The Young Rebel - David Chiang (1975) - 20 Kent Road, Kowloon Tong

Yet another Kowloon Tong location and this one with a bit of intriguing history behind it. The headquarters of the opposing gang is located at 20 Kent Road in Kowloon Tong. Xiao Rong is sent there by his boss to kill their boss. Failure to comply resulting in the death of his mum and sister. So he heads there on his motorbike. This one took a bit of locating because the property and it surroundings have changed significantly over the years. But there are a couple of clues that have helped lead to the identification. The first is the garden wall in the background of the first shot, behind the bike. This section of the wall doesn't exist anymore but there remains a section of it a little further up, belonging to #27 Kent Road.

The second clue comes from the background in the other direction. As Xiao Rong enters and leaves the property, we catch a glimpse of the roof of a property behind. It's quite a distinctive roof and, thankfully, is still around today. It belongs to the former "Air House" located at 1a Cornwall Street (the same building that was captured on camera in this post).

Sadly the property at #20 has changed significantly over the years and it was just recently demolished and completely rebuilt into a new building. What's interesting about this place, and you may already know this if you ever read my old, now deleted, history blog, is that it was the private house of infamous heroin kingpin, Ng Sik-ho aka "Limpy Ho".

Coincidentally (or not), Ho was convicted for his crimes in 1975, the same year this film was made, so it's quite possible the house was available for filming once it had been examined by the people investigating his crime. I have no idea who owned it at the time. In a later incarnation it was turned into a "Love Motel" (called the Kent Motel, I think?, the Chinese name was 根德小築) much in the same way as Bruce Lee's old house was. The owner basically filled in all the open spaces of the property (that can be seen in the screecaps) and turned it into a big rectangular block with maximum interior space (for max profits/usage) and operated it until around the time that COVID hit. Following its closure the building was demolished and redeveloped.

The house at the rear is 1a Cornwall Street

The Young Rebel - David Chiang (1975) - Devon Road, Kowloon Tong

Another Kowloon Tong location as Xiao Rong is on his way to a job with another gangster. Their car is hit by a delivery boy on a bike and Rong takes pity on him and chastises his gansgter colleague for hitting the guy. The initial image shows us the view up Devon Road from Somerset Road.

The Young Rebel - David Chiang (1975) - Sheung Sze Wan, Clearwater Bay

Xiao Rong accepts employment from the gangster boss and one of his first jobs is to hijack some people and rob them. This scene was shot above Sheung Sze Wan in Clearwater Bay. The whole area below them is now built up with village houses.

The Young Rebel - David Chiang (1975) - Ho Tung Lau, Fo Tan

Xiao Rong has to make a delivery to a large house where a kung fu class is being taught. It turns out this is the HQ of the gang that had tried to extort him earlier. The location is the magnificent Ho Tung Lau that was located on the shorefront at Fo Tan until its demolition in 1979 to make way for the widening of Tai Po Road and construction of the MTR depot (which, by the way, is named Ho Tung Lau depot).

We've seen it once before on the blog where it was a drug factory in The Amsterdam Kill. In this film though we get to see it in the full light of day.

The Young Rebel - David Chiang (1975) - Chi Man Street, Ho Man Tin

This was almost another addition to the Princess Margaret Road post, but the sequence plays out on a smaller road nearby so it was worth creating a separate post. This scene is our first introduction to Gen Lai in his new role as a policeman. He had been mentioning his new job to Xiao Rong earlier in the film, but the latter wasn't interested, but here we see him sweep into action as a thief steals someone's handbag and Gen Lai catches him. The thief is played by Tino Wong Cheung.

The scene starts at the petrol station on Princess Margaret Road right next to Chi Man Street. The thief then runs down the latter to the start of Oi Sen Path.

Princess Margaret Road, Chi Man Street in the foreground

The Young Rebel - David Chiang (1975) - Sifu Chi Wai's Wing Chun School, Mongkok Road

Here's a location I never thought I would see again. In the film, this is the location of Gen Lai's kung fu school with his sifu being portrayed by Yuen Siu-tin ("Beggar So" from Drunken Master for those who need reminding). Long term readers may remember this place was also used for Bruce Lee True Story (aka Bruce Lee the Man, the Myth), so you can click the link and read all about it there. It was located at 28 Mongkok Road.

The Young Rebel - David Chiang (1975) - Kent Road Garden Alleyway, Kowloon Tong

Another Kowloon Tong location as the bike chase continues down the alleyway that connects Kent Road Garden with True Light Lane. In the second image you can see the wall of the Kowloon True Light Middle School. The last image is the view into Kent Road as Gen Lai (Ti Lung) happens to be riding by when Rong is being attacked.

The Young Rebel - David Chiang (1975) - Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong

The bike chase continues as we move from Princess Margaret Road and Cornwall Street to Suffolk Road. Interestingly, the rather striking wrought iron gate you can see in the background (top image) is still in place on the front gate of #10. (see here: GoogleEarth). That's also the top of the wall of #10 in the lower image, but they have since filled in the gaps with some concrete lattice.

The Young Rebel - David Chiang (1975) - Steps between Man Wan Lane and Princess Margaret Road

During the bike chase, just after going up and down the pedestrian bridge along Princess Margaret Road (see this post for all the locations along that road), the bikes can next be seen bouncing down some concrete steps next to a granite brick retaining wall. I hadn't realised at the time, but this set of steps actually forms part of my Bruce Lee Guide to the Rest of Kowloon Part 1 self-guided walking tour (see point 4). You can see an image of the top of the steps here.

The main road at the bottom is Princess Margaret Road

The Young Rebel - David Chiang (1975) - Princess Margaret Road, Ho Man Tin

This is another road that crops up several times. Whilst on a delivery, Xiao Rong decides to save some time by grabbing on to the back of a truck along Princess Margaret Road. The building right next to the road was/is the HKSPCA, although these days that side of the building is used as a big long placeholder for a variety of advertising boards. The building is still there though, as is that great block of rock that can be seen at the side of the road in the first image - it marks a cutting made for the KCR track which is below the road there.

We go back to the same road later in the film during the bike chase as Rong tries to escape the gang on his bike and we see the group go up and down the pedestrian bridge located just before the intersection with Wylie Road. The bridge is still there and relatively unchanged although some lifts have been added on each side where there was once steps. The large building in the background of the lower images was the British Military Hospital Kowloon. It was demolished in the 90s and replaced by "Parc Palais".

The Kowloon Military Hospital is in the background

The low rise building with the pitched roof is the Diocesan Pastoral Centre.

The last view of Princess Margaret Road is this one looking north next to the - then - turn off to Hung Hom. The building work going on behind the retaining wall is where Yu Chun Keung Memorial College is now located. The area behind the truck on the left hand side is now the Pui Ching Road Rest Garden.