Lai Kan

Biography

In 1924 Lai Kan was born in Dongguan. His father was a farmer in his hometown. At about the age of 10 the Japanese invaded China and he was forced to quit secondary school and return to hometown as a farm worker. In 1946 at the age of 22 he came to Hong Kong. At the time his uncle was running a fruit and vegetable wholesale stall at Yau Ma Tei. He hired Li Kan to work odd jobs at the stall. In the early 1950s, a certain wholesaler ended his business and he and his friend took up the operations, naming it “Yee Lee Stall”. It mainly wholesaled mainland fruits. At the same time besides he also opened fruit stores at Sai Yeung Choi Street and Jordan Road. In the 1980s Lai Kan’s stall was wholesaling so many fruits that there was sufficient space for storing fruits in the stall. Lai Kan could not wholesale a wide array fruits from many countries. He concentrated on wholesaling fruits from the US, mostly from California. Soon after Lai Kan’s partner quit from the joint venture, Yee Lee Stall was renamed Lai Kan Stall. He actively participated in community affair since 1970s. He had joined Fruit and Vegetable Merchants Association, the Yau Ma Tei Kaifong Association, Yau Tsim Mong District Festival, and Kowloon Chamber of Commerce.