A bygone Hong Kong lit up in photographer’s neon-drenched streetscapes
- After eight years in Canada, Justin Wong returned to Hong Kong and was shocked to find how the city had changed
- LED-lit signage had replaced the neon, and other cultural icons were on the way out, so he started documenting Hong Kong’s vanishing heritage
Hong Kong’s neon-drenched streets were just one aspect of his home that Justin Wong missed while studying in Canada.
But when he returned home in 2016, after eight years away, Hong Kong was not as he remembered it from childhood. Gentrification and a shift in manufacturing methods meant the lights had dimmed, not only on the neon industry – with the adoption of cheaper and more energy-efficient alternatives, such as LED lighting – but also on other culturally significant features such as street food stalls, barbers and mahjong halls.
“When I was a child, I remember going to a restaurant in Mong Kok and seeing the city’s bright and shiny neon lights for the first time,” Wong says. “It left an impression.”
“When I got back from studying in Toronto – I’d also been travelling – I was shocked to see how much had changed.”