Hong Kong 73 - Yueh Hua (1974) - Tai Lin, Nathan Road

Chan's (Yueh Hua) dad is the manager at the Tai Lin Radios store on Nathan Road. This was a real place and a real business that sadly went into administration following the 2008 financial crisis. Despite this the large Chinese sign outside the shop stayed in place for many years and was a sort of local landmark - knowing its location (at #310) has certainly helped me locate a few places on the blog in the past.

Ein Sarg aus Hong Kong - Heinz Drache (1964) - Nathan Road, Kowloon

Next up in our bus journey is the junction of Nathan and Jordan Roads in Kwun Chung. This one shows a few things of interest.

The first thing I notice is the appearance of New Lucky House on the right hand side replete with its still very recognisable paint scheme. This building was opened in 1964 (the same year this film was made) and it looks as though the cameras have captured it just prior to being ready - it still has to have its windows installed.

Next up is the yellow sign at the far end of New Lucky House. Locals will already recognise this as a sign for Tai Lin electronics, but I had no idea that the company was in that same spot all the way back in the 60's. Sadly Tai Lin became a victim of the 2008 financial crisis and closed shop but the sign (or at least the most recent version of it) was still there the last time I looked. It was a fairly iconic bit of neon (we last saw it on this blog when I was researching locations for Albert Pyun's Hong Kong '97).

Finally, on the left hand side you can see there is a fair amount of space between the pavement and the building that sits just next to it. These days the place is occupied by the Champion Building (built 1977) and all that open space is gone, but prior to that it was the site of a grand old building called Wong Tong Kee (黃棠記) mansion. You can read a little more about it here on Gwulo.com where you can see a picture of it in more detail including the perimeter wall enclosing the private garden (hence the extra space).

Sadly, when the mansion was demolished, the Champion Building was constructed right up to the plot boundary and the area these days has a much more closed in feel as you can see from the Streetview picture below.

Hong Kong 97 - Robert Patrick (1994) - May Ming Building, Nathan Road

Here's a sad reminder of the recent past: a local electronics retail chain called Tai Lin (泰林) that went bust a few years ago. The outlet at 310 - 312 Nathan Road (in the May Ming Building) might not have been its flagship store (or perhaps it was, I don't know?) but it was perhaps the best known due to the huge neon sign stuck to the outside. Here it is in the film.

I haven't been past recently to notice whether or not the ground floor premises are still empty...they certainly were a year or two back when I last past the place. The 2010 Streetview shows pretty much how it looked the last time I was there (and was paying attention). The sign still on display.