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.

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

North Kowloon Magistracy - Now and Then

I used to live in the area and was always walking past this rather magnificent building on the way to and from Shek Kip Mei. Before moving apartments I made an effort to actually stop and try to capture some comparisons with some of the screencaps I took from Donnie Yen's excellent Flash Point. He may not be the world's best actor but Donnie has been and still remains, even in his 60s, one of Hong Kong's foremost action movie stars. I for one am looking forward to John Wick: Caine (currently filming in Hong Kong as I write this in August 2026 - along with Henry Cavill's Highlander reboot, apparently).

The North Kowloon Magistracy building was constructed in 1960 and served as the main courtroom for most of Kowloon - particularly following the closure/repurposing of the South Kowloon Magistracy on Gascoigne Road which now serves as the Lands Tribunal. For several years the building was leased to the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) but that rather useful repurposing came to a shuddering halt following the imposition of strict Covid regulations in 2020. Other than a bit of a touch-up the following year - mainly to remove the SCAD sign from above the main entrance - the building appears to have just been sitting empty for the past 6 years. It's such a shame because it's a great building, but I suspect the internal layout and location might make it difficult to repurpose as anything other than some sort of adult education centre.

If you have seen Flash Point, you will know that the main antagonist, Archer (Ray Lui), goes to court after being caught by the police. He has to surrender his travel documents but otherwise can go free.

Kent Road Garden - Now and Then

The Kowloon Tong Estate is littered with small parks and rest areas and one of those quite familiar to me is Kent Road Garden. I spent a good few years living nearby and walking past here quite a lot on the way to Festival Walk.

You may remember a few months ago it was one of the locations seen in The Taxi Driver, so here are some modern day comparisons. You can't see it now because of the small tree in the way, but the circular canopy/pavilion is still in the park. It now has benches underneath it.

Most of the older, original houses of the Kowloon Tong Estate have long since been redeveloped along with their perimeter walls. It looks like the garden was much greener back in the 1970s. It's green now, but not green enough to cover the big ugly modern house in the background.

This image below may show one of the only remaining old walls. This wall belongs to #27 Kent Road, which is one of the original European-style villas that still survives virtually unchanged since it was first built - almost 100 years ago! 

Guia Fort - Now and Then

The last comparison images from my brief sojourn in July into Macau is from Guia Fort. One of the best value things to do is to ride up Guia hill in the little cable car. It's dirt cheap and is a welcome relief from the summer heat (it was sweltering when we were there). Make sure you check out the small tunnels under the fort as well. The comprison shots I'm using here are from Challenge of the Tiger, filmed in 1982.

This is the front of the chapel

One of the buildings below the lighthouse

Templo de Pou Chai, Macau - Now and Then

Not far from Lou Lim Ioc Garden is the famous old Pou Chai Temple (Templo de Pou Chai). Also known as Kun Iam Temple, it was the location of the signing of the first Sino-American treaty (Treaty of Mong Ha) in 1844. There used to be a stone table where the signing took place, but on my recent trip I couldn't find it. I believe it was also once the location of a kidnapping attempt on Fu Tak Iam - Macau's first casino tycoon before it was wrestled from his grasp by Stanley Ho and Henry Fok et al via STDM.

For the purpose of this blog, it's connection to the film world comes from Narazumono (aka An Outlaw) where it was used as the Hong Kong location of the drug gang boss.

I've tried to get some comparisons but my reference material was hindered by the extreme amount of sunlight on the day - meaning I couldn't really see properly - but you get the general idea from the comparisons.

The temple remains largely unchanged since 1964, but you will notice that the large tree on the right in the first image below has been replaced by a small annex building. There looks to have been some changes on the temple roof, but this is hardly surprising given that we have had 62 years worth of typhoons to contend with since the film was made. It's not surprising that some of the Shekwan pottery has gone missing/been replaced.

In terms of the alleyway shot, there are actually two alleyways that run either side of the central altar buildings and it's not easy to tell which one they used in the film. They both look exacatly the same to the point where I can't remember which one it is I have used below for my comparison.

The final images show one of the smaller shrine rooms (on the east side of the complex I think) and the film image is largely obscured by the dark patch on the left used for the Japanese screen titles. In reality the room is quite open and behind the darkened bit is the shrine area.

The front gatehouse above has had an annex added on the right

The main temple roof

One of the side alleyways

Lou Lim Ioc Garden, Macau - Now and Then

I recently spent a very brief afternoon in Macau - I was on a 3-day trip to neighbouring Zhuhai and quickly popped in with the family to get some snaps of a few places for these comparison posts. First up is Lou Lim Ioc/Ieoc (last word is pronounced Yeoc, Macau romanises Cantonese "Y" sounds to "I") Garden. I have previously written "Ieoc" on my posts of this place, but I notice the official spelling is "Ioc".

The place is free to enter - as are most of these locations in Macau, and you can either go in through the main vehicle gateway on Estrada de Adolfo Loureiro (see the first images below for Game of Death) or enter through the tea museum (Casa Cultural de Chá de Macau) on Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida. It's worth a look if you have the time and benefits from aircon on a hot day.

This location has been used copious amounts of times for both local and foreign movie productions. Perhaps the most famous local movie is Drunken Master where the venue stands in for Jackie Chan's kung fu school. Sadly, the main building was closed when we were there but I was still able to get this general picture of the area where Dean Shek tortures Chan with some rigid horse-stance training. The building in the background is not the main house, but a smaller annex building within the garden. I couldn't quite recreate the further back/higher angle of the movie because there are plants obscuring the view, so this is the best comparison for the time being. Andi has a more comprehensive Drunken Master post over on his blog.

Drunken Master (1978)

One of the main foreign productions to feature the garden more extensively is China Cry, released in 1990. The garden and its buildings stand in for the pre-war Shanghai home of Julia Nickson's character, Sung Neng Yee. The following moon gate is located on the left side of the building seen in the images above.

Moon gate/arch

This is a view of the rear of the main house

also the rear, but on the other side

The pavilion and bridge is located in the NE of the garden

Perhaps one of the better-known "foreign" movies shot here is the 1978 travesty that goes by the name of Game of Death. A film most Bruce Lee purists would rather was consigned to the bin. The only real change I noticed between 1978 and now, and even since the last time I visited about 10 years ago, is that the lily pond has been completely cleared of the lilies, so now it's just...a pond.

It looks like they still have the same wrought iron gates in place 

This is the same area where the main fight scene takes place

Okay, not the best match for the angle, but you get the idea

For the final comparison I've tried to replicate another view, this time from Tai Pan. The difference here is forty years - Tai Pan was released in 1986. In the film, this is the extravagant home of the main character, Dirk Struan (Bryan Brown). Quite a few scenes were shot here but in parts of the garden that have since been renovated/changed. This shot shows the side rear of the main property.