The Old Wan Chai Post Office is the oldest surviving post office in Hong Kong. Built circa 1913, the Old Wan Chai Post Office served its original purpose since 1915 for 77 years, until 1992.

Thereafter, it served as the resource center for the Environmental Protection Department. kNOw Carbon House took over in 2024 after revitalization and renovation of the structure. The Old Wan Chai Post Office received the Beam Plus Green Building Award (silver) for it.

I have to say, the revitalization of the heritage building is well done. The interior is fitted in a hardwood theme, and it felt classy and comfortable inside.

A Tour of the Old Wan Chai Post Office

Since its revitalization, the Old Wan Chai Post Office has been home to kNOw Carbon House, an NGO that engages in creative advocacy on environmental issues, particularly in waste reduction and zero carbon objectives. To be able to visit this heritage, the only way is to sign up for a 1.5-hour free tour with the kNOw Carbon House. Otherwise, the Old Wan Chai Post Office is not open to the public.

The first part of the tour is conducted at the foyer area. The area is fitted with a consistent eco-friendly theme, featuring the mascot of Hong Kong’s environmental protection initiative, Big Waster. The staff conducted interactive dialogues with the participants about Hong Kong’s efforts in meeting carbon neutrality. I liked the presentation. The staff placed Big Waster front and center in the interactive session, and I could sense that the kids enjoyed the talk very much.

Photo: At the foyer, Big Waster is prominently featured as the mascot for envrionmental protection in Hong Kong.

If you ask me whether it is worth it to do kiddy environmentalism for 1.5 hours just so that I could see the heritage, I would say it is. I signed up on a public holiday, and so there were some families in the group. The session was fun.

Surely, the tour was not heritage-focused, but the staff knew my objective of the visit, so they did introduce the heritage aspects too. I am not sure if they would skip the environmentalism if there is just one adult signing up to see the heritage.

At the very end of the tour, we sat at what used to be the staff area of the former post office and each chose an eco-craft to make. We took home the craft and some really cute memorabilia. Due to the small interior space, it felt intimate when the group gathered for the tour.

Finally, we took a group picture at the garden area, which is cozy and beautifully restored as well.

Heritage at the Old Wan Chai Post Office

The Old Wan Chai Post Office building is L-shaped and comes with pitched roof covered with Chinese tiles. The façade of the building shows ornamental cills around the two arched windows.

There are three Dutch gable walls that also contribute to the character of the building.

There are three pieces of relics that have been expressly preserved at the Old Wan Chai Post Office. The first is the row of mailboxes that line the wall of the former post office area. The mailboxes are in a classic red color and it is a center piece within the heritage building.

Then there is the former service counter. It is made of wood and stands still in an evergreen sturiness. Perhaps no explanation is necessry for it.

Finally, the staff told me that there was a “rescue” operation for this 1990s postage stamp vendor machine. It is on display as a post office relic here. Indeed, this is the older generation stamp vending machine that I remember from my younger days. The stamp vending machines now simply do a printout of the postage fee, instead of dispensing the actual stamps.

The staff of kNOw Carbon told me that the general maintenance of the space is done by the NGO, but if it concerns the structure of the heritage, then the effort lies with the Hong Kong Government.

Photo below: The pitched roof is preserved.

The Old Wan Chai Post Office is a declared monument.

The address of the Old Wan Chai Post Office is 221 Queen’s Road East, Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

To book a tour, please visit here.

Sources

Tour at the Old Wan Chai Post Office held by kNOw Carbon House.

Descriptions on site at the Old Wan Chai Post Office.

The Wikipedia on the Old Wan Chai Post Office.