Ng Kong

In 1938, Uncle Kong travelled to Hong Kong from Canton and found refuge in his uncle. His uncle was the manager of Sun Sun Studio on Nathan Road (present site of Wing On Company). He was also a master photographer. At that time studios in Hong Kong were commonly known as Ying Xiang Pu, Zhao Xiang Pu/Guan, Xie Ying Yuan/Shi, etc. Having settled down in Hong Kong, Ng Kong became a master in Sun Sun. He received a monthly salary of $10-$20 dollars and lodged in the shop. Sun Sun was spacious and equipped with a lit photo-shooting set. Besides the photographers, it was manned with workers responsible for photo-finishing and negative packing. In the past, all photos were black and white. Sun Sun had to hire a colouring master. Coloring was a delicate craftsmanship. The master coloured the people in a photo with a pen fit with fine brushes, which even the photographers could not cope with.

Title	Cinemas in the Pre-war Period
Date	11/03/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	1m3s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memroy Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-NK-HLT-001

Before the war there were already numerous photographers earned a living in Yung Shue Tau. They specialized in taking instant photo for the tourists. According to the wishes of their customers, they moved around to capture different scenes. Next to Yung Shue Tau were the Tin Hau Temple and Guan Yin Temple. When Uncle Kong was an employee of Hong Nam Studio during the Japanese Occupation, inspired by the instant photo business, he established his own instant photo-taking studio ‘Tai Shan’ in a rented half-size shop premise in Pak Hoi Street (present site of Nathan Hotel). At that time local residents had to apply ‘Shipping Permit’ in order to go to Mainland China. The photo on the permit was customarily called ‘Shipping Photo’. And it was the main source of income of ‘Tai Shan’. The permit-issuing site and ‘Tai Shan’ were just separated by two shops. Applicants took photo immediately after they got their permit. Taking instant photo required simple equipment only. The instant camera set was consisted of a wooden box and a wooden tripod. Inside the box there was photo finishing function, in which a bromide paper was used as negative. Customers could collect their photos after they had been finished in the camera box.

Title	Shipping Photo was taken by instant camera technology during Japanese Occupation
Date	11/03/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	1m9s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memroy Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-NK-HLT-002

In 1948 Uncle Kong established ‘Kong Kong Studio’ in the 2nd floor of 324 Nathan Road (present site of Kim Tak Building). The new studio was opposite to the Majestic Theatre. ‘Kong Kong’ occupied the whole floor. It set up artificial scenes, such as Chinese- or Western-style garden, by tools or canvas. ‘Kong Kong’ offered whole package of wedding photo at a charge of $1000. At daytime the couple took photo in the studio, at night the studio sent their staffs to take photo in the couple’s home banquet. Made-Up and wedding suit also included in the package.Uncle Kong hired domestic servants to cook, wash, and iron in ‘Kong Kong Studio’. His wife also helped in the studio. She helped the wedding photo-takers to make up and prepare their wedding suit. Uncle Kong hired painters to draw some background scenes like garden and sitting hall on the canvas. The canvas, which was able to pull up and down for scene-changing, served for photo-taking purpose for the couple. At that time it was not popular to hold wedding banquet in restaurant.

Title	Studios offer family photo and wedding photo services in the post-war period
Date	11/03/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	1m48s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memroy Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-NK-HLT-003

Mau Lam Street was packed with tenement buildings or wooden blocks of two to three stories tall. Residents discharged their excrements into wooden barrels. Every night at 12 am night soil dumpers went upstairs and cleared the stuff. Uncle Kong rented a unit on the ground floor. The toilet was built in a small hut behind the courtyard. A metal barrel collected the excrements discharged in the toilet. Ground residents do the cleaning up themselves without the help of the night soil dumpers. There were two rooms and a living room on the ground floor. Two bunker beds were placed in the living room. The landlady sub-leased the whole floor to 5 households. Uncle Ng and his mother rented a room of 120 sq feet with two beds and a window. The section on Nathan Road spanning from Pak Hoi Street to Cheung Lok Street had 10 four-story wooden blocks. Each had its own door number. The owner was Dr. Ip Kam Wa (medical practitioner).

Title	Living environment of tenement houses around Mau Lam Street and Cheung Lok Street in the pre-war period
Date	11/03/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	1m55s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memroy Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-NK-HLT-004

Yang Lou' was a western-styled concrete building. It had flushing toilets upstairs and a sliding main door on the ground. In early times, Nathan Road's Yang Lou were located between the south of Jordan Road and St. Andrew’s Church. Ng had opened a studio on a site known as Prudential Centre today. It was a 3-story Yang Lou with a floor size of 3000 sq feet. Ng Kong spent several thousand dollars to rent the 2nd floor as both studio and home. There were plenty of flushing toilets and bathrooms on the 2nd floor. Basically every room came with a toilet. The big suite had both. Besides, there was a toilet for domestic servants. Tak Shing Street was full of splendid Yang Lou. There were only two property owners, Fu Lo Yung and Ko Ho Ling, who were renowned gambling tycoons in Macau. They bought the whole Tak Shing Street and each occupied one side. They built huge single-story mansions with luxurious gardens and swimming pools to accommodate big families.

Title	Old western-styled building and luxurious garden at the south of Jordan Road
Date	11/03/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	1m25s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memroy Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-NK-HLT-005

Disaster relief was the primary job function of Yaumati Kai Fong Welfare Advancement Association. In the early days it also handled domestic conflicts such as divorce, most of which were cases referred by the District Office. The Association set up a court of domestic affairs in the hall of the clubhouse. The chief director was in charge of the general management, and a group of committee members were elected as judges. The Association managed a relief fund for affected families. The fund came from private donations from the directors and supervisors as well as outdoor fundraising from big shop owners. Sometimes the Association also handled the monetary disputes among roadside peddlers.Uncle Kong had been Chief Director of Yaumati Kai Fong Welfare Advancement Association for many years. His most unforgettable event was the distribution of free rice and red packets immediately after he took the post. At the end of every Chinese Lunar Year, the Association granted food and money to the elderly and the poor in Yau Ma Tei. In the early period everyone would be given 10 catties of free rice and $50 in red packet. More than 1000 recipients would line up in a long queue outside Henry G. Leong Yaumatei Community Centre. In order to raise as much food and money as possible, directors and supervisors carried a subscription book with them to ask for donation of any amount, both in shops and households. The fundraising area covered Shanghai Street, Temple Street and Nathan Road. During the 1967 Riot, government invited the Association to mobilize it’s directors for order keeping. The police allowed them to carry weapon onto the street and arrest any bomb-laying rioters. Most of the directors did not want to take risks. Only ten of them were summoned to the call. Although the patrolling members carried weapons, it was not easy to notice anything unusual on them as they dressed in business attire. At night they patrolled around Shanghai Street, Temple Street, Saigon Street and Temple Square. They would approach and subdue any suspected bomb-layer. They would take out their weapons for self-defense if necessary. Uncle Kong had just participated in the operation for 1 or 2 nights. He had never fought or caught any one. However, he was still keeping the triangular file that he brought along with him at that time.

Title	Yau Ma Tei Kaifong Association (Established in 1949)
Date	11/03/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	2m13s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memroy Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-NK-HLT-006

In the past Uncle Kong often met his old friends in Shamrock Restaurant. Cantonese opera performers were also regular customers of the restaurant. Uncle Kong had familiarized with his colleagues before the founding of the Association. They often played mahjong at night in Hui Yeung Shing's Sun Sun Hotel. Sometimes they played overnight until dawn. Sun Sun Hotel was opposite to Astor Theatre. The ground floor was Shamrock Restaurant. Members of the Association reserved a room on the 6th floor of Sun Sun Hotel for playing mahjong on a long-term basis. At daytime, Cantonese opera performers such as Leung Shin Bo, Mak Bing Wing, Kwan Hoi Shan came to play mahjong. By then Pat Wo Wui Kun had not been completed yet. The government stipulated that the statutory number of founding members of the kaifong association should be 101. Famous Cantonese opera performers such as Phoenix Girl and Leung Sing Bo also participated in founding the Association.

Title	Entertainment of Business Owners and Famous Cantonese Opera Performers
Date	11/03/2011
Subject	Community
Duration	56s
Language	Cantonese
Material Type	Audio
Collection	Oral History Archives
Repository	Hong Kong Memroy Project
Note to Copyright	Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No.	YMT-NK-HLT-007