From a fishing village to an international financial hub, Hong Kong has evolved and developed, with the Central district on Hong Kong Island being formed a central business district. From the early days and historical photos, one can already see the signs of small and medium businesses and offices gathering in the Central district. From there, we can experience the Journey of Hong Kong.

(Left) Graham Street in the 1930s looking down from Lyndhurst Terrace – A bustling street scene where rice shops, laundry shops and others can be found. People used to carry baskets with them to shop for cooking ingredients and daily necessities. Now it is still part of a common route which people often walk through as they head down to the market for fresh food and daily necessities.

(Right) Graham Street in about 1952 looking down from Wellington Street – A crowded street scene which shows the dense distribution of hawker stalls. The street today still often sees an endless stream of people passing through the hill, especially office workers during lunch hours.

Graham Street in about 1935 looking up from Queen’s Road Central – A number of grocery stores and soy sauce shops gathered along the street. The canopy on the bottom right was the location of Kowloon Soy Co. Ltd. Now it continues to operate on Graham Street and tens of hawker stalls are packed tightly under the umbrella cluster, where familiar faces in the neighbourhood are often seen.

Graham Street in about 1962 looking up from Wellington Street – Signage of shops including a renowned rice shop were hanging up above. The gradual increase in shops and hawker stalls had drove a high traffic to the street. Now it is still a place that gathers many vendors of vegetables, spices and groceries. Among them a stall has been operating since the 1930s, passing from one generation to another generation.

*Historical information and image courtesy of Mr. Cheng Po Hung