Mid-autumn celebrations came to Tai Hang last week with the usual riot of incense smoke and clang- ing cymbals brought by the fire dragon, which sets off every year from Lin Fa Kung temple and winds its way through the district.
On a recent visit, it seemed appropriate that a white Porsche was parked in front of the temple. The narrow streets south of Tung Lo Wan Road were once lined with shops run by mechanics and traditional chop carvers, but the area is being gentrified fast and is witnessing an influx of trendy cafes and boutiques.
Down the road from the temple, Ghiaspeed Motors Service is the old face of the neighbourhood. The garage displays an ageing sign from the Sauber Petronas Formula One team, but it's mainly BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes that await servicing.
Tai Hang ('big water channel' or, less charitably, 'big ditch') gets its name from a watercourse that led floodwaters to the sea. After Victoria Park was reclaimed to the north of Tai Hang, flooding was a regular problem until the channel was covered over. It now runs under Wun Sha Street to the harbour.
The narrow lanes off Wun Sha are still lined with tong lau walk-up buildings but there's the occasional empty plot and one or two shiny new buildings- property companies are snapping up whatever they can, driving up rents.
'Tai Hang is emerging as a new SoHo,' says John Au-yeung, a broker with Fidelity Realty. 'A lot of developers are acquiring properties here and they intend to redevelop them fast.'
Let's hope the area retains its idiosyncratic charms. Tai Hang is one of the few parts of Hong Kong where chain stores have almost no presence. There may be a ParknShop on Wun Sha Street now, but the alleyways and its charming old-school buildings are draw cards for artists, Canto-pop stars, design- ers and architects looking for laid-back hangouts.