Once upon a time, liveried guards were stationed at most high-end establishments and affluent homes around Hong Kong – now, they’re a rare throwback to a bygone era

Cantopop didn’t begin with Anita Mui or Jacky Cheung, but with the humble studios of post-war Hong Kong

Diplomacy, a Chinese mermaid, and the ever tenacious ‘Sonny Sales’ – the locally-born Portuguese chair of Hong Kong’s Olympic Committee – are all part of the city’s Olympic legacy

Back in the golden days of travel, holiday attire was serious business, and with only two evening jackets required, men had it relatively easy

Men with a certain bearing – often former military – were paid to walk round department stores like Lane Crawford and Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co keeping an eye out

Recent attempts to revitalise the city’s after-hours attractions may have been met with a lukewarm response, but Hong Kong’s night markets once played a vital role in the city’s social fabric

A refugee from mainland China who swam to Hong Kong at the third attempt tells Jason Wordie about getting caught, his ‘shocking’ prison experience, and his barrister son who helps asylum seekers.

Hong Kong supermarkets have gone from places with dress codes and English-speaking staff that served the wealthy elite to the ubiquitous neighbourhood stores of today.

Mosquitoes have long been a feature of life in Hong Kong and various methods have been devised to thwart the bloodthirsty pests, from kerosene in the drinking water to now-nostalgic nets.

Eduardo Brazão encouraged Hong Kong’s Portuguese community to better appreciate themselves, but his enthusiasm was not widely shared.

Racial terms historically directed at Europeans and Eurasians in Asia ran the gamut from ghosts and devils to cow stink and ‘three-quarters of a rupee’.

Chinese families that conceal ethnic difference, despite appearances to the contrary, have long caused the loss of their own heritage.

As the political climate in Hong Kong restricts the scope of topics for academic research, the centres of serious ‘Hong Kong Studies’ are now to be found far from the city’s shores.

Writer-lawyer Henrique de Senna Fernandes’ works paint a Macau as seen through the eyes of a nostalgic local who truly loved his hometown.

Amateur dramatics helped alleviate the boredom of prisoners of war during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, and creating the costumes involved every inch of innovation the inmates could muster.

Pearl of the Orient, a city of myriad lights – Hong Kong was promoted to 1930s visitors by China’s Nationalist government much as it would be for decades afterwards. No sedan chair rides these days, though.

Tourists to Hong Kong have long been fed rote-learned clichés about its history by uninspiring and uninspired guides. In today’s new normal, who would dare risk offering them anything different?

Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly, Shaftesbury Avenue: names given to the tunnels of Hong Kong’s Shing Mun Redoubt. Yet their occupants in 1941 were Scots for whom London was in a foreign land.

Chiang Mai’s foreign cemetery not only contains Hong Kong-made tombstones, but also bear testament to the educational ties that once bound northern Thailand to Hong Kong.

After World War II, Henri Vetch built a publishing career in China before being jailed for plotting to assassinate Mao Zedong and later taking the helm of the freshly minted Hong Kong University press.

Gimmicks like fireworks and drone shows that all but the most backward Chinese cities look down upon are not the answer to Hong Kong tourism’s problems. Tourists want authentic experiences.

For many Hong Kong POWs, the abundance of time the Japanese occupation afforded allowed latent artistic talents to blossom.

Hong Kong residents have been chuckling away at amusing T-shirt slogans since the 1980s, but only the foolish or careless are laughing now.

Humble roadside food stalls introduced hungry Hongkongers to spicy but affordable South Asian delicacies that originated in the British Army garrisons stationed across the New Territories.

Conversations with the late Billie Gill, a fixture of the literary scene in Shanghai, China, in the 1930s, make up fond memories for one writer, who recalls two enjoyable days spent in her company.

An eccentric Hong Kong University English teacher in the late 1930s, Adrian Paterson absorbed Chinese culture with an enthusiasm that left its mark on his students long after his earthly tenure ended.

The 1.5 million refugees from China’s civil war who flooded post-war Hong Kong were practical folks. The fruit trees and bushes they planted are a legacy of the squatter settlements they once inhabited.

Healthy and full of protein, soybeans have been a popular foodstuff in China for centuries. Here’s how they’re processed, made into products like soy sauce – and used in Cantonese to refer to lesbians.

They are a staple in many a home throughout Hong Kong during Lunar New Year, but not all golden citrus fruits are born equal.

From zodiac predictions and what to wear, to traditions, the wood element and lucky foods, numbers, stones and colours, this is your complete Lunar New Year guide for the Year of the Dragon 2024.