This panorama depicts Nos. 24-38 Tonkin Street, and features two classic tong lau buildings from the mid-1950’s. Situated at the boundary of Cheung Sha Wan and Sham Shui Po districts, these mixed-use blocks provided residential homes in the upper floors and retail units on the ground floor for more than 60 years. In 2020, the Urban Renewal Authority began a redevelopment project requiring the demolition of these buildings, which will be replaced by a high-rise block of around 175 new apartments.
Fuk Wing Street, seen at the right of the photograph, is also known locally as “Toy Street”, due to a cluster of more than 30 stores selling affordable toys, stationery and party accessories further to the south in Sham Shui Po.
In April 2006, drainage workers uncovered more than 580 explosive items, including cannon shells, bullets and grenades. These were buried between 1 and 3 metres beneath the surface at Tonkin Street and Fuk Wing Street. The material had belonged to the British Army around the period of World War II and local residents were temporarily evacuated to allow ammunition experts from the Hong Kong Police Force to safely detonate the devices.
