bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Erika Na

Hong Kong is home to more skyscrapers than any other city in the world – 554 according to a list compiled by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, which counts buildings 150 metres tall or more.
Shenzhen in southern China ranks second, with 413 skyscrapers. Hong Kong, which is only 63 per cent as big as Shenzhen in terms of area, remains mostly undeveloped; its many skyscrapers are packed into an extremely dense urban jungle, where open spaces are a rarity.
But Southorn Playground, in the heart of Hong Kong Island’s Wan Chai neighbourhood, is one such place.
The playground, originally called Wan Chai Children’s Playground, opened in 1934; it was later renamed after Sir Wilfred Thomas Southorn, Hong Kong’s colonial secretary from 1925 to 1936.

For history buffs, there is an interesting connection between this urban spot and Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon.
Southorn and his future wife, Bella Woolf, a sister-in-law of the writer Virginia Woolf, met there in the early 1900s; and, after moving to Hong Kong, it was the island nation’s vivid rural expanses that inspired them to inaugurate a children’s play area in Wan Chai.

In the decades since its opening, the playground has taken on various roles as Hong Kong has endured war, periods of social unrest, the Covid-19 pandemic and more.
In 1940, during World War II, the British colonial government built air raid shelters in the playground as protection against Japanese aerial bombardment. The playground was damaged by air strikes in the 1940s and had to be rebuilt.
Since then, it has served as a gathering space for people to both celebrate and protest.
On June 2, 1953, a party was held at the playground to celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s coronation. The spectator stands were filled, and children were served free food and bottled drinks.
In 2018, protesters gathered at the playground to demonstrate against then justice minister Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah, who was involved in a scandal surrounding illegally built structures at some of her properties.
During the Hong Kong anti-government protests of 2019-20, demonstrations were frequently staged in the playground.

Then came the Covid-19 pandemic, during which the playground was turned into a Covid-19 testing centre, with long queues of people a common sight. The spectator stands were closed off during this period to prevent people gathering.
Today, the 96,000 sq ft (8,900 square metre) playground, which has four basketball courts and a football pitch, once again serves as a space for leisure not just for children but adults, too.
Open daily from 6am to 11.30pm, it is frequented not only by those playing sports, but also by office workers, who can often be seen eating takeaway meals bought from nearby food vendors, or drinking coffee, and by retirees strolling, stretching or just relaxing.
The spectator stand near the playground’s football pitch offers an unobstructed view of the sky – a rarity in Hong Kong’s urban areas – and is a great vantage point for people watching; the demographic of the park changes in the course of a day.

After it opens in the morning, most of the people in the park are merely passing through, presumably on their way to work. There are also joggers, old ladies strolling around, exercising and chatting, and small groups kicking a football or shooting hoops on a basketball court.
The space starts to get busier as the morning draws on, the energy and pace continuing to change throughout the day.
The playground is a convenient spot in which to take breaks for those who work nearby. Weekday lunchtimes see office workers flocking there, especially to the spectator stands where they can comfortably sit and eat their meals.
After this crowd leaves, the playground is occupied mostly by those with time on their hands, including schoolchildren, some of whom gather in small groups to play football and basketball.

Young children accompanied by adults run around, chasing balls, while the perimeter of the football pitch is mostly taken up by elderly people.
As afternoon turns to evening, football becomes the main activity in the playground. The regular players, usually older local men, begin gathering and greeting one another loudly like old friends, often swearing in Cantonese – in a friendly manner, of course.
At weekends, the demographics of the playground change again. On Sundays, the park is usually occupied by foreign domestic helpers enjoying their weekly day off in the shade of the spectator stand. They hang out with friends and share food, from Filipino dishes to Indonesian snacks such as shrimp chips.
Regardless of the day or the time one comes to people-watch at Southorn Playground, one thing never changes: the people there are mostly just enjoying themselves.
The easily accessible open space provides an escape where urban dwellers can forget about the stresses of city life, even if only for a short while.


Hong Kong’s unique winter barbecue season through the years

This forgotten border village shows Hong Kong’s history of change

Blossoms Under Somewhere movie review: Collar’s Marf Yau shines in lightweight youth drama

Reduced tolls at Hong Kong’s Tai Lam Tunnel could be rolled out in 2025

Hong Kong culture

Hong Kong’s Southorn Playground, haven for sports and socialising amid the urban jungle

People play basketball in Hong Kong’s Southorn Playground. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Southorn Playground in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district has offered space for recreation amid the urban jungle for the past 90 years. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

A photograph taken around 1950 shows Southorn Playground nestled among rows of tenement houses in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai neighbourhood. Photo: Hong Kong Public Libraries

Many people pass through Southorn Playground every day, some on their way to work. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Following its use as a Covid-19 testing centre during the pandemic, Southorn Playground is now back to serving as a leisure space for children and adults. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

A man sits in the shade in Southorn Playground. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Basketball games among local Hong Kong residents are a common sight in Southorn Playground. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

How 4 Hong Kong hotels help guests discover city’s culture, history and stories

A woman prays at Man Mo Temple in Hong Kong. Photo: Shutterstock

The Park Lane, Ovolo, Mandarin Oriental and Heritage Lodge are among Hong Kong hotels offering activities like temple visits and other heritage tours to help visitors discover the city’s culture, history and stories.
Photo: Shutterstock

Worshippers pray for good fortune and wealth during the Kwun Yum Treasury Opening Festival at Lin Fa Kung, Tin Hau, on March 6, 2024. Photo: Elson Li

Dishes at Veda. Photo: Veda

Young Master founder Rohit Dugar at the brand’s brewery in Wong Chuk Hang. Photo: Roy Issa

Cabinets and other furniture pieces at the Liang Yi Museum in Central. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

The Jao Tsung-I Academy takes up a historical compound that has served various purposes since the late 19th century. Photo: Courtesy of Jao Tsung-I Academy

A bedroom at the Heritage Lodge. Photo: Heritage Lodge

‘Ghost staircase’, outdoor gym: Hong Kong architecture tour opens eyes to urban quirks

Participants on a City Unseen walking tour of Prince Edward. Photo: Joshua Wolper 

Participants on a Hong Kong walking tour with City Unseen photograph quirky architecture in Prince Edward. The group plans a series of tours to encourage deeper engagement with the urban landscape. Photo: Joshua Wolper

City Unseen’s tour of Prince Edward drew attention to details of its urban architecture that participants may previously have been unaware of. Photo: Joshua Wolper 

People sit on concrete bollards beneath a footbridge on Tung Choi Street. Intended as hostile architecture, they have been repurposed by residents. Photo: Vicky Kung

A pink building with a “ghost staircase” on Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok. Photo: Vicky Kung

A resident uses equipment cobbled together by residents at an outdoor gym beside Bishop Hill. Photo: Joshua Wolper

A makeshift shrine on Bishop Hill formed as people left unwanted religious statues there. Photo: Joshua Wolper

A resident visits the makeshift shrine on Bishop Hill, which features almost 100 religious effigies. Photo: Erika Na

Hong Kong’s ‘lotus rock’ temple in Tai Hang, Lin Fa Kung, where villagers worship Goddess of Mercy Kwun Yum

Interior of the Lin Fa Kung Temple in Tai Hang. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The exterior of the Lin Fa Kung Temple in Tai Hang. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The Lin Fa Kung temple in Tai Hang in 1870, when it was still close to the shoreline. 

The ancient rock around which the Lin Fa Kung Temple in Tai Hang was built. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The mezzanine stairs and walkway next to the ancient rock inside the Lin Fa Kung Temple. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A worshipper walks past the staircase inside the Lin Fa Kung Temple. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A worshipper with lighted joss sticks at the temple. Photo: Jonathan Wong

There is an altar on each of the temple’s floors. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Worshippers burn joss sticks at the temple. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Religious artefacts at the Lin Fa Kung Temple. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A worshipper offers a lai see packet to deities at the Lin Fa Kung Temple. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Detail of the temple’s interior. Photo: Jonathan Wong

How a Hong Kong university campus reveals a darker past of war and imprisonment

Block C jail cells at Victoria Road Detention Centre Site in Pokfulam. 14DEC23 SCMP / Jonathan Wong

The jail cells in Block C at the former Victoria Road Detention Centre, which can be accessed via the University of Chicago’s Hong Kong campus in Pok Fu Lam. The site also tells the story of the city’s wartime defeat to the Japanese. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A World War II gun emplacement in the grounds of the University of Chicago’s Hong Kong campus, in Pok Fu Lam. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The No 2 gun emplacement on the site. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The front gate and guard post at the former Victoria Road Detention Centre. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The original timber staircase in Block A. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The original fireplace in Block A, built in the 1930s. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The remains of jail cells at Block C. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Memories of old buildings in Hong Kong preserved by artist who sketches them before they are torn down

Hong Kong’s historical buildings regularly fall prey to redevelopment. Artist Cynthia Lau (above) preserves them in her sketchbooks. Photo: Edmond So

A “weird but interesting” tree growing on the rooftop of an old building in Hong Kong’s Temple Street caught Cynthia Lau’s attention. Illustration: Cynthia Lau (AKA Little Jade)

Lau’s sketch of the Kwan Kee Store in the Hong Kong district of Sham Shui Po, which closed in May 2023 after 60 years. Illustration: Cynthia Lau (AKA Little Jade)

Lau’s sketch of the Shui Yuet Kung temple in Ap Lei Chau. Illustration: Cynthia Lau (AKA Little Jade) 

Hong Kong artist Cynthia Lau draws an old building. “Sketching is an important way for me to both document and appreciate the beauty and history of the society I live in,” she says. Photo: courtesy of Cynthia Lau 

Lifestyle

Travel & Leisure

A rare open space amid modern Hong Kong’s jungle of skyscrapers, the playground in Wan Chai has been a place to let off steam since 1934


Since 1934, Southorn Playground in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai neighbourhood has offered a respite from the stress of urban living, as well as hosting protests, parties, and Covid-19 testing.


History of Hong Kong districts

Foreign domestic workers in Hong Kong

History