1920 · 元朗
Hang Heung is founded in Yuen Long in the 1920s, beginning as a traditional tea house before specialising in Chinese pastries such as the wife cake.
Memory A century-old Yuen Long bakery, pioneer of white lotus paste and wife cakes, one of Hong Kong's enduring food brands.
Background Hang Heung was founded in Yuen Long in 1920, beginning as a traditional tea house before turning to Chinese pastries, introducing signature items such as the wife cake and pioneering white lotus paste. Yuen Long was then a thriving market town, and tea houses and bakeries served the surrounding villages and market crowds, a rural commercial setting in which Hang Heung took root. For over a century it has remained an old and established bakery in Hong Kong, its pastries known as part of the continuation of local Chinese baking craft.
Source Hang Heung: wife cake century heritage（Hang Heung Cake Shop Company Limited） · official publication
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1920-01-01 · 淺水灣（南區）
The Repulse Bay Hotel opens, inaugurated by Governor Stubbs, a celebrated pre-war resort hotel.
Memory Opened by Governor Stubbs, it was a pre-war retreat for the elite and its style shaped later Repulse Bay development.
Background The Repulse Bay Hotel opened in 1920, inaugurated by Governor Stubbs, and served as a celebrated retreat for the colony's elite and expatriate residents before the war. Sited on the Repulse Bay waterfront, its colonial architecture and location helped set the tone for later housing and leisure development of the area. The Antiquities Advisory Board later gave the building a historic grading, recognising its place in Hong Kong's architectural and leisure history.
Source Antiquities Advisory Board: The Repulse Bay Hotel Appraisal（Antiquities Advisory Board） · official publication
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1921 · 灣仔
Wan Chai undergoes major reclamation in the 1920s–1930s; the coastline moves northward and Gloucester Road is built on the reclaimed land.
Memory The reclamation created Gloucester Road and today's Wan Chai North, leaving the former waterfront road inland.
Background Wan Chai underwent major reclamation in the 1920s and 1930s, moving its original coastline northward. The reclaimed land carried Gloucester Road and formed today's Wan Chai North, while the former waterfront road was left inland. The Wan Chai District Council records that the works began in 1921 and ran from 1921 to 1929, with some documents giving completion in 1931. The reclamation changed the district's shoreline and road pattern and provided land for later urban development.
Source Wan Chai District Council: Wan Chai Coastline Heritage Trail（Wan Chai District Council） · official publication
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1921 · 灣仔
Southorn Playground is built on land reclaimed during the 1921–1929 Wan Chai reclamation, the district’s main public recreational ground.
Memory Named after an early businessman, the ground has long been Wan Chai's main outdoor sports and public gathering space.
Background Southorn Playground was built on land reclaimed during the 1921–1929 Wan Chai reclamation and is the district's main public recreational ground. It is named after Southorn, an early businessman. The ground has long served residents as a place for outdoor sport and public gatherings and holds a place in the community's life. The Wan Chai District Council confirms it stands on that reclaimed land, though the 1934 opening year has not been confirmed by a first-hand official source.
Source Wan Chai District Council: Wan Chai Coastline Heritage Trail — Southorn Playground（Wan Chai District Council） · official publication
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1921 · 黃大仙區
The Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple is founded here, later giving the district its name.
Memory Alchemist Leung Yan-por brought the statue to Hong Kong in 1915 and relocated the temple to its present site in 1921.
Background The Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple was founded at its present site in Chuk Yuen in 1921; official records give only the year, and the exact date of its opening rituals cannot be verified. The alchemist Leung Yan-por had brought the sacred statue to Hong Kong in 1915 and later moved the temple to this location. The temple went on to give the Wong Tai Sin district its name, and the New Year custom of offering the first incense stick originated here.
Source AMO: Wong Tai Sin Temple founded 1921（Antiquities and Monuments Office） · official publication
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1921-03 · 尖沙咀（前九廣鐵路鐘樓）
The clock of the former Kowloon-Canton Railway station's Clock Tower in Tsim Sha Tsui begins operation; it is declared a monument in 1990.
Memory Part of the KCR Tsim Sha Tsui terminus, the tower's clock later became a harbourfront landmark.
Background The Tsim Sha Tsui Clock Tower was originally part of the Kowloon-Canton Railway's terminus on the harbourfront; its main structure was completed in 1915, while its clock began operating in March 1921. When the KCR terminus was later relocated, the tower was preserved as one of the few surviving structures of the old station. It became a landmark on the Victoria Harbour waterfront and was declared a monument in 1990. It remains a recognisable landmark in Tsim Sha Tsui today.
Source AMO: Former Kowloon-Canton Railway Clock Tower (Monument No. 43)（Antiquities and Monuments Office） · official publication
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1922 · 灣仔（跑馬地）
The Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital is founded (as The Yeung Wo Nursing Home) with 28 beds, becoming a leading private hospital.
Memory Beginning as a sanatorium with only a few beds, it grew into one of Hong Kong's leading private hospitals.
Background The Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital was founded in 1922, originally as the Yeung Wo Nursing Home, with only 28 beds, and later grew into one of Hong Kong's leading private hospitals. Located in Happy Valley, it started as a sanatorium and gradually expanded its medical services. In an era when the public hospital system was still limited, private medical institutions played a supporting role in providing care to the local population, and it has continued to operate as a private hospital in the city.
Source HKSH: about Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital（HKSH Medical Group） · official publication
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1924 · 深水埗（通州街）
The Sham Shui Po Ferry Pier opens as a key cross-harbour link for local residents to Central.
Memory The pier was the main ferry hub between Sham Shui Po/Cheung Sha Wan and Central, later eclipsed by better road links.
Background The Sham Shui Po Ferry Pier opened in 1924 and became the main ferry hub for residents of Sham Shui Po and Cheung Sha Wan travelling to Central. In an era when road links were still limited, ferries were an important means of cross-harbour commuting, and the pier was once busy with passengers. As road and tunnel transport improved, demand for the ferries declined and the pier's role gradually faded. The official record notes only the year of opening, not the exact date.
Source HAD 18 Districts: Sham Shui Po heritage（Home Affairs Department） · official publication
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1924 · 大嶼山（昂坪）
Po Lin Monastery on Ngong Ping, Lantau is formally named in 1924, becoming a substantial centre for Buddhist practice.
Memory Three monks began a hermitage in 1906; the Tian Tan Buddha beside the monastery was completed in 1993 (already recorded).
Background Po Lin Monastery on Ngong Ping, Lantau, was formally named in 1924 and developed into a substantial Buddhist centre for practice. Its origins trace back to 1906, when three monks established a hermitage known as the "Great Thatched Hut" as a place for spiritual retreat. The 1924 naming marked its growth from a small hermitage into a formal monastery. The monastery was later expanded, and in 1993 the Tian Tan Buddha was completed beside it, making Ngong Ping a religious and visitor landmark.
Source HAD "Districts of Hong Kong Culture": Po Lin Monastery（Home Affairs Department） · official publication
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1925
The first recorded flight in Hong Kong takes place at Kai Tak.
Memory From this point Kai Tak grows from a small airfield, serving civil and military use for decades.
Background Hong Kong's first recorded flight took place at Kai Tak in 1925; the Civil Aviation Department dates it to Lunar New Year's Day that year, though the corresponding Gregorian date has not been separately verified. Kai Tak began as open ground usable for flying and gradually developed into a small airfield serving both civil and military purposes for years. This record marks the start of aviation activity in Hong Kong and laid the groundwork for Kai Tak's later role as an international airport.
Source CAD: Kai Tak Airport 1925–1998（Civil Aviation Department） · official publication
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1925 · 香港（香港電話有限公司）
The Hong Kong Telephone Company is established, taking over local telephone services under a 50-year franchise.
Memory Hong Kong Telephone took over local service under a long franchise and later became part of Hong Kong Telecom.
Background The Hong Kong Telephone Company was established in 1925, taking over local telephone services and receiving a 50-year franchise from the government that gave it the right to run them. This franchise allowed the company to dominate local telephone service for decades, and it later became part of Hong Kong Telecom. The arrangement reflected a period when public utilities in Hong Kong were typically operated under licence by a single company. The official record gives only the year of establishment, without a specific date.
Source OFCA: telecommunications milestones before 2012（Office of the Communications Authority） · official publication
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1925 · 元朗錦田（吉慶圍）
The iron gate of Kat Hing Wai in Kam Tin, Yuen Long, is reinstalled in 1925 after a petition by Tang Pak Kiu.
Memory A walled village built in the Chenghua reign; its gate was removed in 1899 during the New Territories takeover and restored in 1925, now a graded historic building.
Background Kat Hing Wai in Kam Tin, Yuen Long, is a walled village built in the Chenghua reign of the Ming dynasty. When British forces took over the New Territories in 1899, its iron gate was removed. In 1925, after Tang Pak Kiu successfully petitioned the Governor, the gate was reinstalled in its original position. Kat Hing Wai is now a graded historic building, and the story of its gate forms part of the record of the New Territories takeover period.
Source AAB: Kat Hing Wai Appraisal Memo（Antiquities Advisory Board） · official publication
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1925-12-24 · 九龍城（九龍醫院）
Kowloon Hospital opens on 24 Dec 1925, the first public hospital in Kowloon, graded a Grade 2 historic building in 2017.
Memory The first public hospital on the Kowloon peninsula, it later focused on rehabilitation and is a heritage building.
Background Kowloon Hospital opened on 24 December 1925 as the first public hospital on the Kowloon peninsula. As Kowloon's population grew, demand for public medical care rose, and the hospital became a main facility in the district. Its establishment marked an early step in extending public health services beyond Hong Kong Island. It later focused on rehabilitation and convalescent services, and in 2017 it was graded a Grade 2 historic building. The hospital still serves the Kowloon City area today, and its opening date is recorded by the Hospital Authority.
Source HA: Kowloon Hospital history（Hospital Authority） · official publication
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1928 · 中環（香港電台前身）
The Government begins radio broadcasting under the call sign GOW, marking the launch of RTHK.
Memory Radio Hong Kong launched as a government station, initially mainly in English before adding Chinese channels.
Background In 1928 the government began radio broadcasting under the call sign GOW, marking the launch of what became Radio Television Hong Kong. The station operated as a government broadcaster, broadcasting mainly in English at first before adding Chinese-language channels. As a public broadcaster, its programming and role later expanded with the development of Hong Kong society. Radio was then a new medium in the territory. The official photo album records only the year, without a specific date. The station later grew into the territory's public service broadcaster.
Source RTHK: 90th anniversary photo album (history)（Radio Television Hong Kong） · official publication
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1928-12-11 · 油尖旺（尖沙咀）
The Peninsula Hong Kong opens on 11 Dec 1928, Hong Kong's oldest hotel landmark.
Memory Built by Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels in Tsim Sha Tsui, it is known as the Grande Dame of the Far East.
Background The Peninsula Hong Kong, built by Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, opened in Tsim Sha Tsui on 11 December 1928 and remains the city's oldest hotel landmark. Standing on the Victoria Harbour waterfront, it was completed at a time when ocean liners and railways were bringing growing numbers of travellers to the colony, offering them high-class accommodation. Known as the Grande Dame of the Far East, its opening marked the start of Hong Kong's hotel industry and set the tone for the landmark buildings along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront.
Source HSH Group: history of innovation (The Peninsula)（The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Ltd.） · official publication
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