——Hong Kong Travel Notes
5:50 on May 14, 2019, we arrived in Lan Kwai Fong. The tour guide said that this is the most Western-style place in Hong Kong. Foreigners come here to relax, so when you come to Hong Kong, you must come here to experience it, so that you won’t know if others talk about it in the future.
Lan Kwai Fong is located in Central, Hong Kong, a small "L"-shaped street. Standing at the turning point and looking towards both sides, they are only a few dozen meters. On one side, they are still a big downhill, and the stores on both sides are also very average. To be precise, it feels a bit unclassic, and I really can't see anything attractive about it.
comes from the network
So how is it famous? It is said that a foreigner named Sheng Zhiwen first started to engage in Western-style catering here, which attracted foreigners nearby and foreigners to visit. It became tall and advanced, and locals also came to consume, which attracted others to open restaurants here to make gold, and eventually became famous.
It is reported that Sheng Zhiwen was born in Germany in 1950 and later moved to Canada with her mother. She went to Hong Kong for work reasons at the age of 19. Because he has built the unknown Lan Kwai Fong into a hot spot for Western nightlife, he has won the reputation of "Father of Lan Kwai Fong". In 2004, he became the chairman of Hong Kong Ocean Park. In 2008, he renounced Canadian nationality and joined Chinese nationality. In 2011, he was awarded the Great Bauhinia Medal from the Hong Kong government.
In the early 1980s, Lan Kwai Fong was still a world of flower shops, meat stalls and small printers. Sheng Zhiwen had a wise eye and had a fancy to this neighborhood, which was only a few minutes away from the heart of the central area, and opened his first restaurant, California. After the success of this restaurant, he continued to develop in the Lan Kwai Fong neighborhood, eventually building the Lan Kwai Fong neighborhood into a well-known entertainment destination in Hong Kong. He also established the Lan Kwai Fong Group and served as chairman.
How much influence is Lan Kwai Fong after becoming famous? It can be explained by a tragedy. At the end of 1992, a New Year celebration was held here, and 20,000 people were squeezed in, resulting in trampling, killing 21 people and 63 others injured.
When we arrived, it was still bright, and before we could go to the bar, there was no one in most bars. The pedestrians on the street looked like tourists like me, and they looked a little deserted.
Only a "ciao chow" next to the street sign of "Lan Kwai Fong" is already full of guests. It is said that this shop is an Italian bar, and the waiter communicates in English throughout the whole process, and they will look down on him when speaking Chinese. Five large wooden beer barrels were placed in front of his store, probably as a guide to attract customers. Of course, it may also be that there are too many people coming to the store to drink beer, and not making much reserves will be in short supply.
There are two people who actually use wooden barrels as bars and drink there. I don’t know if they deliberately maintain the tradition of drinking beer standing or because there is no seat. It looks like they are drinking happily.
The bars are equipped with high-legged round stools or high-legged backrest chairs. It is said that this is related to the Western tradition of drinking beer. When the West used to drink beer, they always stood up and drank it, so the bar was designed to be relatively high. Later, someone wanted to sit and drink, so he put on a high-legged seat. Some people also say that this can ensure that guests are not looked down upon by the waiter. In short, this is also the embodiment of Western tradition in Lan Kwai Fong.
There are also many "Lan Kwai Fong" in mainland China now. It is said that only Lan Kwai Fong in Chengdu is run by Hong Kong Lan Kwai Fong Group.
The street name of Lan Kwai Fong is not fashionable at all, but it has a bit of Chinese traditional culture. It is said that it comes from "Youthful Learning Qionglin·Father and Son" by Cheng Dengji in the late Ming Dynasty: "The descendants are well developed and are called Lan Gui Tengfang."
We stayed in Lan Kwai Fong for only seven or eight minutes (I really have nothing to see if I don't drink), and then we went to the adjacent stone street.
If Lan Kwai Fong reflects new trends, then Shiban Street carries the past.
Shiban Street is also on a large slope like Lan Kwai Fong, but the road surface in Lan Kwai Fong is flat, while the road surface of Shiban Street is uneven. The road surface of this street is made of long stone slabs horizontally, and is said to be for anti-slip.From this point of view, it is really unique, because such a staggered road is rare.
Hong Kong is known for its modernity, but there are still some old shops on this street, where people can see the past of Hong Kong.
In addition, the railings painted in black on the middle of the road and on the side of the road also have a sense of history. It is said that the railings in the middle of the road are mainly for passers-by to help them on rainy days.
Because of its uniqueness, some movies are also filmed here, which has attracted photography enthusiasts.
It is said that photographers often come here to take photos, but we didn’t have them on the day we went there, and it was all my group members taking photos.
