city made my visit to Hong Kong much more memorable. 美荷楼生活馆是一个很有诚意和办得不错的小型博物馆。年青人要认识香港精神,要认识香港的根,美荷楼是一个不错的起点。我极力推荐。
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