Industrial Revolution

Kwun Tong doesn’t seem like a trendy place to visit. It used to be a bustling hub—an important industrial area—but it’s common knowledge that the golden age of the Hong Kong’s manufacturing industry is long gone, when production shifted across the border to China. So the importance of the district has dwindled; it has lost its former glory. Chimneys no longer exhale dense smoke; large-scale machines have ceased operating; factories stopped churning out everything from toys to undergarments. Many of Kwun Tong’s buildings look shabby, as if they need a large amount of maintenance and repair. The factories today, to put it simply, reek of dereliction and desolation.

But as the saying goes, you can’t judge this book by its cover. Factory buildings might look dilapidated, but such a backdrop has been incubating an underground community of artists. Government officials have recited slogans about supporting creative industries and nurturing art in the city. But what they don’t understand is that they cannot be forced or manufactured. Their growth should be organic, spontaneous and bottom-up.

For the arts community in Kwun Tong, everything started about a decade ago. Leung Wing-lai, a core member of a concern group, Revitalization Internalize Partnership, was one of the pioneers who settled in the factory-filled part of Kwun Tong in 2000. “At that time, a lot of bands started renting studios,” he says. “Before, bands usually rented studios in places like Causeway Bay and Mong Kok on an hourly basis. But then we thought it would be great to have our own studios. A lot of people were considering renting flats in industrial buildings because the rent was cheap.” Leung adds, “For the so-called post-80s bands, many of them liked to rent flats on rooftop terraces. My first studio was also in such a space, and it only cost about $1,000 to rent 500 to 600 square feet of space.”

The SARS epidemic hit Hong Kong in 2003, Leung recalls, and that actually helped the flood of bands moving to Kwun Tong. “A lot of owners were not willing to rent their flats to bands, because they thought that the bands made too much noise. They were afraid that offices nearby would complain about it,” he says. “But when SARS struck, a lot of tenants moved out. Property agents would tell us that the flats were available for bands and artists to rent. It was a crazy period when bands moved in. The rent was a lot cheaper, and it even included air-conditioning and other fees.”
At present, it is estimated that about 80 percent of local indie bands run studios in Kwun Tong. Artists followed. According to Leung, the logic is quite simple. Once bands started relocating, their members would recommend friends rent studios in the area, too—and that was how Kwun Tong’s artistic community was born.

After 10 years of evolution, a deteriorating industrial zone stands transformed and revitalized by musicians and artists. Read on to hear about four creative organizations who couldn’t do what they do without the cheap rent and ample space in Kwun Tong. It’s time to take the green MTR line and explore one of Hong Kong’s hidden treasures.

Recycled Goods