Like any country’s history, Hong Kong’s is incredibly rich and multifaceted. One way we can understand the history of Hong Kong is through cinema – the buildings themselves, narrative and how their developments have both shaped and been shaped by political, historic, and language events in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong cinemas were a popular form of entertainment spanning diverse populations during the twentieth century now. Due to the tight residential space and growing population, cinemas were a place to escape, to see friends, a pinnacle of community in villages all the way to the upper echelons of society. This visualization maps the spread of cinemas across Hong Kong territory, the political contexts that gave way to their development, and the narratives of individuals whose everyday lives had been shaped by the cultural experience of a cinema.
How to read map:
Sources:
- Gwulo
- Cinema Treasures
- South China Morning Post, SCMP
- Making Hong Kong: A History of its Urban Development, Pui-yin Ho
- Architectural Services Department, Hong Kong
- Thought Co
- National Geographic
- Wikimedia Commons