Vignettes of the World
What is known as the Cantonese bamboo noodles (in Cantonese “Zuk Sing” noodles) is a food familiar to many. The yellow, stringy and bouncy noodle is the very spirit in the Cantonese wonton noodle soup. Many people in Hong Kong and Guangdong would consider a …
I like seeing old towns and villages. I have seen a few of the ancient old towns and communities in Shenzhen, including the Dapeng Fortress, Gankeng Ancient Hakka Townlet, Nantou Ancient City and Shui Wei 1368. I was interested in the areas in Shenzhen that …
The Lui Seng Chun building stands testament to a century-long entrepreneurship in Hong Kong and a prominent family history. Designed by foreign architect W. H. Bourne in 1929, the beautiful structure expressed the style of the Chinese eclectic with carefully crafted and designed western elements. At the time construction completed in 1931, it stood at a location that overlooked what was then the shipping and logistics hub of Kowloon, close to the pier. This location was also selected because it was right next to the warehouse that the Hong Kong Government allocated to Lui’s shipping business.
The original owner of Lui Seng Chun was Lui Leung (1863-1944), a businessman with hometown in Toishan, Guangdong. He came to Hong Kong in the 1920s. His main business was a shipping and logistics fleet and foreign trade. His trading company Man Sun Loong was known as a Kam Shan Chong (a trader with San Francisco).
Besides his shipping business, Lui Leung also ran a Chinese herbal bonesetter shop. Originally his intention was to provide care for his own workers that were injured on the job. It became a well-reputed Chinese medicine shop in Hong Kong, as the shop produced its own brand of bonesetting teet tah rub. This side business was what eventually defined the modern restoration and reinterpretation of this heritage building.
Lui Leung had three wives and the Lui family lived in Lui Seng Chun, each fong (one wife and her own children) would take up one floor. In the few decades between 1931 and the 1970s, Lui and his own family lived here. They moved out in the 1970s, and the building was let out for commercial shops. For some time too their relatives from China lived there. By the 1980s, the building was left completely vacant. The people in the neighborhood thought it was a haunted house – in such poor condition that rats bred in the building.
The limiting conditions of the house was the reason why all of the Lui’s left after just a few decades. First of all, in the original design there was no provision for an elevator. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, there was no plumbing in the building – therefore the complete lack of modern toilet facilities. Finally, the power facilities in the building did not support the large usage of electricity for air conditioning. As a whole, the building was no longer habitable.
Lui Leung passed away during WWII in 1944. During the Japanese Occupation years, Lui could no longer run his Chinese medicine shop. The Japanese took over this building and used it as a storage and supplies station. This explained the reason why there were flagpoles on the rooftop. Those flagpoles were built by the Japanese and flew the Japanese flag during those years. This historical fact also explains why in the title deed of the building there were Japanese segments. The title deed is on display at Lui Seng Chun.
As I listened to fascinating stories about Lui Seng Chun, I started to see that this building was in so many ways more than a witness to Hong Kong’s history. It was itself an agent, a key player, a bolt itself in the wheel of history.
Lui Seng Chun became a declared monument in 2022. The history of restoration itself also bore historical significance. The Lui’s transferred their full property right in the building to the government in 2003 for no consideration. The donation of a private property to the government was a first in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Government then proceeded to restore it. It intended to preserve the building to encourage development of Chinese medicine in Hong Kong—as it was also the wish of the Lui family in keeping the good name of Lui Seng Chun, the name of their Chinese medicine shop.
Through the Revitalisation of Historic Building Partnership Scheme, the Hong Kong Government sought tenders from a non-governmental entity to take over the restoration and maintenance of the building in 2008. There were a few proposals, and the Baptist University won the bid. Since then, the Baptist University took over from the very basic repair work done by the government, and began the restoration of the building. The restoration effort was also supported by funds donated by the Lui family itself. Since 2012, the building has served as the community Chinese healthcare clinic for the School of Chinese Medicine of the Baptist University.
In restoring this building, the Baptist University extended exceptional resources and expertise in preserving the original features and restoring the damaged parts of the building.
The Antiquities and Monuments Office has summed up the beauty of Lui Seng Chun’s architecture, “The building is of neo-classical style mixed with Art Deco elements by sweeping horizontal lines and robust classical elements.” A variety of materials were used in its construction, including concrete, bricks, wood and granite. Its most beautiful feature is the curved façade at the very front of the building, forming a rounded tip fully meeting the shape of that particular intersection of Lai Chi Kok Road.
Lui Seng Chun is considered a Tong Lau, which typically served as the residential homes upstairs with commercial space on the ground floor. There were a total of four stories in the Lui Seng Chun building, plus an annex building that served as the servants’ quarter.
The design of the original Lui Seng Chun building served the social needs of the time. The servants had their own door and staircase, and the Lui family members would use another door and set of staircase in the building.
Photo: This was the door for the servants to enter the Lui Seng Chun building.
Greeting visitors at the entrance are two well-preserved original plaques, showing the words Lui Seng Chun and King Fook Tong. The name “Lui Seng Chun” came from a couplet that lauded Lui Seng Chun’s good, effective Chinese medicine product that restored health and life for many people. The plaque of King Fook Tong was a reference to the ancestral hall that was once held for the Lui family here at Lui Seng Chun. During the early founding of New China, Lui Leung could not return to his hometown in China due to his status as a landowner. They held ancestral rites at Lui Seng Chun.
Another very common feature of the Tong Lau are the verandas. They enabled the airway that tapered the heat and the humidity in Hong Kong’s climate.
This feature of the Lui Seng Chun building was particularly intriguing. The chambers in the upper stories of the original building were as big as the shop space on the ground floor. That meant that open air corridors surrounded all the upper floors in the same manner that the veranda passage girdled the shop below. If you visit the building, the area that served as the living chambers were built with red bricks on the floor.
Photo: The area of the red brick demarcates the actual living space of the Lui Seng Chun building from 2nd to 4th floors.
The primary objective was still the provision of air passage during the summer months and the prevention of flooding in the rainy days. But there was also a less obvious reason for this design. The Lui children were the heirs of a very wealthy family. The enormous corridor space (almost 3,000 sq ft in total) in the upper floors allowed the children ample space to play, so much so that they could bike inside the building. Common children usually played in the parks, but they stayed in their own mansion and had all the space they needed for fun. Needless to say, that would keep them safe from kidnapping.
As it is restored, Lui Sang Chun’s verandas on the upper floor are now enclosed with glass panes, in order to preserve its original appearance but also maximizing the functional space within the building. The tour guide, who is a staff of Baptist University, told us that they chose bullet-proof grade glass panes (very expensive for each piece). It turned out to be the right decision, as all the enclosed areas on the upper floor were safe even during super typhoon Mangkut.
The exterior walls of the Chinese herbal shop feature Italian-made Terrazo, In restoring this part of the building, modern Terrazo had to be sourced. The only other building in Hong Kong that features the same high-grade Terrazo is the Central Market.
Photo: A comparison of the original and new wooden carving details on the wooden plaque.
The rooftop now serves as a herbs-growing garden. The very original chimney of the building was well-preserved and you can see it at the rooftop. The chimney was important because the people used charcoal for cooking in those times. Some of the Chinese herbs are also grown here in the rooftop, but certainly not at the scale that supports the Chinese medicine healthcare facility.
All original furniture in the building were wooden furniture, made of cunninghamia. The restoration of Lui Seng Chun also preserved that aspect of the original. As a result, there is no gas stove in the building now, even for the making of Chinese herbal teas and medicines.
Photo: The two “Lui Seng Chun” profiled stone plaques on the parapets of the roof were preserved during the restoration.
There are free guided tours offered to members of the public at the Lui Seng Chun building, run by the staff of Baptist University. The tour was very thorough and went through all aspects of culture, society, history and architecture. Sign up for a spot at the guided tour here.
Lui Seng Chun is located on 119 Lai Chi Kok Road.
The Antiquities and Monuments Office on Lui Seng Chun.
The free public guided tour of Lui Seng Chun.
Descriptions on site at the Lui Seng Chun Building.
The Wikipedia on Lui Seng Chun.
The driver suggested that we visited the Zili Village first, as that village was officially recognized, restored and developed as the preeminent location for Diaolou tourism. He told me quite a bit about himself. He is a native of Chikan. Mr. Guan is his name, …
Kaiping is a county in Guangdong Province in China that is known for its people’s long history of migration abroad. Waves of migrants made it in foreign countries and returned to Kaiping rich and glorious. These successful returnees built big houses in their villages as …
Afsona Restaurant is very popular in Tashkent and it is highly recommended on quite a few online platforms. We sat down for our final lunch in Uzbekistan and we were excited. But we made the wrong decision to order their fish as our entrée. Coming from Hong Kong, we are accustomed to fish done right and the fish at Afsona fell far below our expectations. We drooled over the things that other patrons ordered, but our soup and appetizers and everything else were all very good.
It came time to leave for our flight. We had to make through much of Tashkent in rush hour traffic, as it was time for everybody to get off work. The urban streets were busy with street vendors throughout, mostly selling the essential ingredients for an Uzbek dinner. The din on the street projected a sense of raw liveliness amidst an otherwise fully cosmopolitan city.
We began our journey in Uzbekistan in Tashkent, then tracked the footsteps of the ancient silk road, westward to Samarkand, Syyod, Kyzylkum Desert, Nurota, Bukhara, the Aral Sea, and finally ending at Khiva. In these 13 days we met amazing people, had endless Uzbek gourmet and learned a great deal about the history of this wonderful country.
As always, history was the first basis upon which we understand the human and natural forces that shaped the face of Uzbekistan today. From prehistoric settlement to pockets of ruled kingdoms, from the unifying act of Amir Timur the Great to the Islam conversion, from the Khanates to the Russian invasion and ultimately being part of the USSR, Uzbekistan has always played its role as a critical player in world affairs.
The long heritage that has left its print on every aspect of post-Soviet, modern-day Uzbekistan was shown, ubiquitously, throughout our trip. Its history is celebrated, bequeathed, unto its people, cuisines, antique monuments, and the innumerable bastions of faith and minority cultures. Be it at war or in peace, being colonized or freely independent, the country has shown the resilience of humanity in embracing calamities and glories alike. It was in this unfamiliar territory that I discovered a new context for appreciating the world.
So long, Uzbekistan!
From the Minor Mosque I took the metro to arrive at the State Museum of History in Tashkent. The museum itself offers some insight into Uzbekistan’s past. If I had a choice, I might have visited this museum in Tashkent before heading off to the …
Bright and early at 6am we were back in Tashkent by train. This would be our very final day in Uzbekistan. We would be seeing some museums for this day, before we head out for our flight in the evening. The Bon! Café It was …
The Tash Khauli Palace of Khiva would be the last sightseeing that we did in Khiva before we hopped on the afternoon train for Tashkent. Khiva blessed us with another gorgeous day with a bright blue sky, echoing the turquoise mosaics that would become the motif of our sightseeing that day. We were nearing the end of this 13-day journey in Uzbekistan, and the last few hours of our time in Khiva must be memorable. The Tash Khauli Palace was our finale and it did not disappoint.
Meaning the “Stone House,” the Tash Khauli Palace was built in 1830-1838, by the order of the Allakuli Khan. It is said that the construction of a new palace was motivated by a shift of the heart of Khiva’s city life from the west (where the Kunya Ark is) to the east (where the Tash Khauli is).
As Allakuli Khan was known for his penchant for all things luxurious, the Tash Khauli was indeed designed and built to entertain a lavish lifestyle. Just to give an idea of what that meant, Allakuli Khan had four wives and more than 30 concubines!
A project of this scale was going to require resources. Being a demanding man of excesses, Allakuli Khan wanted the palace built in three years. The plan for the palace envisioned three courtyards and more than 160 rooms. The Tash Khauli eventually took eight years to complete, and even this was only possible with the labor of 1,000 slaves.
The tour of the Tash Khauli inspired much intrigue. The experience was varied with many turns of pleasant surprises. First of all, I found the courtyards to be incredibly charming. When I arrived, no one was there and I could enjoy quiet moments surrounded by burnt brick walls adorned with blue majolica panels. These blue and white ceramic panels were the work of famous ceramist Abdullah Djinn.
The lodges of the harem showed the turquoise blue as its theme but when you look up you will see the ceilings decorated in brown and red.
All of the lodges have a door facing the courtyard and that was the only entrance into the chamber inside.
The columned lodges show mosaic patterns in different shades of blue, fully expressing the sweeping grandeur of a glorious Khiva, an elegance enabled only by the dictates of a strongman rule. For it was during Allakuli Khan’s reign that central power was restored in Khiva, with success in foreign relations, especially in strengthening commercial ties with the Russian empire.
There are hundreds of rooms in the Tash Khauli Palace and when the structure was completed, all rooms were interconnected by a web of dim corridors, at the time only accessible by the Khan himself. However, as a tourist site now, one would have to enter the structures separately, as the entrance to the Ichrat Khaouli (reception hall) and the Arz Khaouli (the Court of Justice) was separated from the Harem courtyard.
The Ichrat Khaouli features a square yard with a round platform in the center. It is meant to be the khan’s guest yurt. The square courtyard here is also surrounded by terraced iwans supported by columns. It was in here that the Khan received Convoy Abbot, who was sent by Britain to approach the Khan for a release of the Russian slaves in order to thwart the potential cause for an invasion of this part of Central Asia by the Russian empire.
Photograph: A panorama of the Ichrat Khaouli showing the surrounding structure of the square courtyard and a round platform.
As mentioned above, the Allakuli Khan had four wives and 30 concubines. A visit at the Tash Khauli is the perfect occasion to learn about the life of the harem in the Khiva Khanate. The first courtyard that I visited was the harem, with rooms dedicated to first the four wives and then to the concubines.
In the courtyard one would see five lodges supported by wooden carved columns. Four were for the wives of the Khan, and the fifth, also the largest, belonged to the Khan himself. The structure surrounding the courtyard had two stories.
The harem is the sacred, inviolable space for an upperclass Muslim man’s wives, concubines and otherwise the female members of his household. Generally, it was off bounds to outsiders, and sometimes eunuchs could enter and tend to the needs of the female members of the household.
The concubines of the Khan were chosen amongst the slave girls, who could not have been the free Muslim women. They were not meant to bear children for the Khan, as such if they became pregnant, they would be given forced abortions. If the Khan dies, they would be sent back to the slave market to be sold again. Islam forbids them from becoming the concubines of the next Khan, who usually was the son of the late Khan.
Both Khiva and Bukhara were infamous for slave trade up till the late 19th century. In fact, as briefly discussed in a previous entry, the slave trade was so rampant that the Russians considered it the cause of annexing Khiva in the 1840s or so. When Russia finally succeeded in annexing Khiva in 1873, it also abolished the Khivan slave trade.
In the Tash Khauli, the harem, which also included the chamber for the Khan himself, was the first to be built. The construction of the Ichrat Khaouli and the Arz Khaouli were built after.
There was a small exhibition on site showcasing Uzbek crafts, especially in fabric making and tailoring. I found the Uzbek clothing on display to be very beautiful.
In the 1.5 days of touring in Khiva, I found all the meals that I had to be exceedingly pleasant. The Khiva Moon has a good reputation, and so my friend and I had our final lunch in Khiva there. It is located right outsides of the Ichon Qala city gate. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.
The Wikipedia on Toshhovli Palace.
The Wikipedia on Khivan Slave Trade.
Centralasia-travel.com, Tash Khauli Palace.
Sophie Ibbotson, Uzbekistan, Bradt Travel Guide (2020).
Uzbek-travel.com, About Uzbekistan, Tash Khauli.
The day was blessed with generous sunshine and it was extremely hot. There was quite a bit of walk to the Tai O Heritage Hotel from the bus stop, via parts of the Tai O town. I took my time, my tour would take place …