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PHOTOS : Documenting Hong Kong’s colonial past

Atop Hong Kong’s tallest peak blanketed in clouds, three masked urban explorers step back in time as they slip through a wire mesh fence and march towards an abandoned army barracks from the British colonial era. Twenty years after Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule, these young, alternative conservationists are eager to document the city’s remaining historical buildings. (REUTERS)

Updated on: Jun 14, 2017 10:36 AM IST

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Atop Hong Kong’s tallest peak blanketed in clouds, three masked urban explorers step back in time as they slip through a wire mesh fence and march towards an abandoned army barracks from the British colonial era. Twenty years after Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule, these young, alternative conservationists are eager to document the city’s remaining historical buildings. (REUTERS)

Updated on Jun 14, 2017 10:36 AM

Atop Hong Kong’s tallest peak blanketed in clouds, three masked urban explorers step back in time as they slip through a wire mesh fence and march towards an abandoned army barracks from the British colonial era. Twenty years after Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule, these young, alternative conservationists are eager to document the city’s remaining historical buildings. (REUTERS)

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Some structures have been demolished over the decades to make room for development in one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets. Currently 114 buildings and cultural landmarks are protected from development and more than 1,000 buildings are assigned a historic grade by the government’s Antiquities and Monuments Office. (REUTERS)

Updated on Jun 14, 2017 10:36 AM

Some structures have been demolished over the decades to make room for development in one of the world’s most expensive real estate markets. Currently 114 buildings and cultural landmarks are protected from development and more than 1,000 buildings are assigned a historic grade by the government’s Antiquities and Monuments Office. (REUTERS)

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Having recorded more than 50 sites in Hong Kong alone, the young explorers in the group HK URBEX what started out as a hobby in 2013 has blossomed into a mission to assemble an archive of the city’s colonial-era architecture. (REUTERS)

Updated on Jun 14, 2017 10:36 AM

Having recorded more than 50 sites in Hong Kong alone, the young explorers in the group HK URBEX what started out as a hobby in 2013 has blossomed into a mission to assemble an archive of the city’s colonial-era architecture. (REUTERS)

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HK URBEX members are seen through a hole in the fence at an abandoned British army barracks in Hong Kong, China. (REUTERS)

Updated on Jun 14, 2017 10:36 AM

HK URBEX members are seen through a hole in the fence at an abandoned British army barracks in Hong Kong, China. (REUTERS)

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Short videos show the members shining their flashlights on the prison gates of a colonial political prison, a pile of dusty movie reels and posters in an empty movie studio, or the walls of a former World War Two air raid tunnel. (REUTERS)

Updated on Jun 14, 2017 10:36 AM

Short videos show the members shining their flashlights on the prison gates of a colonial political prison, a pile of dusty movie reels and posters in an empty movie studio, or the walls of a former World War Two air raid tunnel. (REUTERS)

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People walk past the abandoned historic Central Market, which was built in the 1930's during the colonial era, in Hong Kong. Protests in 2007 against the tearing down of Victoria Harbour’s Queen’s Pier, which for almost half a century marked the ceremonial arrivals of British governors and royals including Queen Elizabeth, is often cited as a starting point for street activism bent on preserving Hong Kong’s culture. (REUTERS)

Updated on Jun 14, 2017 10:36 AM

People walk past the abandoned historic Central Market, which was built in the 1930's during the colonial era, in Hong Kong. Protests in 2007 against the tearing down of Victoria Harbour’s Queen’s Pier, which for almost half a century marked the ceremonial arrivals of British governors and royals including Queen Elizabeth, is often cited as a starting point for street activism bent on preserving Hong Kong’s culture. (REUTERS)

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An interior view of an abandoned mansion called Yu Yuen, built during the colonial era in the 1920's, is seen in Hong Kong. (REUTERS)

Updated on Jun 14, 2017 10:36 AM

An interior view of an abandoned mansion called Yu Yuen, built during the colonial era in the 1920's, is seen in Hong Kong. (REUTERS)

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“I just fear that in maybe 20 years time, there won’t be a lot of unique Hong Kong heritage or architecture that really shows that we are Hong Kong, because there’s no other place like us,” said one of the group’s co-founders, who declined to be identified because his activities could involve illegal trespassing. (REUTERS)

Updated on Jun 14, 2017 10:36 AM

“I just fear that in maybe 20 years time, there won’t be a lot of unique Hong Kong heritage or architecture that really shows that we are Hong Kong, because there’s no other place like us,” said one of the group’s co-founders, who declined to be identified because his activities could involve illegal trespassing. (REUTERS)

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The eight members spend weeks and even months researching derelict sites before visiting and documenting them through photos and film that are posted on their social media page. (REUTERS)

Updated on Jun 14, 2017 10:36 AM

The eight members spend weeks and even months researching derelict sites before visiting and documenting them through photos and film that are posted on their social media page. (REUTERS)

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