Looking back at Hong Kong’s iconic trams through the decades

A tram trundles through a street, surrounded by neon signs, in May 1994. Photo: Michael Tsui

Hong Kong’s iconic “ding ding” trams have trundled through the streets since 1904, the 115-year-old system a living symbol of the city’s rich history.

In these pictures from the South China Morning Post’s archives, we look at how both the trams and everything around them have changed over the decades.

A tram heading to Whitty Street in October 1967. Photo: SCMP

A tram pushes through a market on Chun Yeung Street in North Point in August 1969. Photo: Benson Lo

A passenger buys a ticket from a tram conductor in June 1971. Photo: Benson Lo

A tramways worker in August 1971. Photo: Chu Ming-hoi

A passenger on a new tram in July 1972. Photo: R. Yung

A new tramway on Des Voeux Road Central in November 1976. Photo: Robin Lam

A tram drives into King's Road from Tong Shui Street in North Point in September 1976. Photo: Sunny Lee

A new tram stop in Shau Kei Wan in November 1977. Photo: P.Y. Tang

Jaywalkers on King’s Road, in North Point, as a tram waits at a stop in July 1977. Photo: Chan Kiu

A tram from the Hongkong Tramways Company is one of 29 “floats” featuring in a parade in April 1977 celebrating the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth's coronation. Photo: P.Y. Tang

The depot at Sharp Street in 1978. Photo: C.Y. Yu

A tram in King’s Road, near North Point, in 1979. Photo: Robin Lam Kit

A tram passenger perches himself on the window railing in July 1984. Photo: Chan Kiu

A tram marshal, with his chair tied to the tram stop, at Western Market in November 1984. Photo: Sunny Lee

Trams locked nose to tail at Queensway after a power surge at a Harcourt Road sub-station held up eastbound traffic in May 1984. Photo: Sunny Lee

A Hong Kong Tramways staff member in a shelter monitors tram traffic in Wan Chai in July 1985. Photo: Sunny Lee

Young members of a brass quintet play in a tram, as part of a music festival in June 1985. Photo: Martin Chan

Schoolchildren jump over a big puddle after getting off a tram in Quarry Bay in June 1988. Photo: P.Y. Tang

The last tram leaving the Sharp Street depot in Causeway Bay in March 1989. Photo: Oliver Tsang

A tram passes by the 65-year-old Lee Theatre in Percival Street, Causeway Bay, in March 1991. The site has been redeveloped into a shopping plaza. Photo: Robert Ng

Trams running in front of the Methodist Church in Hennessy Road, Wan Chai, in 1992. Photo: SCMP

A tram provides refuge on a gloomy day in Hong Kong in May 1992. Photo: Mark Ralston

Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher waves hello to Hong Kong citizens from a tram in May 1993. Photo: Martin Chan

Trams have become moving billboards, like this one in May 1994. Photo: Michael Tsui

A tram trundles through a street, surrounded by neon signs, in May 1994. Photo: Michael Tsui

A collision between two trams at the junction of Percival Street and Hennessy Road in Causeway Bay resulted in a long queue of trams in December 1995. Photo: SCMP

A tram passes through narrow Chun Yeung Street in North Point in February 1995. Photo: SCMP

Trams crawl slowly through a crowd outside Happy Valley Racecourse in February 1995, when thousands of racegoers clamoured to witness the last race meeting before the track was renovated. Photo: SCMP

A new-look tram, introduced in 2000. Photo: Antony Dickson

Trams and drivers at the Whitty Street Tram Depot in May 2017. Photo: Dickson Lee

A tram in Central in 2018. Photo: Xiaomei Chen