Ho Woon

Biography

Ho Woon was born in 1930 in his home town of Enping where he had received two years of primary education. When the Second World War broke out, he quitted school and tended cattles for a relative. In 1949, he came to Hong Kong and reunited with his elder brother. He had worked in a grocery, sauce manufacturer and textile mills before becoming a fruit and vegetable hawker in 1956. In 1962, he set up the Ho Woon Kee fruit and vegetable stall outside the porch of the Ng Clan Ancestral Hall in Nga Tsin Wai and was issued a business licence in the 1970s. Having operated in Nga Tsin Wai for decades, he is well acquainted with the village headmen. When major events such as Birthday of Tin Hau and the Jiao Festival are celebrated, he will donate money and participate in the gatherings to have a good chat with the villagers. He is on good terms with neighbouring hawkers and district residents. The business of Ho Woon Kee reached its peak in the 1970s and 1980s, but business fell after the 7-storey building was demolished. When Ho Woon first came to Hong Kong, he had lived in various places in Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula. In the 1950s, he had lived in Hakka Village and Blacksmith Street (today’s Tung Tau Estate) for several years before moving to Wang Tau Hom. It is a public housing flat where he still lives today. Recently he had retired and asked a fellow trader to take over the business of Ho Woon Kee.