Hong Kong Holiday - Gloria Romero (1957) - Kai Tak Airfield

I have yet to delve the history of Pinoy cinema, but in my long on-going search for a copy of Hong Kong Honeymoon, starring Zaldy Zshornak, I came across a vintage Filipino cinema channel on Youtube that has some great old movies on it: Chiechay Channel. One of them is Hong Kong Holiday (you can tell by the title why I was drawn to it) which is a 1957-released (although apparently filmed in 1955) romantic comedy about a young Filipina, Ana (Gloria Romero), who returns home to Hong Kong from abroad and is immediately told by her overbearing father that he has arranged a marriage for her. She runs away and takes refuge with a local boat family in Aberdeen.

According to an online interview with Ms Romero that is linked in the film's wikipedia entry, the film was lensed in Hong Kong in one month during 1955 and the credits also mention at the end that both Yung Hwa and Wader Studios were used for the filming. Yung Hwa, for those not aware of local film history, were the original occupiers of the Hammer Hill studios later taken over by Cathay/MP&GI and then, ultimately, Golden Harvest. The studios had only just been taken over by Yung Hwa in 1955 and I believe only held it for a couple of years before the Cathay Organisation took it over.

I digress, the opening scenes were shot on the, then, old Kai Tak Airfield when it was being run from afew concrete buildings in the middle of what is now known as "Kai Tak North". Sadly, as you'll see from my screengrabs, the picture quality is not very good and there is the channel's rather large watermark on the top right that hinders some of the views. However, there are some decent locations to see despite this and, of course, I enjoy including films from as many foreign countries as possible.

If you want to see some better images of the Kai Tak Airfield as it was back then, then you can see similar views in Love is a Many-Splendored Thing and The Night my Number Came Up.

Lung Cheung Road - Now and Then

Here's an old one from Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon. The screencap shows a view of Lung Cheung Road at the section between what is now Beacon Heights (of camera to the left, but at the time of filming it was a hillside squatter settlement) and the Shek Kip Mei Reservoir Park on the right. The shot was taken from a pedestrian bridge that still spans this section of road. I know this bridge very well because I lived, until recently, at Beacon Heights (for 14 years) and crossed this bridge on an almost daily basis.

The view has changed, of course, as Kowloon has become increasingly highrise, but the immediate vicinity of the screencap remains fairly similar. The only difference of note is a flyover (off/on ramp) has been constructed at the far end of the park that connects Lung Cheung Road with Tai Po Road.

Forbidden Nights - Melissa Gilbert (1990) - Nam Chung, North District

Quite a few scenes were filmed around the Starling Inlet area. This place was popular for being as close to mainland "ambience" as you could get on the Hong Kong-side of the border. Or at least it was back in the 80s/90s. These days it's a bit more busy because it's seen a bit of development and is now very popular with hikers, bikers, illegal car racers and general sightseers. You may recall seeing the road in the top image during Noble House, although that view is looking the other way. This is the western side of the valley which is usually referred to generally as Nam Chung (the eastern side is Luk Keng).

Nam Chung Cheng Uk village on the right

Looking across the ponds near the Nam Chung River

Forbidden Nights - Melissa Gilbert (1990) - Sai Kung Waterfront

Shapiro and Liang have a bit of a quarrel. This was filmed along the waterfront in Sai Kung Town near the original public pier (background of top image). In the background of the lower image you can see Sharp Island.

Forbidden Nights - Melissa Gilbert (1990) - Chinese YMCA Wu Kai Sha Village

Many of the scenes set in and around the college grounds were also filmed across the bay at the Chinese YMCA village in Wu Kai Sha. The village has remained relatively unchanged since 1990 with the exception of the old chapel/hall seen in the screencaps below. This hall was later demolished and a replacement constructed on an adjacent plot. The old hall had a large cross stuck to the front above the main doors and this was dealt with by the film crew by covering it in the Chinese flag during filming. I managed to find an old image of it from the Chinese YMCA website and have put it below for comparison.

Several other scenes were also shot at the camp, including the small park where the students hang out by a statue (top image) and also by the waterfront where Shapiro and Liang secretly meet to avoid scrutiny (second image). The lower images are of the old chapel building and the sportsground in front of it. 

Ma On Shan in the background

Wu Kai Sha Public Pier, Pat Sin Leng on the right

The old chapel/hall, also seen in the background below

The old chapel/hall, since demolished Source: Chinese YMCA website

Forbidden Nights - Melissa Gilbert (1990) - St Christopher's Home, Tai Po

I alluded to a new location in my first post for this film and here it is. In the film this is the main location of Shapiro's college. The exterior courtyard and college buildings are located in what was once the St. Christopher's Home, an orphange run by the Anglican Church along Tai Po Road near Tai Po Kau.

Several years ago I was involved in tracking down a plot of land for Sean Olson, a Gwulo user who was tracing his Hong Kong roots and trying to set straight some of his incorrectly reported family history. The land was owned by some recent ancestors and was donated by them, to the church, when they left Hong Kong/passed away. There is a bit more information here. Sadly, Sean is no longer with us either, but I did manage to trace his land down and solve a bit of a mystery.

It turns out that the Anglican Church later sold the orphanage site to Li Ka-shing, who then promptly demolished the whole thing and constructed Deerhill Bay. The plot of land I helped identify appears to have been forfeited to the Government and was largely split in two when the curve in Tai Po Road here was straightened. Later on a couple of schools were built on the site of Sean's ancestral land.

Anyway, I digress. It seems that not long before it was redeveloped, the orphanage site stood in for the rural Chinese college where Shapiro taught English. The courtyard location you see below coincides with the current development's swimming pool - between the current clubhouse and block 9.

Forbidden Nights - Melissa Gilbert (1990) - Yuen Yuen Institute, Tsuen Wan

This next film is a made-for-TV biopic that details the experience of Judith Shapiro when she went to China to teach English in 1979. It stars Melissa Gilbert as Shapiro and Robin Shou as her love interest, Liang Heng (spoiler alert: later, husband), and their clandestine affair that causes all kinds of trouble for everyone. There are some interesting locations used in the film, including one which I have been familiar with for quite some time but never knew it was ever used in a film, until now. More on that in a later post.

One of the first main locations is the Yuen Yuen Institute which is used as the backdrop for Shapiro's trip to Beijing. Those familar with this place will know it contains an ornate pagoda modeled on the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. Given that this film was shot circa 1990, it's no surprise that the film makers chose Hong Kong as the substitute given the events of the previous year and the touchy film subplot (dare I even say it in the current Hong Kong political environment) concerning democracy protests. The film also has a co-starring role from Tzi Ma. Both he and Robin Shou no doubt fresh off their filming for Yellowthread Street the year prior. Tzi played Det. Eddie Pak throughout the whole series and Shou apeared in the episode The Red Pole.
 

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Martin Freeman (2005) - View of Hong Kong

Another entry for the "Brief Glimpse" category of my blog where I feature films that didn't really shoot here but used images of Hong Kong as part of the story. In the case of The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Hong Kong is seen in the start of the film as the Vogons turn up to demolish earth and make an announcement as people around the world scream in terror. Hong Kong is one the cities shown with a soundtrack of screaming people played over the scene.

As you can see, the view shows Wanchai with Central Plaza looming large centre right.

Arthur Street - Now and Then

Arthur Street, as seen in Golden Needles, was one of my pandemic finds and I recently went back to try and get some comparison shots...with mixed results. I also later remembered it also features briefly in Infernal Affairs. I'll try and go back and get some more images to compare with that movie now that I am living closer to the area (compared to where I just moved from).

Also, this is in part a bit of a memoriam because Frances Si Ming, who plays Su Lin in the film, recently passed away in March 2026. And of course, Joe Don Baker passed away in May 2025. RIP to both of these actors.

I initially thought that the only surviving building in this area is the one with the horizontal ledges above the windows that can be seen in the first images below (and in the background of the lower images). This is #2 Man Ming Lane and was constructed in 1952. However, it looks like the yellow building in the background with the ground floor store (with the 7-Up) sign is still around and, as you can see, is currently wrapped in scaffolding and construction netting. This is Sheung On House and was constructed in 1972. 

Joe Don Baker and Frances Si Ming R.I.P

The buildings on the left have since been redeveloped

There's still a No Entry sign here

Fast and Furious 6 - Vin Diesel (2013) - Central Harbourfront

In the spirit of my "Brief Glimpses" category, here is the establishing shot for the Hong Kong scenes filmed for Fast and Furious 6. Only this establishing shot was actually filmed here because the sequence that follows is very obviously not Hong Kong.

Anyway, for completeness, here are the shots, done by drone it seems, of the "Central Piers" section of the waterfront with 2IFC looming large in the middle.