Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - 155 Waterloo Road, Kowloon Tong

The property where Chang (Michael Hui) and Vivian (Gong Li) go to have their pretend wedding photos done is located at 155 Waterloo Road. This area was popular for wedding boutiques (alongside kindergartens, private temples and Love Hotels) at one time and 155 was one of those businesses for a while.

I'm not sure if it still operates as such (#157 does) but the property still has the curved ground floor extension that can be see on the screencaps below.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - The China Club, Bank of China Building

Someone once told me that the New Years Eve party scenes at the beginning of Chinese Box were filmed at The China Club - Sir David Tang's members-only restaurant/bar club located in the top three floors of the old Bank of China building in Central. I've never been to the club myself but it looks as though this particular nugget of information is true. I was able to compare the staircase John (Jeremy Irons) walks up during the beginning of the scene with some footage from inside the club and noted the matching ornate wrought iron railings.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - Romantic Hotel, Kowloon Tong

The second recently recognised location to add to the Chinese Box collection is the "love hotel" that Vivian and John go to after getting together at Club BBoss. As they wander into the building you can see the name of the "Romantic Hotel" on the entrance. This was a real love hotel venue on Kent Road in Kowloon Tong that has since closed down.

When I moved to Kowloon in 2012 the hotel was still in business, but over several months in 2013 (see photos below) it was closed and remodelled into a tacky wedding venue called "My Palace". The finished structure (see bottom image courtesy of Google Streetview) reminds me of one of those old churches in the spaghetti westerns.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - Jumbo Palace Floating Restaurant, Aberdeen

I recently went back and watched Chinese Box in preparation for an interview (which, in the end, didn't happen) in the run up to the Handover celebrations in July. If you have watched the movie you will know the story takes place in the lead up and following the Handover in 1997.

Anyway, as a result I was able to identify a couple more filming locations and have decided to post them before I commence the next film.

The location is the "Jumbo Palace" restaurant. Recognisable by the gold coloured dragon that can be seen behind Michael Hui in the screen shots below. It used to sit above the main entrance. This is the scene where Vivian tries to get Chang to agree to marry her but realises he has no intention to.

If you have read my other posts on the Jumbo Palace you will know it started off life as the "Sea Palace" before being replaced by a newer version that was intergrated into the "Jumbo Kingdom" and renamed Jumbo Palace. This is the last version you can see below before it was moved to the Philippines and then Mainland China. I'm not sure if it is still there but GoogleEarth suggests otherwise.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - Tsim Sha Tsui Harbour front

One of the final shots in the film sees Irons going to the harbourfront in Tsim Sha Tsui. The background - including the presence of a roof structure in the third picture - indicates this was filmed in the section of the harbourfront containing all the public piers near to the Star Ferry.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - Former British Military Hospital, King's Park

You may recall some time ago I was scratching my head over a hospital location used in Yellowthread Street. It looks as though it may have been the 'go to' hospital for film productions because here it is again popping up in Chinese Box as the hospital Irons goes to for his treatment/diagnosis. It's now a residential development called 'Parc Palais'.

I should mention that soon after the Yellowthread Street post was published, I had a very nice message from former Hong Kong Stuntman extraordinaire, Jude Poyer, with some screen grabs from various films also shot at the hospital: Black Mask (1996), Purple Storm (1999) and The Wesley's Mysterious File (2002) - the latter two he was directly involved with. Anyway, many thanks to Jude and you can see his ongoing work here: Reel Power Stunts.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - Hung Shing Temple, Queen's Road East

Conveniently, the next scene was filmed almost directly opposite Tai Wong Street West. It features the Hung Shing Temple that sits along Queen's Road East. Gong Li goes there to make some offerings in the outside furnace.

You can see the brown placards (second picture right hand side), the furnace and pillars in the Streetview picture below.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - Tai Wong Street West, Wanchai

The small lane that Gong Li walks along as she is out searching for Irons is located in Wanchai. It's the southern end of Tai Wong Street West where it pops out onto Queen's Road East. It's not a difficult one to find given the angle of Central Plaza in the background.

The current Streetview image is below. It hasn't really changed much, in fact it's probably the very same newspaper hawker stand at the end.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - Statue Square, Central

The location of Cheung's confrontation with her 'supposed' ex-boyfriend (played by Jared Harris).

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong

At a point in the film, Irons runs after Cheung in an attempt to interview her for some personal project. They run out of the building, situated on Wellington Street, down to the junction with Queen's Road Central before Irons character starts to feel ill and stops on the pedestrian island that sits at the junction with Queen's Road Central and the top end of Bonham Strand.

So first we see a brief glimpse of the back of the Kam On Building at the end of Wellington Street.

The blue/white striped hoarding in the background is covering the in-progress constructions of Grand Millenium Plaza which includes Cosco Tower that was finished in 1997. Moving across the road to the island is where Irons starts to lag because of his illness. The upper picture below shows the camera looking down the curve of Queen's Road Central, whilst the lower picture of Maggie Cheung shows Bonham Strand just where it joins with Jervois Street.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - Club BBoss, Tsim Sha Tsui

One of Hong Kong's premiere hostess bars closed in 2012. The founder of the club and owner of the building in which it was housed (the New Mandarin Plaza in East TST) decided he could get more money letting the space to other commercial interested and so the club was closed.

I do remember the massive neon sign that used to shine down from the building but I had no idea that they used to have a small car inside driving people around. Oh dear, what a sheltered life I have obviously been leading...

Anyway, in the film it's where Irons gets invited to by Gong Li so they can indulge in some mutual self appreciation.

If you're wondering where the entrance used to be it was on the side of the building that fronted Science Museum Square. Streetview is obviously several years old for this area at the moment (2011 I would guess) so we can still see the old entrance even though it has now gone.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - King's College, Western Street

The official address of King's College is actually Bonham Road, however our view courtesy of the film is of the large double door entrance at the end of the complex along Western Street. The arched doorway at the back is one of several that overlook the inner sports ground.

Here's a Streetview grab of the same door, it looks like it has had a new frame fitted but other than that not much has changed.

The school is one of HK's oldest and most prestigious and has several noted alumni including Stanley Kwan - the creator of HK's famous Hang Seng Index - and the tosspot who masquerades as Hong Kong's current Chief Executive, Leung Chung D7689 (or something like that...).

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - Woodside, Quarry Bay

The large house that Irons is taken to by Maggie Cheung as she searches for remnants of her (probably made up) former life is better know as 'Woodside'. Sometimes referred to as the Red House, it's a former accommodation building for senior staff who were employed at the Tai Koo Sugar Refinery.

The refinery was demolished in the early 1970's (to be replaced largely by the Tai Koo Shing estate) and the Woodside building is one of the few remnants from those days.

These days it has been turned into the Woodside Biodiversity Education Centre and the ground floor is pretty much completely accessible for all those who make the short but steep journey up the hill. It's well worth a look if you are interested.

Anyway, here are the film captures.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - Mount Austin Road, The Peak

This place keeps cropping up every so often. It's the nameless connecting road between Mount Austin Road and Lugard Road up by the old umbrella seat.

Chinese Box - Jeremy Irons (1997) - South Wall Road, Kowloon City

The next scene involves Irons and Gong Li heading up to a rooftop in Kowloon City to watch the planes come roaring by as they land at the nearby Kai Tak Airport. Thankfully, the rather unique configuration of road around here allows us to see that they were on the roof top of #452 Prince Edward Road West at the junction with South Wall Road.

 Given the amount of change in this are over the past 10 years it's a bit surprising that we can identify anything at all, but the various elevated sections of Prince Edward Road and Argyle Street put us right at the far edge of Kowloon City. Sadly, the curved building immediately next door to their location (right side, bottom pic) has since been redeveloped into a high-rise monstrosity called Prince Ritz (Hong Kong residential building names are increasingly pretentious), however, the blue painted building in the background is still around and is the Katherine Building. The higher building in the far distance above Gong Li's head is the Astoria - located next to the Kowloon City Police Station along Argyle Street.