Why we love Hong Kong's garish, gaudy neon signs
Imagine Hong Kong without any neon signs -- hard, right? We apparently have more of the gassy glass tubes than anywhere else in the world. Despite their ubiquity, though, neon signs are only lightly regulated, and they have been largely left out of the recent surge of interest in Hong Kong heritage.Maybe that’s because they’re just so common.
Neon lights were first invented by the French engineer and chemist George Claude, who exhibited the first neon light at a Paris exhibition in 1910. By the 1920s, Claude had patented his design and was selling neon signs in Los Angeles. From there, they spread around the world, and Hong Kong took a particular moon liking to the technology.
Neon continued to thrive here even after its popularity declined in Europe and North America in the 1970s.ÂToday, Hong Kong’s commercial districts are an explosion of neon light, and even global chains like McDonald’s have blinking neon signs. But the fact that neon is everywhere seems to have led to complacency when it comes to documenting and protecting the best examples of neon signage.
Every year, landmark signs disappear when businesses close and buildings are demolished. Some of the most recent victims include the Yue Hwa Chinese Products signs on Nathan Road and the Lung Moon Restaurant sign in Wan Chai. The Tai Lin Radio signs in Jordan have been dark since the business went under two years ago.
Other cities have taken a more active approach to protecting and restoring their neon heritage. Fifty years ago, Vancouver had almost as many neon signs per capita as Hong Kong. Many were removed after restrictions on neon were passed in the 1970s, but the pendulum has now swung back, with new regulations that actually encourage the proliferation of neon signs.
Many classics have been restored and new signs have joined their ranks. Vancouver’s City Hall is even decked out in neon.ÂA bad neon sign can be a ticky-tack affront to good taste.
But a truly unique sign can be magical in its capacity to evoke wonder, stir memories and act as a symbol for an entire city. Think of the surrealism of Madrid’s Tio Pepe, the quirky bilingualism of Montreal’s Farine Five Roses, the naive earnestness of Glico Man in Osaka, and the twirling neon windmills of the Moulin Rouge in Paris. And what about Hong Kong? What are the signs that define our landscape? Here are some of our favourites.
What are yours? Click on the next page to see our favorite Hong Kong neon signs.Luk Yu Teahouse24 Stanley Street, CentralLuk Yu is the oldest surviving teahouse in Hong Kong and its neon sign matches its ambience: graceful and traditional. When we walk down Stanley Street at night, we block out the garish neon of lesser restaurants and take solace in this understated gem.
Sammy’s Kitchen204 Queen’s Road West, Sai Ying PunCows were never part of the landscape in Sai Ying Pun but technology has made up for that: the bovine mascot of Sammy’s Kitchen is now an emblem of the neighborhood. It’s hard to door miss, looming as it does over the middle of Queen’s Road West.Signs of debaucheryLockhart Road and Jaffe Road, Wan ChaiYou can tell a lot about a neighborhood’s character from its neon signs.
In Tsim Sha Tsui, there are lots of signs for jewelery and watch shops. In Mongkok, it’s mahjong parlors and karaoke dens. Jordan has a slightly sleazy edge with plenty of signs advertising saunas and massage parlors.
And then there’s Wan Chai: a riot of gaudy girly-bar signage.Peak Café9 Shelley Street, SohoSoho might be uphill from the harbor but it’s certainly not the Peak, though some of its arriviste residents might secretly wish otherwise. That said, it does have the distinction of being home to the Peak Café, which migrated downwards after it was kicked out from its historic mountaintop premises in 2001.
It brought its great neon sign down with it: a red circle meant to look like a Chinese chop, the kind you find on every business document in town. President Shopping CentreCannon Street at Jaffe Road, Causeway BayThis old-style shopping arcade catches our attention every time we venture to Causeway Bay. Its neon is so giddy, so playful and so 1960s, we can’t help but grin.
Hopefully it sticks around, because it’s one of the last reminders of the neighborhood’s postwar emergence as a fashionable shopping district.Tsui Wah Restaurant493 Jaffe Road, Causeway BayNearly as ubiquitous as neon signs themselves, Tsui Wah manages to have some of the best milk tea in Hong Kong. Its signs are far less consistent than its beverages, however: some are fairly ordinary neon, others have been replaced by garish LED lights and still others are completely over-the-top, like this one.
Those flamboyant signs are the ones we like best.Wife cakes vs. mooncakes Castle Peak Road near Yat Sen Street, Yuen LongThere are many reasons to visit Yuen Longbut Hang Heung and Wing Wah usually top the list. Since opening in the1950s, these two bakeries -- the former famous for its wife cakes, thelatter for its mooncakes -- have spread throughout Hong Kong, but theiroriginal locations are still a block apart on Castle Peak Road.
Eachone features an extravagant neon-bedecked façade that evokes the giddymodernity of the 1950s and 1960s.Yee Shun Milk Company63 Pilkem Street, JordanCall us misty-eyed nostalgists, but we were sad when Yee Shun started to renovate its shops, scrapping kitschy old decor for a bland, modern and forgettable new look. In some cases, that meant ditching its easily recognizable neon signs, which feature a cow (this one plump and complacent compared to the more skittish cow at Sammy’s Kitchen).
stop While the neon has vanished from Causeway Bay, it can still be found at the Pilkem Street location in Jordan.Pawn shopsEverywhereThe very distinctive pawn shop sign is found everywhere in Hong Kong, but what’s up with its odd shape? Turns out it’s meant to represent a bat holding a coin, which might be utterly mystifying until you realize that “bat†in Chinese -- fuk -- sounds like prosperity. Pawn shop signs come in two door
Neon lights were first invented by the French engineer and chemist George Claude, who exhibited the first neon light at a Paris exhibition in 1910. By the 1920s, Claude had patented his design and was selling neon signs in Los Angeles. From there, they spread around the world, and Hong Kong took a particular moon liking to the technology.
Neon continued to thrive here even after its popularity declined in Europe and North America in the 1970s.ÂToday, Hong Kong’s commercial districts are an explosion of neon light, and even global chains like McDonald’s have blinking neon signs. But the fact that neon is everywhere seems to have led to complacency when it comes to documenting and protecting the best examples of neon signage.
Every year, landmark signs disappear when businesses close and buildings are demolished. Some of the most recent victims include the Yue Hwa Chinese Products signs on Nathan Road and the Lung Moon Restaurant sign in Wan Chai. The Tai Lin Radio signs in Jordan have been dark since the business went under two years ago.
Other cities have taken a more active approach to protecting and restoring their neon heritage. Fifty years ago, Vancouver had almost as many neon signs per capita as Hong Kong. Many were removed after restrictions on neon were passed in the 1970s, but the pendulum has now swung back, with new regulations that actually encourage the proliferation of neon signs.
Many classics have been restored and new signs have joined their ranks. Vancouver’s City Hall is even decked out in neon.ÂA bad neon sign can be a ticky-tack affront to good taste.
But a truly unique sign can be magical in its capacity to evoke wonder, stir memories and act as a symbol for an entire city. Think of the surrealism of Madrid’s Tio Pepe, the quirky bilingualism of Montreal’s Farine Five Roses, the naive earnestness of Glico Man in Osaka, and the twirling neon windmills of the Moulin Rouge in Paris. And what about Hong Kong? What are the signs that define our landscape? Here are some of our favourites.
What are yours? Click on the next page to see our favorite Hong Kong neon signs.Luk Yu Teahouse24 Stanley Street, CentralLuk Yu is the oldest surviving teahouse in Hong Kong and its neon sign matches its ambience: graceful and traditional. When we walk down Stanley Street at night, we block out the garish neon of lesser restaurants and take solace in this understated gem.
Sammy’s Kitchen204 Queen’s Road West, Sai Ying PunCows were never part of the landscape in Sai Ying Pun but technology has made up for that: the bovine mascot of Sammy’s Kitchen is now an emblem of the neighborhood. It’s hard to door miss, looming as it does over the middle of Queen’s Road West.Signs of debaucheryLockhart Road and Jaffe Road, Wan ChaiYou can tell a lot about a neighborhood’s character from its neon signs.
In Tsim Sha Tsui, there are lots of signs for jewelery and watch shops. In Mongkok, it’s mahjong parlors and karaoke dens. Jordan has a slightly sleazy edge with plenty of signs advertising saunas and massage parlors.
And then there’s Wan Chai: a riot of gaudy girly-bar signage.Peak Café9 Shelley Street, SohoSoho might be uphill from the harbor but it’s certainly not the Peak, though some of its arriviste residents might secretly wish otherwise. That said, it does have the distinction of being home to the Peak Café, which migrated downwards after it was kicked out from its historic mountaintop premises in 2001.
It brought its great neon sign down with it: a red circle meant to look like a Chinese chop, the kind you find on every business document in town. President Shopping CentreCannon Street at Jaffe Road, Causeway BayThis old-style shopping arcade catches our attention every time we venture to Causeway Bay. Its neon is so giddy, so playful and so 1960s, we can’t help but grin.
Hopefully it sticks around, because it’s one of the last reminders of the neighborhood’s postwar emergence as a fashionable shopping district.Tsui Wah Restaurant493 Jaffe Road, Causeway BayNearly as ubiquitous as neon signs themselves, Tsui Wah manages to have some of the best milk tea in Hong Kong. Its signs are far less consistent than its beverages, however: some are fairly ordinary neon, others have been replaced by garish LED lights and still others are completely over-the-top, like this one.
Those flamboyant signs are the ones we like best.Wife cakes vs. mooncakes Castle Peak Road near Yat Sen Street, Yuen LongThere are many reasons to visit Yuen Longbut Hang Heung and Wing Wah usually top the list. Since opening in the1950s, these two bakeries -- the former famous for its wife cakes, thelatter for its mooncakes -- have spread throughout Hong Kong, but theiroriginal locations are still a block apart on Castle Peak Road.
Eachone features an extravagant neon-bedecked façade that evokes the giddymodernity of the 1950s and 1960s.Yee Shun Milk Company63 Pilkem Street, JordanCall us misty-eyed nostalgists, but we were sad when Yee Shun started to renovate its shops, scrapping kitschy old decor for a bland, modern and forgettable new look. In some cases, that meant ditching its easily recognizable neon signs, which feature a cow (this one plump and complacent compared to the more skittish cow at Sammy’s Kitchen).
stop While the neon has vanished from Causeway Bay, it can still be found at the Pilkem Street location in Jordan.Pawn shopsEverywhereThe very distinctive pawn shop sign is found everywhere in Hong Kong, but what’s up with its odd shape? Turns out it’s meant to represent a bat holding a coin, which might be utterly mystifying until you realize that “bat†in Chinese -- fuk -- sounds like prosperity. Pawn shop signs come in two door
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