Hong Kong’s tiny understairs shops: the locksmith squeezed next to Sogo and his 30-plus years in less than 30 sq ft of space
Tiny stores found under the city’s staircases are slowly disappearing as urban development progresses. In this new series of portraits, we meet the people behind these remaining stores who steadfastly provide their essential services
Standing under a staircase between the looming Sogo shopping mall in Causeway Bay and a chain pharmacy, 68-year-old Chan Wai-tong carefully transforms what looks like a metal cupboard into a fully kitted-out locksmith store.
First he removes the metal doors, then he takes several machines out of the cupboard. Next he pulls out a counter top, fastens it in place and puts the machines on top.
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Chi Shun Locksmiths occupies less than 30 square feet of space underneath a staircase on Lockhart Road. These “understairs shops” were prominent in Hong Kong back in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, when tenement houses or shop houses were built as residential buildings with the entryways converted into tiny stores. Many Hong Kong people ran such small businesses to support their families at the time.
Chi Shun Locksmiths was no different. The owner, Mr Lee, who prefers not to give his full name or age, took over the space from a household appliance store in 1977 and has been there ever since.
Chan was hired by Lee in 1985 after they met in church. He had worked in a metal goods factory in the ’70s but had to find another way to make a living after the factories started moving to mainland China. Luckily for him, Lee offered a locksmith apprenticeship at just the right time.
Chan is now the only employee left at Chi Shun Locksmiths as his previous colleagues left to set up their own businesses elsewhere.
