The past and present life of No. 1 A

Since the British government leased the New Territories in 1889, the population of the Kowloon Peninsula has increased rapidly. The government has built a number of funeral facilities in the Yau Ma Tei area to meet the growing demand for burials. Although Yau Ma Tei remained the core area for burials in Kowloon until the early post-war period, demand for funeral facilities in Kowloon exceeded supply. While Hong Kong's first funeral parlor opened in Wan Chai in the 1930s, there has never been a funeral parlor facility in Kowloon.

In order to meet the urgent needs of residents in Kowloon District, the Urban Council opened a land for the construction of a funeral parlor at the end of 1957, and it was finally awarded by an organization headed by Xiao Ming. The Kowloon Funeral Parlor was officially opened on May 21, 1959, which brought convenience to many residents. Based on its modern design and willingness to donate coffins to the poor, residents responded well and accepted the funeral parlor to be located in the district.

According to news materials, hundreds of people celebrated the opening day, with Chinese and Western bands taking turns to play, and flower cards piled up in mountains. The funeral parlor was also described as beautiful, with perfect design, innovative equipment and management, and was the leader in the funeral industry in the Far East.

A new funeral parlor in a mixed industrial-residential area

In order to better understand the views of the residents of Tai Kok Tsui on the funeral parlor at that time, this newspaper interviewed Mr. Fong Kai-po, who moved his former home and paper shop "Po Yuen Hao" to Tai Kok Tsui in the early 1960s. Talking about the Kowloon Funeral Parlor, Mr. Fong said that before the store moved to Tai Kok Tsui, his father had performed his funeral here. This is because the Kowloon Funeral Parlor is the only funeral parlor in Kowloon, and the arrangements are more thoughtful and there is enough space for relatives to stay vigil and pay homage. ceremony.

Mr. Fong continued that since the 1950s, Tai Kok Tsui has been known as the "cradle of industry" and has given birth to many industrial giants. Before the funeral parlor was built, there were already numerous shipyards and oil depots, as well as a series of hardware stores and copycat factories. Of course, there were also various "people's livelihood shops" like Baoyuanhao that responded to the daily needs of the neighbors.

In fact, the Tai Kok Tsui neighborhood had already accepted the existence of the funeral parlor at that time. Students who attended classes in the factory area ended at 1 pm during summer time. If they did not want to go home too early and had spare money, they could go to the nearby large funeral parlor next to the Kowloon Funeral Parlor. They would eat at a stall and even take the opportunity to walk into the funeral parlor to enjoy the free air-conditioning. The staff are also very friendly to the students sitting quietly aside and will let them "sigh".

Mr. Fang pointed out that "all people will die" and funeral homes are just facilities that serve the needs of the public. For Mr. Fang, who sells incense, candles and stationery, it is also a business partner. When the employees of the funeral home come to pick up the goods, they will record it. Then every once in a while, Mr. Fang will go to the funeral home to collect fees.

Transformation of Tai Kok Tsui - Conflicts between funeral homes and the community

Later, Hong Kong's shipbuilding and shipbuilding industry declined. The Tai Kok Tsui dock and oil depot closed down one after another in the 1970s, and the manufacturing industry was not as prosperous as it was in the past. Most factories had already moved north in the 1980s.

The government announced the "Rose Garden Project" in 1989 and launched the West Kowloon reclamation project. With the opening of the Olympic Station in 1998 and the completion of the Bank of China and HSBC Centre, Tai Kok Tsui, which was originally a mixture of industrial and residential areas, has transformed into a mixed commercial and residential community.

Different from the period when the funeral parlor was first built, today's Tai Kok Tsui is completely different from the industrial powerhouse of the past, both in terms of population and geographical appearance. What was a "glossy" funeral home back then may have become an "out of place" building today. In early Internet forums, you can see that some netizens believed that funeral parlors did not comply with today's environmental hygiene and were harmful to the city's appearance.

Once the leader in the Far East, now it is in a dilemma

The district councilor had proposed the relocation of the funeral parlor as early as 2009. Although the matter has not yet been implemented, the Kowloon funeral parlor received the opinions of the neighbors and replaced the furnace with an environmentally friendly furnace in 2010 in order to reduce the problem of air ash. It can be seen that The funeral home has tried to cooperate.

At the Food and Environmental Hygiene Committee of Yau Tsim Mong District Council in 2013, district councilors mentioned that the ash problem had improved, but still pointed out that “with the current development, it is really inappropriate for residents to coexist in the community with a Kowloon funeral parlor that has been operating for more than 50 years. The time limit for the use of land for funerals will also hinder the long-term development of the area."

On the other hand, there is also a lot of opposition to Hung Hom, the rumored relocation location of the Kowloon funeral parlor. Hung Hom District already has a large number of funeral facilities concentrated in it. Rumors about the relocation of Kowloon funeral parlors have caused a stir among the residents, fearing that Hung Hom will become a "funeral paradise". Due to the "NIMBY mentality", even if the Kowloon funeral home implements its relocation, no matter where the destination is, it will be in a "dilemma" situation.

This newspaper interviewed Ms. He Jian (Angel), the business manager of the Kowloon funeral home, and she said that she has not received any news of relocation to Hung Hom. But when asked about her personal wishes, she said that moving to Hung Hom might be more inconvenient because she was used to serving in Tai Kok Tsui and considered herself a "Tai Kok Tsui neighborhood".

| Miss Ho Kin’s visit will be held at Kok Tawakening - Tai Kok Tsui Community Newspaper @TKTawakening Facebook page.

Transform together with Tai Kok Tsui

Angel has been working in a funeral parlor for 13 years. She admitted that she has stayed in Tai Kok Tsui much longer than the area where she lives. She can't live without Tai Kok Tsui to eat or go out for fun. She has also noticed that there are more young people in recent years. , there are more luxury houses and more small shops, and the whole area is much more energetic.

In the area around Betfair Road, Yangsong Street, and Fuk Chuen Street where the funeral parlor was built, you can still see the factory buildings that were used for manufacturing in the past. Although the ground floors are still old shops such as hardware shops and garages, there are now more young people renting and renovating them. The unit upstairs is used for hair salon, studio, band room and other purposes.

Earlier, we collected people's questions about the funeral home on social platforms. Some neighbors asked whether the funeral home would consider renovation to improve the gloomy environment. In fact, in addition to the environmentally friendly furnace mentioned above, the Kowloon Funeral Home carried out a renovation project in 2008.

A number of modern equipment were added to the project, and one of the more special ones is believed to be the conversion of the entire third floor of the museum into a silent floor to provide a quiet place to hold memorial ceremonies. To this day, the chapel of the Kowloon Funeral Parlor is still the only chapel in Hong Kong specifically designed for funerals. It is believed that these renovations are to cater to the social demand for funerals in recent years.

Beauty needs to be discovered

People usually pass by the funeral parlor, or they just walk past it in a hurry. Even if they look back for a moment, looking at the weathered exterior wall, they may just think it is an old-style building, but in fact it is not as dilapidated as imagined, and the interior is more beautiful. The decoration, neat partitions, stained glass, and the original church can all see the timeless side.

Mentioning the driving force behind Angel's work - the neighbors' proactive greetings to her, the snacks given to them because they were worried that they would be hungry after working all night... These concerns were enough to make her feel that she really existed in this community, and she even met some of the neighbors. My parents and even my grandparents all held funerals at the Kowloon Funeral Home. These are the connections I have built with the community over the years.

The Kowloon Funeral Parlor located on Maple Street is like an old tree, rooted in the community of Tai Kok Tsui. Everyone likes to sit quietly and watch the changes of maple leaves with the seasons. Are you willing to stop and watch the fleeting changes around you today?

Reporter: Pumpkin, Fred | Photography: Belle