Li Ping Sum

Li Ping-sum was born in 1944. He was the third of 10 children of the family. His elder brother and sister were 10 years older than he, and they were already working when Li Ping-sum was a child. As they had already moved out, Li Ping-sum didn’t live with them. Li grew up in Yau Ma Tei and in his childhood he lived on 3/F of 484 Nathan Road, near Man Ming Lane and Cliff Road. Where he used to live was an old 3-storey building. It had wooden staircases connecting the floors and had accommodated more than a dozen people in one apartment. The place is now rebuilt with a newer and taller building. Li studied primary school in Yau Ma Tei.

During 1952 to 1956 he studied Primary 1 to 4 at the South China Primary School, where school hours were from 9 am to 3 pm. Walking from home to school took him 15 to 20 minutes. He used to walk past Nathan Road, Public Square Street, Yung Shue Tau (Community Rest Garden), Mido Café, Shanghai Street, Reclamation Street, Saigon street and Wai Ching Street, in that order. He recalled seeing shops selling jewellery, fabrics, metals and construction materials on Shanghai street. The Reclamation Street Market accommodated only temporary stalls, and was later rebuilt into the present permanent market. He remembered well the “Boat House” (a name called by local residents because of its shape) which was a 3-storey concrete building located behind the present site of Yaumatei Community Centre. In those days Yau Ma Tei was densely populated and at 8 am when Li Ping-sum was on his way to school, many adults were already out doing morning exercise, having breakfast at teahouses, or buying at the market. The grocery stores were already open for business.

South China Primary School was located at Wai Ching Street. Wai Ching Street was a short street lined with 3-storey concrete buildings, which now have been mostly demolished and rebuilt. When returning home from school in the afternoon he would choose between two routes: Jordan Road and Nathan Road, or Shanghai Street and Public Square Street. At Primary 1 and 2, he was picked by his mother; at Primary 3 and 4 when he walked on the road on his own, he often walked through Public Square Street and Yung Shue Tau, because of the many interesting scenes along the route. In the afternoon most stores had closed. As far as he remembered, the business of jewellery shops and fabric shops were good. There were more grocery stores on Reclamation Street, and on Shanghai Street there concentrated many barber shops. At night on the public square outside Tin Hau Temple there were many cooked food stalls, and also performances by drug-sellers, martial-arts performers and story-tellers. Li had good memory of the sounds of martial-arts and singing performances, and had often wanted to go there on his own. In Primary five he studied in another school which was not in Yau Ma Tei, but he still lived on Nathan Road. In 1963 the family moved to Wai Ching Street, and it was only after marriage that he moved out from Yau Ma Tei.
 

When studying Primary 3 and 4, Li Ping Sum was allowed to return home from school on his own. After school he loved to dally on the streets with his classmates. They would watch comics at the toy stores on Shanghai Street, Reclamation Street and Battery Street. The South China Primary School had no sports facilities. The senior classes took sports classes at King George V Memorial Park (the children used to call it “Jordan Road Park”); junior classes had their lessons on the roof top of the school building. Li Ping-sum often played ball games with classmates at Jordan Road Park; They were children who were not accompanied by their parents. The park was large and equipped with basketball court, a football pitch and pavilions. There were also small parks at Saigon Street and behind Tin Hau Temple, but only Jordan Road Park had the space for ball games. Every week his parents would give Li some 30 to 40 cents as pocket money. He used to spend it for soft drinks and candies. He loved to have soft drinks after ball games. In those days there were two types of soft drink: carbonated and non-carbonated types; the former included coke and Sarsae; the latter included Green Spot orange drink. At Reclamation Street, Gansu Street, Battery Street there were many grocery stores selling soft drinks. These stores sold a diversity of necessity items including tea leaves, preserved fruits, shoes, cigarettes and soda. On usual days when Li returned home from school, no matter he had pocket money or not, he loved to visit these stores and check on any new products at the stores.

Li was required to return home immediately after school. His family disciplined him by controlling the time he could spent outside home but there were no restrictions about where he could go. He was urged to stay away from the harbour front for the sake of safety. After school because of a lack of time he seldom went to Austin Road. He also rarely frequented the area near to South Kowloon Magistracy (on Gascoigne Road). When he was a primary school student, he limited the scope of his exploration within the area from Dundas Street to Austin Road. In Primary 1 to 4 on his way to school Li would pass by Temple Street, but he rarely went there to play. His family said that the north of Temple Street was filled with brothels, dens for gambling and drug addicts. He was told that many prostitutes stayed on the sidewalk and mahjong parlours were in the ground level shops. In his childhood Li had witnessed vices like fights, chasing, and criminals watching out for police patrol; on a few occasions he even saw police raids at brothels and mah-jong parlours. In his perception, the area near the Fruit Market was contaminated with gambling, drugs and prostitution, with many dens for drug and gambling nearby. Li as a child was afraid to go near the area. His route to school was not close to that area, and so he was not scared of walking alone on the street.

Upon completing Primary 4 Li Ping Sum’s parents sent him to study at Alliance Primary School on Lancashire Road of Kowloon Tong to continue Primary 5 so that he could go to secondary school. Li’s family were Christians, and Alliance Primary School was a Christian School. After graduation from Alliance Primary School, the boys used to go to Bethel High School, and the girls to True Light Middle School. Both of these schools were Christian schools. Methodist School and Peniel school in Yau Ma Tei were both Christian Schools, but Li Ping-sum’s parents didn’t consider these schools because the schools offered little advantage for their graduates to be admitted into secondary schools. Li Ping-sum’s younger sisters was admitted into the Canton Road Government Primary School and Jordan Road Government Primary School respectively. In those days many primary schools only allowed the most brilliant students were allowed to sit for the Joint Primary 6 Examination. This was a strategy used by the school to keep a good success rate of its graduates entering secondary schools. . However students of government primary schools could directly enter government secondary schools. To go to Alliance Primary School, he used to take the Bus no. 7 every day which passed by Nathan Road, Waterloo Road and Argyle Street. The bus ride was 20 minutes.

Upon completion of Primary 6 at Alliance Primary School he did not take part in the Joint Examination but was promoted to Bethel High School on the school’s recommendation because the two schools had connection with each other. Bethel High School was located at Grampian Road of Kowloon City (now Bethel Bible Seminary). Bethel High School taught in Mandarin, and Li found it helpful for his future career as a reporter. He completed Secondary 3 at Bethel and was admitted into Pui Sun English College in Sham Shui Po until F.5. Because there were after-school classes in Bethel, Li was given more freedom to stay outside home after school. Li often went to play football at Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok with his schoolmates. After completing F.5, he joined the HKCE examinations. Because of the many younger sisters he had soon after the HKCEE he set out to earn a living. As he had to support his younger sisters, he worked for income after he completed secondary school.

Li Ping-sum’s father worked for sea transportation and spent most of his time working at sea. Li Ping Sum had a large family with over a dozen members in a congested dwellings . So he rarely invited friends to visit his place. He did not feel ashamed of this and believed that his parents had provided enough to the family. When studying at Kowloon Tong (from Primary 5 to Secondary 3), his classmates came from all walks of life. Some of them came from better off families living in mansions in Kowloon Tonghad housemaids to pick them up after school. There were also those who came from ordinary families living in squatters. Some of the classmates were even worse off than Li’s. He went on well with classmates from both affluent and ordinary families. Sometimes he was invited to visit their home to help them with schoolwork. His classmates at Kowloon Tong did not look down upon him living in Yau Ma Tei. Instead they were curious of the lifestyles in such old districts as Yau Ma Tei and Sham Shui Po. They were attracted to Li as he was knowledgeable about lives in these districts. In junior secondary school he often brought his classmates to visit the night market around Yung Shue Tau and Temple Street. They enjoyed the cheap food on the street, the performances of martial-arts masters, drug hawkers, story-tellers and snake hawkers. They  visited fortune tellers and watched how a bird could draw cards to tell the future.. His classmates were impressed by all of these performances.

Li loved to linger around the night market and was particularly fond of the story-tellers. He was familiar with classic stories like Seven Heroes and Five Gallants, and Burning Paradise. His parents loved going to the Theatre and had little interest in the night market. Li Ping-sum observed that most people who frequented the night market lived in Yau Ma Tei and many of them were middle-age men who enjoyed the leisure after work. Attracted by promotional information, tourists came to Temple Street looking for bargains and photo moments. Residents from other districts came to enjoy the food on the street. After completing secondary school, Li worked in the printing industry for two years and then changed to be a reporter. Because of work he gradually learned more about the illicit activities in Yau Ma Tei. There were dens for drug around the Fruit Market. He had this observation from outside the fruit market. The fruit market operated late in the mid-night with different hours of work and rest of ordinary citizens.

Li Ping-sum lived at 484 Nathan Road in a 3-storey concrete building when he was young. Each floor took up 1,000 to 2,000 sq. ft in area. The floor he lived in was divided into 4 to 6 rooms by screens. The partitions could be moved with flexibility. The balcony, the hallways and the broom closet in the kitchen had occupants; rooms were constructed by wood on the rooftop. The balcony of the unit had some 200-300 sq. feet in area and was occupied by two families. The rooftop of the building was connected to the adjacent buildings and was a place where Li used to play around. The Li family lived in the middle room of about 200 sq. ft., and had a window facing King’s Park Hill. The landlord was a Christian and her family conveyed gospel messages for the Peniel Church. The Li family later became believers of the Peniel Church. Li called the landlord “step-mother”.

Wing Sing Lane was lined with residential buildings and there were few shops and factories in the vicinity. When Li was in primary school his family worked for home-based manufacturing jobs, including asembling plastic flowers, cleaning bags of cotton yarn, connecting wires, and packaging.  Li Ping Sum had helped out with these jobs. Li’s old abode was later bought out and demolished. In the 1950s traffic in Nathan Road was sparse but it was already a prosperous area of Kowloon. There were many shops and during rainy days the balconies along Nathan Road provided good shelter for the passers-by. The stores along Nathan Road were mostly garment shops, department stores, clinics, and upstairs maternity homes. There were also shops selling timepieces and electric appliances. On Shanghai Street there were jewellery shops and bakery, and other shops selling domestic goods, furniture, wedding supplies, and knives. The property prices and rents were high, and the pedestrians were better dressed than those on other streets

The public dispensary, the boat people’s dispensary and the small pox hospital were the three major medical provision in Yau Ma Tei. They were founded in the early 20th century. In the old days the public dispensary was located at the corner of Gansu Street and Canton Road (now Jade Market). The boat people’s dispensary was located at the corner of Argyle Street and Reclamation Street (now Mong Kok Market). In the 1960s to 1970s the major hospital in Yau Ma Tei was Kwong Wah Hospital. Queen Elizabeth Hospital was completed only later (in 1963). In those days the public was reluctant to go to the hospital unless in severe emergencies. 8 Waterloo Road used to be a pumping station for the Water Services Department, and was known as the “Red House”. Later the Red House was turned to a postal office, and in the vicinity stalls were set up that helped people write letters, fill out forms and report tax. Business was brisk. In 1967 the postal office was relocated but the Red House was retained as a historical monument.

The corners of Battery Street, Gansu Street and Reclamation Street now comprised the Jade market. In the old days the area was occupied by an old building shaped like a boat, and it was colloquially called “boat house”. Each unit of the boat house was 1,000 sq. ft in area and was enough to house dozens of people; each unit also came with a balcony. Peniel Church had a long history in Yau Ma Tei, and was initially established in Shanghai street in 1913/1914. In the 1950s the church was moved to the corner of Portland Street and Hamilton Street. Peniel Church had a great many believers among the fishing folk. After fishing and during festivities, the fishing folk would berth their boats at the Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter and go ashore to take part in Church’s activities. The Peniel Church also ran kindergarten and primary school. Many among Li’s family were church-goers.

The Ya Ma Tei Fish Market was adjacent to the Fruit Market. The fishing folk would go ashore from the typhoon shelter and sell their catch at the market. The Fruit Market took up the area near Tung Kwun Street, Shek Lung Street and Waterloo Road; its present location was almost the same as what it was in the past. The Fruit Market was provided for fruit wholesale business and started to work at around 2 to 3 am everyday. The operators in the Fruit Market had little interaction with the neighbouring residents because they worked at different hours. In the 1960s the government proposed to relocate the Fruit Market, but so far there was little progress. In the 1970s the jade market took up the area of Jordan Road, Saigon Street and Canton Street. Under the Canton Road Flyover (Boat House in the old days) there were many temporary jade stalls.

The stalls in the jade market engaged in both wholesale and retail businesses. The Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Hong Kong Jade Merchants’ Association advertised for the jade vendors. Tourists learned from travel books the location of the jade market and went there to buy jade. The YMCA International House used to be an English College; after demolition it was turned into a guest house. The YMCA offered such facilities as badminton and basketball courts, and organized training courses in ball games; participants were required to pay a membership fee to join these activities. Li found the charges too high and did not become a YMCA member. Instead he went to King George V Memorial Park or the Macpherson Playground to play football. The Yau Ma Tei Kaifong Welfare Association was the precursor to local welfare organizations. During new year or when disasters struck, they raise fund for offering free rice and and other supports to the victims. They also provided thick clothes to the needy when the  weather was cold.

There were many Theatres in Yau Ma Tei. Those showing Cantonese movies include Kwong Ming Theatre, Yaumatei Theatre, Astor Theatre, Kwong Chee Theatre and Majestic Theatre. Ticket prices ranged from some 30 to 40 cents to $1.5. Kwong Chee Theatre was located at the corner of Temple Street and Gansu Street and was a two-storey old style Theatre. Silent movies were usually showed including Kung-fu movies such as Seven Heroes and Five Gallants, Burning Paradise and the The Story of Wong Fei Hung series. Watching movie was a kind of cheap entertainment as it cost 30 to 40 cents per person. Movies at Kwong Chee were usually outdated, and the audio equipment was somehow substandard. There were delegated staff sitting on the left and right wings on the 2nd floor to narrate for the movie with a microphone.

The Yaumatei Theatre was located opposite the Fruit Market, and screened Cantonese movies featuring main characters including Kong Ngai and Christine Bai; they also screened recording of Cantonese opera performances. The tickets were sold at around $1.2 to $1.5 Kwong Ming Theatre also played movies by Bai Yan and others. Tai Yat Sun Theatre and Kwong Ming Theatre stood side by side and screened Western movies and Mandarin movies; the western movies were mostly not contemporary. Alhambra Theatre was located at the junction of Nathan Road and Gansu Street, and screened the latest western movies. The theatre was decorated in European style and was of a higher class. Seats were charged according to zone; the back seats cost $1.2, the standard seats $1.7, the superior seats $2.4. The standard seats and superior seats were located on the 2nd floor.

Majestic Theatre was located at the present location of Choi Fuk Chinese Restaurant at the corner of Nathan Road and Saigon Street, and screened the latest western movies. Its scale was however not as big as that of Alhambra Theatre. Astor Theatre was located at the present location of Eaton Hotel, and screened mostly leftist movies. Astor Theatre also staged Cantonese opera performances, and the set up was different from that of other theatres. Li’s parents loved watching Cantonese movies. He and his parents frequented the nearby Astor, Kwong Ming and New Taiyat Theatres. In those days only parents bought tickets and children followed their parents to get inside (without tickets), and ticket sellers usually turned a blind eye on this. Theatres screening western movies were less tolerant about this practice. Children loved to go for movies because they could enjoy the variety of food sold inside the cinema hall. Before the movie was shown, hawkers were allowed to enter the cinema hall to sell roasted cuttlefish, roasted chestnut, ginkgo, quail eggs, fishball, marinated pig ears and pig entrails; all were available at a cheap price. When he was a small boy, Li Ping-sum watched Cantonese movies. Mandarin movies were not popular because Mandarin was not popular in Hong Kong at that time; theatre-goers could read from the subtitles. As a child Li usually went to the cinema with his younger sisters; later he enjoyed movies with his classmates and friends.

The Yaumatei Fish Market was located near the Fruit Market. The fishing folk went ashore from the typhoon shelter and sold their catch at the Fish Market. The fishing folk liked to gather at the Tin Hau Temple; the Tin Hau temple of Yau Ma Tei was built during the reign of Emperor Guangxu of Qing Dynasty. There were carved rock lions during the reign of Emperor Tongzhi in the temple. The several large banyan trees in the temple are still standing there now. Next to the Tin Hau Temple were the smaller temples such as the Shing Wong Temple and Fuk Tak Temple. On Tin Hau Festival and on every 1st and 15th day of each lunar month, many worshippers came with offerings. In Li’s childhood, dajiao rituals were held every few years to dispel evil spirits, and bamboo sheds were built to stage worshipping operas.

Yung Shue Tau (literally meaning large banyan trees) was a public square outside the Tin Hau Temple, and before it was turned into a park there were many Dai Pai Dongs (temporary food stalls) selling all kinds of cooked food, including vermicelli rolls, rice congee, fried dough fritters, coffee, milk tea and chicken with rice. These stalls occupied the whole of the public square. Rickshaws found their way through the passage ways between the Dai Pai Dongsstalls among the crowds. Mido Café at Public Square Street used to be a classy bistro in those days, and was priced above the Dai Pai Dongs. There also used to be a night market at Yung Shue Tau with performances by martial-art performers, drug-sellers, and fortune-tellers. The Dai Pai Dongs at Yung Shue Tau was demolished by phases in the early 1960s, and the area was rebuilt into today’s public park.
 

The public square in front of the Tin Hau Temple (colloquially called Banyan Tree Park)  used to be packed with licensed Dai Pai Dongs (temporary cooked food stalls). The several banyan trees in the park were all over 100 years old. The Dai Pai Dongs and banyan trees were arranged in good order, providing criss-crossing passage ways in between. The Tin Hau Temple is a landmark of Temple Street . On the north of the temple was were concentrations of brothels and mah-jong parlours and frequented by of the outlaws. On the south of the temple, there were many temporary cooked food stalls. As a youth, Li Ping-sum frequented Yung Shue Tau to watch the performance by martial arts masters, drug-sellers, storytellers, theatre artists and fortune tellers. At Temple Street there were many prostitutes and drug-addicts. Li grew up in Yau Ma Tei and had little fear of people involved with the illicit activities (gambling, prostitution and drug). In the 1950s to 1960s there were many barber stalls at back alleys of temple street. The children were attracted to the barber stalls because they could read comic books while waiting for hair cut. As a primary school student, Li loved to read comic books at these sidewalk stalls.

In those days many children lingered on the streets and in the parks. As a child he frequented King George V Memorial Park and the park behind Tin Hau Temple. The playground at the corner of Public Square Street and Nathan Road used to be the Public Square Government School. It was demolished in the 1970s. The mending of clothes was an ancient trade. In the side alleys near Yue Shue Tau there were small stands under the staircases which helped people to mend their clothes. This service was in great need because the material condition was poor and it was not unsual for people to wear clothes with several mends. The lanes and alleys around Yung Shue Tau were packed with hawkers. In the early 1960s with the influx of refugees from the Mainland many became hawkers to make a living. There were people who helped to watch over the patrol of Hawker Control Teams (HTCs) on the street. In those years the HTCs were more tolerant of hawkers though. Some hawkers took their goods on a shoulder pole for running with ease. Around Metropole Theatre at Waterloo Road there were many cooked food stalls. Yat Ting Ho Teahouse was located at the corner of Shanghai Street and Public Square Street, and sold dim sum. It had been a renowned teahouse in Yau Ma Tei. Mido Café was more famous among western style restaurants.

In the old days there were many Dai Pai Dongs (temporary cooked food stalls) at the location of the Yau Ma Tei Market. The area was later converted to a permanent market. The current Yau Ma Tei Maternal and Child Health Centre was a site of two cinemas, whereas the Yaumatei Community Centre used to be the site of the Kaifong Welfare Association. Temple Street was known as “men’s street”, famous for selling men’s goods. There were many eateries, mah-jong parlours and fortune-telling stalls from the south of Tin Hau Temple along Temple Street. At the back alley of Temple Street there were many barber stalls; the barber used fruit crates to shelf comic books to attract children. Near the betting centre at Yung Shue Tau there used to be many jewellery shops, fabric stalls and pillared balconies. Fung Moon Kee and Leung Wah Sun Jewellery Shops had been opened for decades on Shanghai Street. The former sold medicinal oils and rattan mats from Singapore. There were originally no permanent stalls at Yung Shue Tau, only temporary stalls. The stall owners set up their stalls at spaces on a  first-come-first-taken basis, and some hawkers colluded with triads to secure favourable locations and even electricity.

In the past street performance of cantonese opera were popular surrounding Yung Shue Tau; as there were complaints of noise pollution by the neighbouring residents, the singing teams moved into ground level shops and continued their performance business in the form of operatic societies and singing parlours. The customers would pay some 30 or 40 dollars to sit and listen to their performance. The playground located today at the junction of Public Square Street and Nathan Road used to be a government school. The school building was a 3-storey concrete building. Li’s old abode was now demolished and in its place was the building of the Council Of Hong Kong & Kowloon Kai-Fong Associations Limited. The old abode was a 3 storey building with each level occupying an area of about 1,000 sq. ft. Each level accommodated several dozens of people from 6 to 7 families. The rooftop was also used as living quarters. In the past the rooftop of the adjacent buildings were linked together. The Eaton Hotel used to be the Astor Theatre, facing the Alhambra Theatre which was demolished in the late 1950s. Now it was reconstructed into the Ping On Building. Kwong Chee Theatre was located behind Alhambra Theatre.

In the old days there were many old buildings at Tung Kwun Street and Ching Ping Street. They were 6-storey high and had no elevators. The environment was populated and congested. During the 1970s and 1980s the landlord sold the buildings for redevelopment, and after Prosperous Garden was built on the site, the inner streets penetrating the area no longer existed; now only Tung Kwun Street and Ching Ping Street remained. At the backdoor of the Yaumatei Police Station there had been a pier named “the Royal Bridge”, which served as the docking location for marine police vessels and for vessels of the Marine Department. The boat dwellers also used the “royal bridge” to load and unload passengers. Near the Jordan Road Ferry Pier there was a government dockyard which repaired vessels of the Marine Police and the Fire Services.

The area of the Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter began with Mong Kong Pier (now the location of Olympic City) from the north, and reached Man Ying Building on Jordan Road at the South. At night there were many boats selling fruit and congee, and also boats that offered singing performance. During the summer many went to the typhoon shelter to enjoy listening to songs and to have late night snack. Outside Man Ying Building was the Jordan Road Ferry Pier. Before the completion of the Cross Harbour Tunnel, vehicles could take ferry here to the Central(now Hang Seng Bank Headquarters and Universal Building). Yaumatei Ferry picked up passengers at Jordan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui (Star Ferry), Shum Shui Po and Mong Kok. The passenger ferries had two levels and the lower level was cheaper. The Jordan Road Ferry Pier was the only one port for vehicles to take ferry across the habour. In this kind of ferry, the upper level was open for passengers and the lower level for vehicles. Wala-walas also picked and unloaded passengers at Jordan Road Ferry Pier. In the old days there were many timber factories and ice factories at the harbour front in Yau Ma Tei (e.g. Kowloon Ice Factory)

Before the cross-harbour tunnel commenced operations in the 1960s, the small motor boats – known as “wala-walas” were an important means of transportation between Kowloon and the Hong Kong Island. The engines were run on diesel, and the name “wala-wala” came from the sound of the boats when cruising. Wala-walas could accommodate 20 to 30 people and were most active after the cross-harbour ferries stopped service after midnight. Passengers might board and alight at any piers on both sides of the harbour, and there were no fixed routes. The routes to Stonecutters Island and Lai Chi Kok were served. The two most common routes were between Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier and Central Ferry Pier, and between Central Ferry Pier and Jordan Road Ferry Pier. There were no fixed tolls to riding the wala-wala. When the boat was full the owner would set sail. Passengers may hire a boat for themselves and the cost depended on the number of passengers, which could be as much as $30 to $40. The ticket price of Star Ferry was only $0.25 to $0.5 In case of typhoons the cost of hiring a boat could be as high as $300; the boat owner may even refuse to take passengers.

In those days insurance wasn’t common and the motor boats were easily overturned; the trip was highly risky. Ocean liners were anchored at the middle of the ocean and were served by wala-walas, which carried both cargo and people. In the 1950s and 1960s the wala-walas were also used for delivering newspapers in the early morning. The printing presses were located mostly on the Hong Kong Island at that time. At 4 to 5 in the morning the papers were delivered to Li Yuen Streets East and West (now Universal Building), then delivered to Kowloon and New Territories by wala-walas. When Li was working at the news agency at Wanchai, sometimes after work it was already late night when ferry services had stopped service; he would take the wala-wala back home and claim the expenses from the company. If there were incidents on the sea like boat fire, reporters could call a wala-wala to reach the.

In 1969 Li was married. He was working at Industrial and Commercial Daily Press at the time. The news agency was at Wanchai. To make commuting to work easier, he moved with his wife from Wai Ching Street to Wanchai. Later his elder daughter was born in Wanchai. In 1973 he changed jobs and worked at Hong Kong Economic Journal. He moved to To Kwa Wan which was close to Kowloon City Ferry Pier, where he could take a ferry to Wanchai. His younger daughter was also born in To Kwa Wan. He moved back to Wanchai the following year. In 1975, he joined the government and was responsible for handling breaking news and helping senior officials handle media enquiries. For the benefit of his daughters, he moved his family to Austin Road and both daughters were enrolled to Diocesan Primary School. In 1986 they moved to Tai Koo Shing and both daughters were in secondary school. At the age of 15 both daughters went abroad to study. In 2000 Li retired at the age of 55 and moved to Discovery Bay on Lantau Island.

Li’s two daughters grew up in Kowloon and he often took them to visit Temple Street. They were not strangers to the district. The girls were however accustomed to shopping at Tsim Sha Tsui, which  were of higher class than those Li lingered as a child. Her daughter found streets of the Hong Kong Island more orderly and the people more refined than those in Kowloon. Having lived in crowded apartments Li preferred his place at Austin Road. He found the community and the buildings of Yau Ma Tei aging and the senior citizens left without financial means. Maintenance and renewal for the buildings were difficult and presented a stark contrast to the new, upscale residence on the new landfills of West Kowloon. Amalgamation between the new and old sections of the district would be a challenging task.

Talking about the smell and taste of Yau Ma Tei, he was reminded of the delicacies of Temple Street: the aroma of fried pigs entrails, braised cows entrails, beef brisket, fish ball noodles and spicy oil were detectable from a distance. These were part of his childhood memories and he had brought his foreign friends there for a tour. He had the fondest memories of Yung Shue Tau, where he went through very often in his school days, and where he could find delicious food, storytellers, martial arts masters, and comic books.  He pointed out that the old buildings of Yau Ma Tei were unique to this district, but they sere gradually disappearing after the opening of the Cross Harbour Tunnel. He exclaimed that times had kept on moving and things that fell behind the times would be discarded.