Hong Kong in the Time of Dr Sun Yat-sen

Dr Sun Yat-sen not only completed his studies in Hong Kong, he also used the city as a base for his revolutionary cause. What he saw and heard in the territory gave birth to the epoch-making revolutionary ideas of this great Chinese statesman.

Hong Kong in the mid-19th century was already an international trading port and home to branches of many foreign companies and banks. This picture shows the waterfront to the west of Pedder Street, Central in the 1870s, lined with foreign trading companies.

Hong Kong was already a metropolis with Chinese and foreign residents living side by side when Dr Sun Yat-sen first arrived here, with a large number of Chinese and Western shops. This picture shows Queen’s Road West in Sai Ying Pun in the 1910s, a typical Chinese community at that time.

From the mid-19th century onwards, Hong Kong became the door of Southern China and a hugely important shipping hub in the Far East, forming a global transportation network. This picture shows the Central harbour view in the 1870s, with many vessels berthed in the harbour.

The old pictures of the streets of Central a hundred years ago depict the social landscape of Hong Kong in the late 19th century. During the creative process, I specially added colours to the black-and-white fotomo photos in an attempt to restore the scenes of the old days and displayed them in a 3-dimensional relief. I want to give the viewers a sense of being there in the era of Dr Sun Yat-sen during the 19th century.

Alexis Ip

Currently a secondary school Visual Arts teacher, Alexis Ip graduated in Grantham College of Education, his FOTOMO work “the Blue House” and his pottery work “the Old Memories” were selected in the Hong Kong Arts Biennial 2005. His FOTOMO work “Hong Kong Image, Fa Yuen Street” is the winner of Hong Kong Contemporary Arts Award 2009. Alexis’ works are collected by Hong Kong Museum of Arts and overseas art lovers.