Before ‘Made in China’, there was ‘Made in Taiwan’ and before that, cheap toys, electronics and textiles poured out of Hong Kong. For a city short on space, there are still hundreds of huge, abandoned factories scattered around the New Territories and suburban areas of Kowloon and HK Island.
In Ho Chung, near Sai Kung Town, a multi-storey dying factory was converted into TV studios for local broadcaster ATV. Vacated in the 2000s, this huge urban space is now being reclaimed by nature (and graffiti artists). The site, next to Che Kung Temple, is surrounded by walls and fencing but is often used by photographers and is said to be haunted.
Click to enlarge the panoramic images below. Scroll down a little for an HD video.
Links:
For a high-res gallery, click here.
The studios are best accessed by red-top minibus from Dundas Street, Mongkok – board the Sai Kung bus and ask for Ho Chung. Combine your visit with the temple next door and – for a nice cup of tea after your bout of urban exploration – Kam Kei cafe is back on the main road. Transport to the MTR is also available over the bridge back on Hiram’s Highway…
Exploring forgotten corners of HK where nature is winning…
- Abandoned TV studios near Sai Kung.
- Abandoned Villages in HK’s ‘Wild West’ (Fan Lau).
- Central’s Abandoned Prison and Police Station.
- Fung Hang Semi-Abandoned Village.
- HK’s Abandoned ‘Ghost Island’, Yim Tin Tsai.
- Kuk Po: Interview with the Only Villager.
- Kuk Po: More Shots from the Abandoned Village Outpost.
- Kuk Po: Photos from HK’s Borderzone Ghost Town.
- Ma Wan Abandoned Town Part 1.
- Ma Wan Abandoned Town Part 2.
- Shing Mun Redoubt, HK’s Secret WWII Tunnels.
- Tung Ping Chau: The Abandoned Hamlets of Hong Kong’s ‘Jumanji Island’.
- Tung Ping Chau: The Abandoned Military Base on HK’s Wild Outpost.
- Tung Ping Chau: Video discussing HK’s Abandoned, Wild Island Outpost.
- Wanchai’s Abandoned Police Station.
Check out the Hong Wrong Mega Index for more.
I live just up the road from this and keep telling myself that I should see if I could find my way inside to take some pictures. While I was procrastinating you did it and got some very nice photos indeed! I’ll have to take this as a challenge.
I live just up the road from this and keep telling myself that I should see if I could find my way inside to take some pictures. While I was procrastinating you did it and got some very nice photos indeed! I’ll have to take this as a challenge.
Thanks Spike! Do you know when the studios closed and who owns them now?
Thanks Spike! Do you know when the studios closed and who owns them now?
Here’s a photo from 2007 and it looks as if things were open at the time:
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HK_Ho_Chung_Che_Kung_Temple_near_ATV_ppt.JPG#filehistory
And here’s a contamination assessment plan from August 2007 which mentions that the studio “is currently still in operation.” They moved to Tai Po in ’07 so it was probably shut down soon afterwards.
This wikipedia entry says the building was originally a dyeing factory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chung
I did a search through SCMP archives for 2007-08 but couldn’t find any additional info.
Here’s a photo from 2007 and it looks as if things were open at the time:
http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:HK_Ho_Chung_Che_Kung_Temple_near_ATV_ppt.JPG#filehistory
And here’s a contamination assessment plan from August 2007 which mentions that the studio “is currently still in operation.” They moved to Tai Po in ’07 so it was probably shut down soon afterwards.
This wikipedia entry says the building was originally a dyeing factory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chung
I did a search through SCMP archives for 2007-08 but couldn’t find any additional info.
Cheers bud! I did my best with Google translate but didn’t find out much more… Thanks for having a search around! 🙂
Cheers bud! I did my best with Google translate but didn’t find out much more… Thanks for having a search around! 🙂
Great photos, Tom. I, too, live just up the road from here and will make it my weekend ‘must do’ activity this weekend.
Great photos, Tom. I, too, live just up the road from here and will make it my weekend ‘must do’ activity this weekend.
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this place looks very interesting! Is it had to get access to this building?
this place looks very interesting! Is it had to get access to this building?
Unfortunately, I hear it has been recently blocked off
Unfortunately, I hear it has been recently blocked off
Just a heads-up – visited this place today (2013-11-22) – and there is some activity on site. Many of the large ground floor windows are in the process of being boarded up and a wooden (storage / worker’s?) hut has been built inside the long passageway at the rear of the G/F. The small doorway in the rear wall (which used to be wide open) is now blocked up. There are no ‘official’ development signs up on-site so no idea what’s going on there.
Just a heads-up – visited this place today (2013-11-22) – and there is some activity on site. Many of the large ground floor windows are in the process of being boarded up and a wooden (storage / worker’s?) hut has been built inside the long passageway at the rear of the G/F. The small doorway in the rear wall (which used to be wide open) is now blocked up. There are no ‘official’ development signs up on-site so no idea what’s going on there.
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Hi all, im in HK this month and would like to do some URBEX, is anyone keen to join me and show me around some of the sites? im a male new zealander 31 years old and familiar with most of HK and not scared of HONGZA so i can go into some places others may not want to…
Hi, may i ask how did u manage to get in? Me and my friend tried to find an entrance which we managed to but was too obvious and had a lot of nearby people walking pass and as we managed to climb up the wall there were workers inside telling us to leave. Another way is through the grass but it seemed quite risky. I am just wondering in which area is it possible to get in and doing it without being spotted??