Tong Ho Chung Howard took this image on an afternoon of urban and street photography in the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong. He feels passionately about the history of the region where he was born and bred, and had hoped to capture what he regards as one of its most distinctive types of historical building – the corner house.
“Built on the intersection of two roads, they often contain a mixture of homes and shops,” Howard says. This corner house lies at the junction of Tung Choi Street and Shantung Street. “They’re one type of tong lau, which translates to ‘Chinese building’, first built in the 19th century. But in the urban renewal projects implemented here in recent years, such buildings are gradually being replaced by modern high-rises. It’s leaving Hong Kong without elements that would allow people to understand its authentic characteristics and history.”
Howard took this image from the building opposite using a Huawei P20 Pro. “In this rapidly changing world, I believe we should make good use of mobile photography to record the changes happening around us every day,” he says. As various lights shining on the building were washing out some of the authentic colours, Howard edited the image to make them more vibrant and eye-catching. “I hope this photo helps to capture a part of history.” Howard adds, “and maybe even entices people to visit and see it for themselves”.
• The subheading of this article was amended on 11 May 2025. An earlier version referred to the “country’s traditional corner house”; as the article itself indicates, the corner house is especially characteristic of architecture in Hong Kong, which is a territory.
