David Bellis Hong Kong History Talk at VIBE Book & Music Shop

Recorded for 'Live at VIBEHK' on Saturday 16th March, 2024

WHO WERE THE HONGKONGERS IN THESE 1880S-1950S PHOTOS?
David Bellis shows us photos of the wide variety of people who’ve lived in Hong Kong – we’ll see cobblers, conjurors, compradores, croquet players, soldiers, sailors, Scottish golfers, hawkers, a Hungarian motorcyclist, and more! The photos were originally taken in Hong Kong between the 1880s and the 1950s, and have been scanned at high resolution so David can zoom in to show us their hidden details. He’ll use these clues to explain the stories behind each scene, and will also look at the bigger picture of who among these characters called Hong Kong ‘home’.

David Bellis runs the award-winning Gwulo.com website, home to over 50,000 pages about Hong Kong’s history, including over 35,000 photos. He also gives regular illustrated talks, and has published a series of books showing photos from his collection and telling their stories: Old Hong Kong Photos and The Tales They Tell. The fifth and final volume in the series was published in December.