2024/12/25

 

A story about the history of a long-established Hong Kong storeHong Kong Historical ShopsIn collaboration withI would like to introduce you.Hong Kong LEI's website reports on historical shops in Hong Kong and posts information about them on Facebook. They say that long-established shops are indispensable as symbols of Hong Kong culture, and that their survival will boost Hong Kong culture. We at Hong Kong LEI editorial team love Hong Kong, and we alsoI wanted to get a glimpse of the products that have been loved for a long time and were born in Hong Kong, what companies made them, what was the background to their birth, and where and how they were made. I titled it "Tracing the history of beloved Hong Kong long-established stores for Hong Kong otakus." But it's long, so I shortened it (lol) and named it "Tracing the history of long-established Hong Kong stores." Thank you for your interest.


Well, this time I would like to introduce you to the pawn shop "Tokusei Daioshi". I have never heard of Japanese people, let alone Japanese people living in Hong Kong, using a pawn shop in Hong Kong, but when you walk around the city, you will notice the neon sign of "Oshi". It is strange that the neon signs of other shops are being removed one after another, but the pawn shop sign remains.


Desert Press – Yau Ma Tei
Founded: 1940
Business: Pawnbroker
Address: No. 178, Sea Street, Yau Ma, Hong Kong
Product: Pawnbroker business

 

"Tak Seng Tai Press" is one of the oldest and most traditionally-built stores in downtown Hong Kong, located on Shanghai Street in Yau Ma Tei. The entire building, including the pre-war arcade, is owned by Tak Seng Tai Press. Not only is this arcade large, but it also has a distinctive Hong Kong feel.

First, the corner pawnshop still has the traditional neon sign of a bat with money (a symbol of good fortune) on both sides of the street. At the top of the arcade, the year "1940" is painted in red letters on a green frame with a white background, indicating the year the building was built. The green iron balustrades on the second to fourth floors are mainly for security, because most pawnshops provide ample space to store customers' items. This building is one of the few Hong Kong-style buildings in good condition, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is a landmark of the Yau Ma Tei area.

One of the main reasons why pawn shops have survived through the ages is that many of the buildings are entirely owned and are not affected by rising rents or eviction requests from owners. However, building owners sometimes demolish and rebuild pawn shops to earn rental income. For this reason, the Tong Tak Dai Press in Wan Chai was demolished in 2015.

The pawn industry in Hong Kong has a long history, and pawn shops can still be found throughout Hong Kong and Kowloon. In recent years, pawn shops have been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, proving that this business is still profitable. Of course, more research is needed to determine how modern pawn shops operate and make a profit. However, the existence of Hong Kong-style pre-war arcade architecture that can be seen in Hong Kong as of 2018 is extremely valuable.

 

 

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