...and Millions will die! - Richard Basehart (1973) - Aberdeen Praya Road

Another part of the opening car sequence sees the gunmen's car driving around the bend of Aberdeen Patraya and into Wu Nam Street along the waterfront. The floating restaurants nicely lit up in the background.

The Fighting Dragon - Yasuaki Kurata (1975) - Aberdeen Harbour

After meetimg up at the cemetery, the three head over to Aberdeen where Lung raises questions about the master's death. He's very suspicious of the circumstances and, lo-and-behold, they are suddenly attacked. The first shot shows the Sea Palace whilst the second one appears to show the lower railing of the Tai Pak. This was a year before the Jumbo (version 2) finally appeared on the scene in 1976.

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.

La Fine Dell'innocenza - Annie Belle (1976) - Aberdeen Harbour

Annie and "dad" go to a restaurant and before the food arrives, she decides to leave and go elsewhere with her new found frinds. The next scene shows them on board a few sampans with the various Aberdeen floating restaurants in the background.

The Black Dragon's Revenge - Ronnie Van Clief (1975) - Aberdeen Harbour, Aberdeen

The students go and speak to a local reporter who wrote an article about Bruce's death, but he tells them he will be killed if he says anything. The meeting takes place on a sampan in the middle of Aberdeen Harbour. An interesting point to note is that in the panning shot of the harbour, the Tai Pak is no where to be seen. It's possible it was being refurbished when the film was made because it did undergo some changes in structural design at some point between 1973 and 1975. The Sea Palace can be seen in the first few images though.

The Street Fighter - Sonny Chiba (1974) - Aberdeen Harbour, Hong Kong

From one harbour to another, the next shot in the brief HK-related opening scenes is a shot across the waters of Aberdeen towards the Tai Pak and Sea Palace floating restaurants. Judging from the ornate balustrade top in the right foreground, I would say this shot was taken from the old pontoon location at the waterfront that has since been reclaimed and now has the bus terminus sitting on top of it (today's Wu Nam Street).

Hong Kong (series) - Rod Taylor (1960) - Aberdeen Harbour, Aberdeen

In a brief scene, from Colonel Cat, shot in Aberdeen, Lloyd Bochman's Chief Inspector Campbell boards a sampan and makes his way over to what looks like the Sea Palace. I can't say for certain but the circular decoration close to where he boards looks very much like part of the ornamentation that used to be on the front of that, now disappeared, 'floating' restaurant.On an aside, you can see the old Police Station on the hill in the background.

This was footage used several times throughout the series and it occurs in a much longer version in the very last episode.

Hong Kong (series) - Rod Taylor (1960) - Aberdeen, Hong Kong

Episode 5 of the Hong Kong series is called Jade Empress. It's about a precious statuette that is being coveted by various people of dubious backgrounds and poor old Glenn Evans is led a right merry dance as the one charged with looking after it before a deal can be made.

Anyway, Aberdeen features extensively in this episode, both in the opening credits with a quick establishing shot of the harbour with Brick Hill in the background (top image) and then later during a long sequence when Evans visit the Sea Palace floating restaurant to help with the transaction.

Hong Kong (series) - Rod Taylor (1960) - The Sea Palace, Aberdeen Harbour

Another of the establishing shots at the beginning of the episode. This one shows the now defunct Sea Palace floating restaurant that used to be next to the Tai Pak in Aberdeen Harbour. In fact I believe that is the Tai Pak on the left of the screen. This series was filmed in 1960, so what you can see is the original Tai Pak restaurant that was later (around 1962) moved to Castle Peak Bay.

Felicity - Glory Annen (1978) - Aberdeen Harbour, Aberdeen

Aberdeen features several times throughout the film. From a walk along the waterfront during the day to a boat ride later and eventually dinner out at the Jumbo. The images below are from all three of these occasions.

Walking along the praya

Boat ride past the Sea Palace

 Finally, a night out on the Jumbo (with bonus shot of the Tai Pak)

And just when you think it can't get any better, here is a parting shot of the old power station on Ap Lei Chau.

Ghosts Can't Do It - Bo Derek (1989) - Aberdeen, Hong Kong

One of Quinn's older business partners tries to woo Bo during an intimate dinner on board a junk in Aberdeen Harbour. It's quite a nice scene with the brightly lit Jumbo Kingdom filling out the background. Notice that in 1989 the Jumbo "Kingdom" still consisted of all three restaurants (Jumbo, Tai Pak and Sea Palace), you can see the Sea Palace in the background of the top image. These days the sea palace has gone and the Tai Pak has been moved over to that side.

Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon - Sonny Chiba (1977) - Aberdeen, Hong Kong

Aberdeen and the area around it crops up a few times in this film, from a brief glimpse of the Tai Pak in the opening credits (first pic) to the main assassination scene when Golgo goes to the roof of a building (the Kwai Bo Industrial Building along Wong Chuk Hang Road) and tries to shoot his target who is presiding over the opening of a new swimming pool - in reality the Pao Yue Kong Swimming Pool Complex in Shum Wan.

Tai Pak and Sea Palace from the opening credits

The following shots are taken from the roof of the Kwai Bo Industrial Building. It still stands on the corner of Wong Chuk Hang Road and Nam Long Shan Road.

The old Ap Lei Chau power station at the back

Golgo's target is officiating over the opening of a new swimming pool. In 1977 it was the newly built Urban Council Aberdeen Swimming Pool, but since the disbandment of the democratically elected Urban Council (should give you a hint why it was disbanded following the handover), it is now called the Pao Yue Kong Swimming Pool - named in honour of the shipping magnate Sir Y.K. Pao.

In the top picture below we can see Chiba looking ocver to the swimming pool complex from the Kwai Bo Industrial Building rooftop. The collection of buildings in the centre of the picture is the "St Mary's Home for the Aged" - it's still around. Also still around is the school building at the top left of the picture - its the "San Wui Commercial Society of HK Chan Pak Sha School".

There is also a brief glimpse of the front entrance to the pool complex on Sham Wan Road. I've included some modern day Streetview images below for comparison.

Several buildings at the back are still evident (including the aforementioned Kwai Bo building - third left). The buildings at the top of the road in the film have been removed to make way for the new Wong Chuk Hang MTR station.

The building in the background centre-left of the Streetview picture (bottom) is the Aberdeen Marina Club.