Bruce Lee: True Story - Ho Chung Tao (1976) - Mongkok Road, Mongkok

A bit of nostalgia for me because this was part of my old VHS collection when I was still at school (we're talking circa 86/87) so I spent a good many hours rewatching. I hadn't seen it for a good 30 years when my good friend, AP, sent me a copy and I was quite surprised by how many of the scenes I recalled immediately. For those who don't know, this film (also known as Bruce Lee: The Man, The Myth) was Ng See Yuen's attempt at a "biopic" of Bruce Lee. To be fair, it's not a bad portrayal and no more far-fetched than Rob Cohen's Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.

A fair bit was filmed around Bruce's old haunts in the US (Seattle, San Francisco etc) before the action moves to Hong Kong but there is a scene early in the film as Bruce (Ho Chung Tao) goes to visit his sifu, Yip Man, for one last bit of practice before moving to the US. In the film, Yip Man was portrayed by Yip Man's real son, Yip Chun, and the venue for this farewell scene was (apparently) Sifu Chiu Wan's school, located at 28 Mongkok Road.

I have no idea if the school is still around but the plaque at the back reads (r-l) 詠春正統 or "Orthodox Wing Chun", and was supposedly given to Sifu Chiu Wan by Yip Man himself.

If you are a Wing Chun expert and can add (or correct) anything about the school and its Sifu then please feel free to comment below.

Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong - Jamie Chung (2015) - Mongkok Road, Kowloon

A familiar sight to anyone that followed my Strangers/White Dragon posts last year. They should be able to recognise the pedestrian walkway that sits above Mongkok Road. This looks like it was shot from the top of the Fa Yuen Street exit (which you can see the bottom of on the lower right).

Strangers - John Simm (2018) - Fa Yuen Street, Mongkok

I shall end the episode 3 posts of this series with a nice view up Fa Yuen Street in Mongkok which most people will be familiar with from its famous (but low quality) street market. Obviously this is the view that can be seen from the Mongkok Road walkway so for a bit of a Brucey bonus, I have also put an image of that in at the bottom ( as seen from the FEHD building).

Mongkok Road walkway

L'Inconnue de Hong Kong - Dalida (1963) - Aerial View of Kowloon Part 2

Moving to the north slightly for our next set of three pictures and the top left hand side of the top picture shows Kadoorie Hill. You can see it move to the right as the camera pans left. The main road that runs from the bottom left of the picture past the right hand side of Kadoorie Hill is, of course, Argyle Street and you can actually see more of it in the middle picture. On top of Kadoorie Hill you can make out the vague shape of the Diocesan Boys School, although the playing field is more obvious as a bare patch. Just to the right of that is St George' Court built in 1961.

To the right of Kadoorie Hill is an empty patch of ground next to Waterloo Road. It was once a hill but at the time of filming was being formed for the construction of the developments around what would become Man Fuk Road and Man Wan Road. The first block to be completed here was Sunlight Garden in 1964 - this place is perhaps more famous for being Bruce Lee's home when he first returned to Hong Kong to launch his movie career in 1971.

Look carefully along Argyle Street in the next picture and you can make out the KCR rail bridge about halfway along the road just at the tip of Kadoorie Hill. In the bottom centre veering right is Mongkok Road - perhaps better known now as the road that has the pedestrian walkway running down part of its length. Look carefully on the left hand side and you should be able to make out what looks like a river channel/nullah. This is the famous nullah that gives Nullah Road its name and as far as I know the waterway still runs underneath the road. I may pop down one day and see how much of the nullah is still visible.

The last picture below shows a little more of the Tai Hang Tung area. The large open space is still open today and consists of Tai Hang Tung recreation ground and Fa Hui Park on the other side of Boundary Street. In fact if you look closely you can see Boundary Street running through the middle of it all. On this side is the Boundary St recreation ground and the running track of what is now Mongkok Stadium. Splitting the open ground in two on the left side is the southern end of Yau Yat Chuen and at the very tip you can make out the still standing Yau Yat Chuen School.

Anyway, lots to see but too much to mention here. A little more to come in the next post.