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Cheung Chi Kong
Cheung Chi Kong
Store owner of Yau Ma Tei Jade Hawker Bazaar
Sex: Male Birthyear: 1970 Age at Interview: 41 Education: Upper Secondary Occupation: Jade Merchant Theme: Community, Social Life The section of Canton Road that spanned Nanking Street to Jordan road was filled with street stalls selling jade, which were more concentrated at the corner of Canton Road and Nanking Street. The stalls were setup on the sidewalk on the side of Yen Yen teahouse, later expanding northwards to Ning Po Street and stopped at Saigon Street. Shui Heung Yuen Teahouse was located at the corner of Jordan Road and Canton Road, and was the gathering place for many jade traders. In the early years Cheung’s parents, like other jade traders, only set up sidewalk stalls (by placing jade goods atop a piece of paper on the ground). Later, the Hong Kong Jade Association allocated an area facing Yen Yen Teahouse (now Jade Plaza) allowing members to set up stalls on folding tables and majhong tables, so that the operators could save energy from moving their goods back and forth. Cheung’s parents and grandmother moved in and set up two stalls side-by-side. The early jade stalls closed at around 1 pm, and in the 1980s some traders started to do business in the afternoon, most of whom are jade carvers. They carved in the morning and sold the goods in the afternoon. The customers were different in the morning and in the afternoon: the morning customers were mostly tourists and shop owners; the afternoon ones were mostly trolley hawkers. During 1982 to 1984, many jade stalls moved to the Yau Ma Tei Jade Hawker Bazaar, including the stall of Cheung’s Parents’.
Title The jade merchants started their business from hawking goods laid on a piece of paper on the ground Date 19/04/2011 Subject Community Duration 3m56s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. YMT-CCK-HLT-001 Many traditional tea houses populated the vicinity of the Jade market, for example “Yen Yen”, “Tsui Heung Yuen”, “Pak Cheuk”, “Yin Bun Lau”, “Wun Tin”, and “Yat Sun”. “Yin Bun Lau” was at the corner of Jordan Road and Battery Street, and “Wun Tin” was at the corner of Sheunghai Street, facing “Yat Sun” and “Pak Cheuk” across the street. “Yin Bun Lau” and “Wun Tin” was the gathering place for many coolies, who were identified by the brown hemp ropes (forcarrying cargo) on their wrists. Cheung mostly followed his parents to “Yen Yen”, “Tsui Heung Yuen” and “Pak Cheuk”; he had fondest memory of enjoying barbecued pork with rice at Yen Yen.
Title Many Chinese restaurants operated near the jade market Date 19/04/2011 Subject Community Duration 3m13s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. YMT-CCK-HLT-002 Pak Cheuk was a hot gathering spot for jade traders, and during celebrations and gatherings merchants would hold banquets on the 3rd floor. Each year the Sifu Festival was an important festival for the jade traders. On the day the organizers would take out the Sifu Tablet and place it on the sidewalk outside Yen Yen Teahouse (now Jade Plaza) so that all jade traders – not only members of Jade Association– could offer incense as worship. The tablet was not placed directly in front of the Yen Yen Teahouse to avoid disturbing the operation of sidewalk stall vendors. After worshipping the traders had lunch at the teahouse, and at night a banquet would be held at Pak Cheuk. At childhood Cheung would play with other children at the teahouse and enjoy the food for free. He recalled the good memories of the Sifu Festival banquet.
Title Master’s Birthday celebrated by the jade industry Date 19/04/2011 Subject Community Duration 2m20s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. YMT-CCK-HLT-003 In those days phones were uncommon and most jade traders lived around Jordan Road, with many being neighbours. Many jade carvers also lived in Canton Road. Yen Yen Teahouse was the gathering place for people in the trade; some 80 to 90 per cent of the patrons were jade traders. They would exchange industry news about sourcing and pricing. Compared to “Tsui Heung Yuen” and “Pak Cheuk”, Yen Yen belonged to a lower class, a “commoner’s teahouse”. In terms of décor it excelled over such teahouses as Wun Tin, which still offered patrons spittoons to discard unfinished tea and water; by comparison, Yen Yen had already changed to using glass bowls to collect unwanted water. In the 1980s the jade traders at Canton Road began to move to the Yaumatei Jade Market. The relocation was done by batches and took some 1 to 2 years; some traders moved their operation into shops. After the relocation many traders still returned to gather at their usual places, and the area remained prosperous. The traders would gather to chat at Yen Yen Teahouse and “Tai Pai Tongs” (street cooked food stalls), though business was no longer conducted within the teahouse. Later when the Tai Pai Tongs moved into the market complex, activities at the street corner near Yen Yen Teahouse diminished.
Title Yen Yen Chinese Restaurant is the jade merchants’ place of gathering Date 19/04/2011 Subject Community Duration 3m52s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. YMT-CCK-HLT-004 Many cooked-food mobile stalls operated near the pier. Cheung Chi Kong was used to buying from carts selling noodles and fish balls. These carts were gathered near the ferry and bus terminals, and although they operated without a licence they kept regular opening hours all year round, and rarely needed to run from hawker control inspection. Near the ferry terminal to Wanchai there were many seafood stalls, and on the sea there were many walla-wallas selling seafood. In those days Cheung loved to fish at the pier; he also cycled and played remote-control toy cars there. In those days he rarely went to the typhoon shelter as the smell of the seawater repelled him. Yaumatei Typhoon Shelter was parted into southern and northern sections by an embankment. The northern section near Tai Kok Tsui was more boisterous and many Tai Pai Tongs (street cooked food stall) were set up near the sea. The southern section near Jordan Road and Eight Man Building was relatively quiet; it was also where the dragon boat races were held during the Duanwu Festival.
Title The Jordan Road Ferry Pier was the children’s favorite playground Subject Community Duration 2m36s Language Cantonese Material Type Audio Collection Oral History Archives Repository Hong Kong Memory Project Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project Accession No. YMT-CCK-HLT-005