Another One Bites The Dust

I could live here my entire life and not begin to plumb the depths of the city that is Hong Kong.

Every street has its own life; every building its chronicles; every doorstep its stories.

A Shanghainese bathhouse that for more than 50 years was a home from home for tycoons, corrupt police and anyone needing a good rub-down has closed its doors - a victim of urban renewal.

Located at the corner of Prince Edward Road West and Reclamation Street, the Shanghai Tung Kee Yuk Tak Chee Bathhouse - the first facility of its type in the city and probably the last prominent one - welcomed its last customers yesterday. The building in which it is housed is scheduled for redevelopment, and after 57 years of operation, its owners have no plans to open elsewhere.

Most visitors coming through the doors yesterday could only guess at the bathhouse's rich history - the area it occupies has been in decline for years and its décor now shows the kind of wear that imminent demolition engenders.

According to its owner, 76-year-old Fan Kwong, the bathhouse has played host to well-known figures including late tycoon Lim Por-yen, notoriously corrupt police sergeant Lui Lok and renowned film director Li Han-chiang.

[ ... ]

Mr Fan took over the business from his father, who founded it in 1949 after fleeing Shanghai when the Communist Party took power. The family still runs a bathhouse in Shanghai that recently marked its 102nd anniversary.

"Shanghainese liked enjoying life," Mr Fan said. "Our bathhouse quickly gained a lot of business and a good reputation as many Shanghainese came to Hong Kong in the '50s and '60s."

[ ... ]

"The '70s and '80s were our golden period. But the business slid after the financial crisis in 1997, and we hardly survived through the Sars outbreak.

"Unluckily, after surviving so many difficulties, we still have to close it down now," ...

Stories such as this make me wish I'd visited there at least once.

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