In Sheffield, Hongkongers hold onto love for their hometown and culture, sharing it on social media and at an exhibition
- A group called Snowport Store is finding ways to keep Hong Kong culture alive even as its members have moved away from the city
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Snowport Store’s exhibition in Sheffield, Britain, was all about Hong Kong culture. Photo: HandoutSnowport Store had comic magazines that are no longer in print, art from Hongkongers and even a pineapple bun on display. But this was not a novelty shop in the city – it was part of an exhibition in Britain, a nostalgic event for the city’s diaspora.
While thousands of residents have left Hong Kong for good, many refuse to abandon their cultural roots. One of them is Valk Ngai, 23, who now lives in Sheffield, a city in the UK. He and seven other Hong Kong immigrants co-founded Snowport Store, a group that educates people in Britain about Hong Kong culture.
The group’s name, Suet Kee Si Do in Cantonese, is a tribute to Hong Kong’s cultural cornerstone – the humble yet resilient stalls that sell a wide array of snacks and other goods at affordable prices.
Posting about Hongkongers’ home-cooked food to record city’s memories
“[The name] serves as a reminder for all of us not to forget this important part of our childhood memories and the history of Hong Kong,” Ngai explained.
Last November, Snowport organised the event “Who is Hongkonger?” at a gallery in Sheffield, and the group hopes to expand it to other cities in the future.
“So many people have left Hong Kong already, [but] I believe we can still exert our influence to allow our culture to thrive in other parts of the world,” said Ngai.
Preserving the city’s culture
The group’s goal is to shape British people’s understanding of immigrants from Hong Kong – their shared habits, tastes and way of life.
“We want British people to understand why we came here and that our city was once connected to Britain,” said Ngai, who works full-time in IT. “So they won’t consider us as intruders and will pay more attention to what’s happening in Hong Kong.”
“Some like-minded friends of mine ... [were] thinking a lot about passing on Hong Kong culture and telling our own stories to the British locals,” he shared.
Ngai recalled a music video which features a cover of “霓虹黯色” (Neon Lights) sung by Hong Kong artist Moon Tang. The song about how the city’s iconic street signs are disappearing inspired the co-founder’s passion for promoting Hong Kong culture.
“Though we have settled down in Britain, we miss Hong Kong a lot, such as the neon signs and the streets we used to hang around,” he shared. “Seeing how many Hong Kong staples are disappearing, I would like to make an effort to promote Hong Kong culture even if [we have] ... just a small influence.”
Last February, Ngai and his team started using social media to share their appreciation of Hong Kong culture. They created posts to talk about popular Cantonese video game slang and the history of the city’s famous roads, such as Pottinger Street and Jubilee Street in Central.
But as time went by, the Snowport team realised having an in-person exhibition was the best way to connect with the British people.
“While Instagram and Facebook are useful for people to view our articles and pictures, they can never compare to face-to-face communication ... An exhibition would allow us to share our most profound thoughts with locals,” said Ngai.
Artist who left Hong Kong for Britain illustrates her nostalgia for the city
What it means to be a Hongkonger
The three-day exhibition covered six topics: food, Cantopop, comics, architecture, internet slang and political history. Illustrations and photos from Hong Kong artists helped tell the city’s story.
At the event, founders even displayed memorabilia from their personal collections, such as an old Hong Kong map from the 1980s and magazines featuring the late Cantopop legends Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui.
For Ngai, one of the most nostalgic items at the exhibition was a copy of the magazine Co-Co!, which ceased publication in 2019. The co-founder remembers being in secondary school and spending HK$20 to buy each issue of the magazine, which featured popular Japanese and Hong Kong comics.
About 150 people attended the event, according to Ngai, who recalled receiving support from British locals.
The organiser shared comments from one guest, who was an artist: “He never knew that Hong Kong music had such changes in the last 30 years, and he was upset that Hong Kong local comics were not glorious any more like the 80s. The part he liked the most was the picture [section] ... we had, in which we had [Snowport] members return to Hong Kong and take pictures from different vantage points.”
Another memorable comment was from a woman, who had moved from Hong Kong to the UK a few years ago. She told Ngai the exhibition made her miss home.
“She said what we did was meaningful, especially for people like her,” the event organiser said.
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Ngai is thousands of miles away from his hometown, but he remains undeterred in promoting its culture. The next step would be opening more exhibitions about Hong Kong culture in other cities in Britain, he said.
“We refuse to see Hong Kong culture fade away,” he emphasised. “Capturing the essence of Hong Kong in words and photos ... is the least we can do to preserve the city’s identity.”
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