Kowloon City – Stone Houses ca.1959
360-degree panoramic artwork created by Carmen Ng
Historical Hotspots:
Hau Wong Temple
Fans of Hong Kong’s early Cantonese movies are likely familiar with the Hau Wong Temple.
Built on the slope of Pak Hok Shan, the Hau Wong Temple stands as one of the oldest buildings in Kowloon City, and was declared a monument in 2014. The most ancient artefact in the temple is an ancient bell, cast in 1730. It also houses an iron incense burner, donated by Qing officials garrisoned in Kowloon Walled City, marking the site’s rich historical significance.
The overall appearance of the temple remains largely as it was in the 1960s. This can be seen in the early Cantonese movie The Cruel Hand (1960). Its recognisable facade was adorned with various beverages advertisement billboards, while the surrounding bustled with people and vehicles.
Photo courtesy of Special Collections, The University of Hong Kong Libraries
Junction Road
Junction Road once linked several film studios in Kowloon City. The Great Wall Film Studio stood beside the Kowloon Chinese Christian Cemetery, while Kwokar Film Studio and Ziyou Film Studio were situated near the junction at Hau Wong Temple.
In film and television, ‘studio sets’ refer to scenes built within a studio, but sometimes scripts require ‘on-location shooting’ to capture real-world settings like streets, daily life, or natural environments. Kowloon City’s production companies benefited from their prime location, as Junction Road offered diverse real-world backdrops. For example, the opening scene of We Want to Live (1960) captured the squatter area around Hau Wong Temple New Village and the vehicles and passers-by on Junction Road. In How Master Cute Thrice Saved The Idiot Ming (1966), a scene featuring the drunken protagonist running along the road was filmed on Junction Road near Pok Oi Village.
Photo courtesy of Topfoto Image Archive
The Great Wall Film Studio
In the late 1950s, a major film production company was located here. How did it operate?
Founded in 1946, Yau Kiu Film Studio produced its own films and leased the venue to other production companies for shooting. The Great Wall Film Studio (Great Wall), in the largest scale, founded in 1949, had a thriving business and took over both the Yau Kiu Film Studio and the nearby Sai Kwong Studio, it later evolved into a film production giant. Equipped with two studios, Great Wall could shoot two films simultaneously, and its advanced post-production facilities enabled it to develop films from other production companies. To promote its films, Great Wall also regularly published Great Wall Pictorial, a fan magazine, featuring movies and sharing anecdotes about actors’ work and stories.
Photo courtesy of Stone Houses Family Garden
No. 31 to 35, Hau Wong Temple New Village
After World War II, several film studios were established in the squatter area of Kowloon City, which became an important site for Hong Kong’s post-war film industry.
In the early 1950s, Yau Kiu Film Studio, located near the Hau Wong Temple New Village, became a major filming location for the Great Wall Film Studio. The Stone Houses Family Garden nearby was once the private residence ‘Ho Ka Yuen’. During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese military demolished the ruinous mansion and built 11 cottages on its foundations to resettle those affected by the expansion of Kai Tak Airport. Built around 1945 to 1947, this cluster of cottages was later named Hau Wong Temple New Village. In 2001, most of the village was demolished by the Housing Authority for redevelopment, with the exception of the stone houses numbered 31 to 35, Hau Wong Temple New Village.
Revitalised in recent years, the Stone Houses Family Garden now serves as a café, an exhibition on Kowloon City, and a venue for cultural activities, thereby preserving the district’s heritage in diverse ways.
Photo courtesy of Stone Houses Family Garden
Kwokar Film Studio
Between the 1940s and 1960s, it was common for residents of Kowloon City to encounter celebrities in their neighbourhood.
Among the many film studios in Kowloon City, Kwokar Film Studio stood closest to local shops and residences. Founded in 1939 by Kwong Tzan from Taishan, Guangdong, the Studio initially operated from rented premises at Lee Gardens Hill in Causeway Bay and later relocated near Hau Wong Temple in Kowloon City, establishing itself as one of the earliest studios in the neighbourhood. Subsequently, it was leased to Nanguo Film Company, and renamed Ziyou Film Studio and Wanli Film Studio.
Owing to the cluster of film studios, several Hong Kong-style café in Kowloon City became popular hangouts for actors and film crews. Mr. Ding Yu, a veteran voice actor and producer, recalled that he spent a lot of time in Kowloon City’s cafés when he was young. He had the opportunity to meet Wu Pang, the director of Kwokar Film Studio, and screenwriter Wong Fung, which led to his involvement in film shooting. Other local businesses, like garment stores and street vendors of clothes also benefited from the booming film industry.
Photo courtesy of Topfoto Image Archive
Animation:
Since the 1950s, Hong Kong’s film industry flourished, with several studios settled in the squatter area along Junction Road in Kowloon City, forming a film production cluster. In the 1930s and 1940s, Hong Kong films primarily focused on Chinese historical figures and were shot in studio settings. Post-war, as societal trends shifted, particularly during the 1950s and 1960s, the industry turned to depict the everyday lives of ordinary people and shoot on-location to achieve a more realistic portrayal.
On-location shoots typically involved 5 to 6 film crew members, with some sets reaching up to 20. These crew members were responsible for various behind-the-scenes tasks, including sound recording, lighting, constructing shooting platforms, laying down tracks, and operating power generators. Meanwhile, the actors focused on performing in front of the camera. In those days, cameras made a lot of noise, so whether it was winter or summer, the cinematographer with the entire camera needed to work under thick blankets to absorb sound and ensure clean sound recording. The unwavering dedication of the industry’s workforce in those days paved the way for Hong Kong cinema’s subsequent growth and success.