District 18 News
Written by: Lu Nuojun
2020-12-12 08:00
Last update date: 2020-12-12 08:00
The short Ke Street in Wan Chai used to be an area with warehouses near the sea; the name of Screen Street is actually related to movies?
These streets carry the history of Hong Kong, but the story may not be known to everyone.
The screening of "The Way to Appreciate Wan Chai" organized by the civil organization "Integer Foundation Association Limited" and co-organized by the Cultural and Recreation Committee of the Wan Chai District Council was held in the Cultural and Creative Living House in Causeway Bay earlier.
The documentary uses field trips, interviews and videos to write the story of six streets in the district. The person in charge hopes that through the event, the audience can re-understand the history of Wan Chai.
"The Way to Appreciate Wan Chai" uses field investigations, interviews and videos to tell the story of six streets in Wan Chai.
(Photo by Lu Nuojun)
Ke Street, which is only about 140 meters long, is lined with restaurants today, but its English name "Heard Street" may be traced back to the history of Hong Kong in the 19th century.
As early as 1867, government maps showed the existence of K Street.
One of the interviewees in "Wan Chai on the Road" is George Cautherley, a descendant of the Hurd family.
George, 78, was born in Stanley Detention Camp during Japanese occupation. Although he had never lived in Wan Chai, he discovered "Ke Street" by accident.
He estimated that the name of Ke Street may have been derived from Augustine Heard & Co., a US-owned company of his family at the time, which set up some large warehouses there and the street was named after Heard.
"There is a street named after my family, it feels good." He said in the film.
On the day of the interview, due to the epidemic, the elderly Geroge only participated in the screening by video.
Li Yingshi, curator of "City Diary", said that the preparation and production of the documentary began the year before last year. It is hoped that through the clips, the historic and vibrant streets of Wan Chai can be put into the public eye. "I want to remind everyone that it is okay. Appreciate your own streets.” She said that in the past, someone said that the streets in the old districts were too narrow and should be flattened and rebuilt. She believed that the public should reflect on this issue. “In fact, it’s not that the streets have become narrow, but that There are more and more cars...Are we going to shovel the old city up and dry it, so I don’t want to stay back down to accommodate the new building?"
Chen Ziyun, who is responsible for the documentary search for the documentary, said that the current six streets (Thomson Road, Ke Street, Oi Kwan Road, Jardine's Crescent, Russell Street and Silver Screen Street) cover the front, middle and back parts of Wan Chai District, which impress him the most Part of it is several grams street.
"We can go back to George, and the past and present lives of the street. You can see that the street name is not just the street name, but you can have a good old son." He said that during the research period, he had visited different streets. , And then decide what perspective each street should be taken from. "For example, on the Screen Street, we talked to film research scholars. It turns out that Tin Hau Temple was the location of a Chinese studio in the past, so the degree will be named after a movie-related thing. To commemorate the history of the early 20th century."
In addition to the historical perspective, Jardine's Cafe used the hawker stall owner as the protagonist, and Russell Street visited the camera shop owner upstairs.
Chen Ziyun believes that the streets of Wanchai District still retain the old street network, and you can still see the life characteristics of the common people walking through them. Therefore, they are very valuable. "It is like going out to the new town. The streets are so cold and cold. Do you know how to walk the street? Are you going to walk the bridge?" He said with a smile.
The current Wan Chai District Councillor Zhang Jiali also attended the event. She pointed out that many of the funding projects approved in this session of the District Council are related to the streets, and the activities are led by groups and conducted from the bottom up; "The Way to Reward Wan Chai" is a project that has already started in the last district council. The district councillors of this term also support it very much. They believe that the information that has been produced should be further carried forward. Therefore, funding has been approved at this meeting. Let more neighborhoods understand the community from another angle.
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