Hong Kong teacher who shares his passion for the past

Jacky Yu Chun-yu grew up reading his parents’ history books and he loved dipping into the Reader’s Digest series. Now a secondary school teacher, Yu credits those books with inspiring his passion for the past – particularly that of Hong Kong.

He began collecting old photographs and postcards of the city in 2007 and today runs the website oldhkphoto.com that  showcases old and rare images of the city. “They record the past, but they are also artistically taken. The colonial buildings have a European style,” Yu says. “Discovering them has been an adventure.”

But Yu says  it’s almost impossible for a hobbyist to get their hands on affordable old photos – most of the supply from shops on Hollywood Road and Cat Street were snapped up by tourists years ago. Although some can still be found on eBay or curio shops, they can cost more than HK$10,000. That’s far beyond the amount he’s prepared to spend.  

To keep visitors returning to his Facebook page, Yu needs a supply of pictures they haven’t seen online before; so he invites the public to submit their own photographs or  scanned images of old postcards. The collection has inspired him to write two books: the first, Coastline of Hong Kong, was published last year, and Coastline of the Kowloon Peninsula, was released last month.