Streets of your city: A nostalgic walkabout through Hong Kong's NoHo

Revolution, prostitution ... and printing. That's just the beginning of NoHo's fascinating history of eclectic occupants. CNNGo strolls through the neighborhood taking photographs, meeting the people, and reflecting on the neighborhood's colorful past

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Though NoHo might now be known for dining, drinking and shopping, it was once associated with a few other things: revolution, prostitution ... and printing. First developed in the 1850s, shortly after the arrival of the British in Hong Kong, the area around Gough Street was a borderland between the city's European and Chinese quarters. Throughout the years, the neighborhood was home to Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary meetings, flourishing family-owned businesses, and a fast-growing red light district alongside a community of mistresses kept by merchants from across the border. Then, just a few years ago, the area began to attract businesses priced out of trendy SoHo. The NoHo moniker was born. Nearly all of the area's old shophouses have been redeveloped and even many of the walk-up apartment buildings built after World War II are being replaced by highrises. Even if the buildings are changing, though, it's still possible to get a sense of Noho's history. The government has installed signboards to mark important historical sites, including those where Sun Yat-sen lived, worked and studied. And the quiet, narrow streets themselves, linked by small laneways and stone steps, seem to recall another era. Below is a look at the people and the businesses who have watched NoHo evolve. A century ago, the area around Gough Street straddled two worlds -- and it still does today.

Kwong Wo Hing has been at the same spot on Aberdeen Street for over 40 years, which makes it one of NoHo's oldest traditional Chinese dispensaries.


"Rents are getting higher and the shops around here are changing," says Ngo, the medicinal shop owner who would only give his surname. "It doesn't make any difference to me. People still need Chinese medicine."


Before it was known for its designer boutiques and trendy restaurants, Gough Street was famous for its printing shops. Keung Hing Printing Press has made its home in NoHo for 30 years.


Siblings Dennis Tang and his sister Deledda have taken over the family printing business. "There's a lot of competition now from the mainland and internet printing services. That's why so many print shops have closed around here," the Tangs say.


When he wasn't soliciting support for his revolutionary plans to overthrow the Qing dynasty, Sun Yat-sen spent much of his time with friend Yang Heling who hosted revolutionary meetings in his family's store. Paul's Kitchen and a laundry occupy the site where it once stood.


On Wo Lane was also known as Yi Nai Lane ("mistress lane") because one merchant was so enamoured with his mistress he bought her all of the houses along the street -- or so legend has it. Today, funky shops such as Hong Kong's one and only fixed gear bike shop Rodafixa can be found here.


Noho's rents are still lower than elsewhere in Central, which has been a boon to the art scene. New galleries have flocked to the area, like Madhouse Contemporary, which focuses on Asian contemporary art and emerging Hong Kong artists.


Madhouse's curator Vicki Lui has been trying to come up with new ways to attract art lovers: "We want to create an art street here on Sundays to help amateur and local artists promote themselves."


But the gentrification of the area hasn't benefited everyone. This stall has been in the same spot for over 50 years and the Wong's who own it say business has been bad since Lan Kwai Fong Hotel opened across from them.


Mr. Wong and his wife sell lightbulbs, switchplates and other electronic accessories from their stall. They say that "People used to live around here and buy from us every day. Now we're lucky to make a few hundred dollars a day."


As the evening draws to a close, so too does Sing Heung Yuen, a dai pai dong at the corner of Gough Street and Mee Lun Street. This is one of the few remaining dai pai dongs that have operated since before 1956, when the government stopped issuing new dai pai dong licences.


Cans of Black and White brand evaporated milk are stacked in Sing Heung Yuen's kitchen. The milk is what gives Hong Kong-style milk tea and coffee its incomparable richness.


Remnants of old Hong Kong can still be found around Noho, such as folding metal shutters engraved with the names of their shops, creating a nostalgic atmosphere.