15 vintage photos that show what Hong Kong looked like in the 1950s and 1960s
Fan Ho photographs courtesy of Themes+Projects, San Francisco
Hong Kong is very different today from how it was in the 1950s and '60s.
At that point in time, it was still under British rule, instead of operating under an autonomous government like it does today. The Korean War had virtually stopped China's export trade, which severely hurt Hong Kong's economy.
Award-winning photographer Fan Ho arrived in Hong Kong in 1949. Ever since then, he has used his camera to capture the area's colorful street life.
In his most recent book, A Hong Kong Memoir, Ho digs through his old archives to put forth never-before-seen images from the '50s and '60s.
Hong Kong was under British rule from 1842 to 1997.
Fan Ho photographs courtesy of Themes+Projects, San FranciscoSource: The Living Theatre
Upon moving there in 1949, Ho described Hong Kong as "new and exciting".
Fan Ho photographs courtesy of Themes+Projects, San FranciscoSource: A Hong Kong Memoir
"Hong Kong then [in the '50s and '60s], was a mixture of old China mixed with new West — a new frontier," Ho said.
Fan Ho photographs courtesy of Themes+Projects, San FranciscoSource: The Living Theatre
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