Hong Kong Then and Now

Last year I posted photos of my uncle's adventures in Hong Kong. Slides he took in 1969 while on leave from the war in Vietnam. I'm always shocked when someone finds my posts online, and even more so when they post a comment. So to say I was blown away when someone commented with the Google map coordinates of some of my uncle's pictures would be a huge understatement. I can't thank Kevin from Hong Kong enough for taking the time to share what he knows about the places where my uncle visited. Here are a few of the photos from 1969 next to their modern locations. It's fascinating to see how much the city has changed, and yet remained the same.

1969...Hennessy Road, Wanchai. Check out the the white building on the right hand side with the red Chinese characters painted on the building wall. On Google maps below you can see the same building, painted pink. 

2016...Nearly 50 years later.





























1969...Paintings for sale at Lok Ma Chau, the Honk Kong/China border





























2016... No more paintings, plenty of parking though. 



1969...Victoria Peak lookout, Hong Kong

2014... Not much has changed, you can see the same building that overlooks Hong Kong.
Photo Credit: Michael Coghlan

1969...View of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak

2015...Buildings are a little bigger, just a little. 

Photo Credit: Rodney Topor

1969...Hennessy Road, View of the Chinese Methodist Church on the left

2016...The Church on the left has been renovated, but is still recognizable. 

10 Photographs at a Time: Photos 31-40 (Hong Kong 1969, Part 2)

My Uncle Bill in front of the HSBC Bank

These are the last of the photos from my Uncle's slides of his trip to Hong Kong in 1969 while on leave from the war in Vietnam.

Check out the first set of 1960s Hong Kong photos.

His adventures take us from primitive boat dwellings, to the then 80 year old Hong Kong Peak Tram, to a modern school surrounded by barbed wire. They are a snapshot in time of the people of Hong Kong going about their daily lives.

I love that every time I look at these photos I see details that I missed upon first glance. I only wish there were more, but unfortunately this is the last of the roll. The next photos (which I hope to post soon) are of Vietnam.

  

Originally called Hong Kong Harbour it was renamed Victoria Harbour after Queen Victoria.

Boat dwellings (also called junks) of "on-water people"or "Nam Hoi Yan"formerly called Tanka but that is now considered a derogatory term.

Close up of the picture above. I looked at this photo dozens of times before seeing the families on the boats going about their daily lives. It's been described that the "on-water people" have lived on junks in Hong Kong "since time unknown."

The Hong Kong Peak Tram has been around for 125 years. “You can’t say you've visited Hong Kong if you haven’t been up the Peak, and a journey up Victoria Peak without the Peak Tram is simply incomplete.” 

Rice paddies. Maybe viewed from the tram? UPDATE: This picture has been identified in blog comments as Lok Ma Chau, the Hong Kong/China border.

Paintings for sale by the side of the road, I wonder if Mr. Brown Pants buys one or is just posing for the camera. UPDATE: This picture has been identified in blog comments as Lok Ma Chau, the Hong Kong/China border.

Busy Hong Kong market.

Mercedes & green double-decker buses bearing Hitachi tv ads. Bus transport in Hong Kong was started in the 1920s. 

In the 60s European cars were used as taxis in Hong Kong. I think what's pictured here are Mercedes W120 Pontons. 

Tailor Tailor Tailor. 

It must have been odd for my uncle who grew up on a farm with no fences to see school children behind barbed wire.

10 Photographs at a Time: Photos 21-30 (Hong Kong 1969, Part 1)

Donald W. "Bill" McCaw Jr. (1945-2005)

I came across these long forgotten slides tucked away in a cabinet in my grandma's basement. They were taken by my late Uncle Bill, I'm assuming that he took them when he was on leave during the Vietnam war.

Of all of the family photos I've seen and sorted through these are some of my favorites. They transport me back in time to a place that is foreign and western, modern and ancient, vibrant and grimy all at the same time. 

There's no way I could limit this set to just 10 photos, there are too many great one's that I want to share. So if you want to see more, just check out Hong Kong Part 2!

The Hong Kong Festival was first held in December of 1969.
Not sure if the construction is related to that since this picture was taken around the same time. 

Much like Molly Shannon on Seinfeld this gentleman doesn't swing his arms when he runs. The randomness of this photo is great, I'm assuming he ran into the shot and this isn't the picture my uncle was intending to take which makes it even better. UPDATE: Taken at 3 Hennessy Road, showing a view of the Chinese Methodist Church that is still there but has since been renovated. 

These two appear in a few of the shots. UPDATE: Thanks to a helpful commenter who wrote "This must be the Hong Kong/China border. It was hard for a traveler to visit China at that time."

And here again walking the streets of Hong Kong looking like they stepped off the set of Happy Days. UPDATE: View of Hennessy Road, Wanchai.

Is that a 3-legged dog or is he scratching?
There's so much going on in this one I didn't even notice the dog's legs until the 10th time I looked at this photo. 

Hong Kong Harbor. At the time the population was estimated at 3 million, now it's over 7 million.

The best part of this photo is not the boy running with one hand in his pocket (and the other one carrying a ???),
it's that I'm pretty sure what's behind him is called "The Old Dragon Store". 

Sorry guys, there aren't any photos from inside the night club. 

There must be 20 slides of Hong Kong Harbor at night.
I can imagine this would have been an amazing sight to my uncle who had never left the US before this trip.