The neon signs of Quanzhang Ju in Mong Kok have been standing for many years and have long been one of the landmarks in Mong Kok. However, since the closure of Quanzhang Ju in Mong Kok last year, the direction of neon signs outside the door has been restricted.
The neon conservation group "Tetra Neon Exchange" stated that it had started to follow up on related matters at least eight months ago, and even had an interview with the current management, but in the end it did not reach a consensus. Some members of the public photographed that the sign has been demolished.
Old neon signs hide cultural values
Compared with other different neon signs, Quanzhangju’s neon sign has another space for public discussion. The organization "neon dark" refers to the external wall of Quanzhangju’s shop in Sham Shui Po in the early days. It is written in the regular script of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and compared with the previous manuscripts, it is indeed written in the regular script of the Northern Wei Dynasty. There is also an inscription by Yu Youren, a famous cursive calligrapher in the Republic of China. The font used in the current signboard is cursive. It is not common to be greater than in the past.
In fact, the neon signs are not only a mark of Hong Kong citizens’ past lives, but also an indispensable part of Hong Kong’s night scenes. They not only build foreign impressions of Hong Kong’s streetscapes, but also have a profound influence on popular culture. They have been different in the past. Well-known film and television works, such as the Japanese anime version of "Ghost in the Shell" and the movie "Blade Runner" are inspired by neon signs, and later even achieved a world-renowned visual style-digital punk.
Culture and security have to make trade-offs
To be fair, although neon signs are an important part of Hong Kong’s street culture and historical value, it is undoubtedly difficult to forcibly retain the original site blindly.
In the past, due to the lack of building regulations, different shops would add neon signs on the outer walls of buildings to attract attention. However, it is often difficult to find the responsibility for the safety of signs, and there have been too many signs falling accidents. Based on street safety considerations, It is inevitable to remove the signs.
The government has also implemented policies to implement control at different times, including the implementation of the "Minor Works Supervision System" in 2010, the implementation of the "Unauthorized Signboard Inspection Scheme" in 2013, and the "Large-scale Operations on Target Streets" implemented in 2014. "The removal of substandard neon signs, the Buildings Department issued 2,439 removal orders from 2018 to September 2020 alone, and the number of signs that have been removed or repaired (including illegal, abandoned or dangerous signs) is more Up to 7,888.
A few days ago, a public photographed that the signboard of Spring House in Mong Kok has finally been demolished.
("Neon Intersection" Facebook picture, Credit: Dennis Yau)
Make good use of resources, revitalize and retain distinctive signs
Over the years, the demolition works have made neon signs in Hong Kong "rare and rare", but at the same time they have also aroused the attention of Hong Kong people to the preservation of neon signs. In fact, the government can also reserve neon signs with additional cultural value. On the one hand, it can record the streets and even popular culture of Hong Kong, while still serving as a vehicle for elaborating the history of Hong Kong.
Just as Peng Qiyun, curator of West Kowloon M+, said, the visual culture of Hong Kong is nurtured from a unique environment of diverse and mixed, and it also integrates the exchange and collision of the Chinese and the West. It also shows innovation and flexibility within constraints. Many things can only be set in Hong Kong as a background. Happened below.
I believe that neon signs are also one of the examples. Since the museum’s "Hong Kong: Beyond Here" exhibition hopes to outline the unique Hong Kong story from multiple angles in art, graphic design, architecture, and film, it has also collected the "Neon Cow" of Sammy Restaurant. For the two signboards, "Chicken Kee Mahjong and Fun", you might consider accepting another neon sign to further elaborate on the relationship between Hong Kong signboards and Hong Kong's characteristic advertising fonts.
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