Hong Kong Snapshot (112) Mei Ho House, the first Public Estate of HK 香港隨拍(112) 美荷樓，香港第一個公共屋邨

It’s time to start introducing Sham Shui Po to you! For more about Sham Shui Po, please read my previous post:
是時候繼續介紹深水埗了！什麼？你不知道深水埗是什麼地方？請快去看我之前的文章：

https://steemit.com/cn/@aaronli/hongkongsnapshot111shamshuipothetreasureofhklocalculture111-186j17tqab

In Sham Shui Po, we can see an orange building which is called the Mei Ho House. If you visited Hong Kong and tried to look for a youth hostel, you may had searched Mei Ho House. Mei Ho House is now a youth hostel and in the past, it was the first Public Estate of Hong Kong.

在深水埗，我們會見到一座特別亮眼的橙色建築物，它叫美荷樓。如你曾遊覽香港，又不想住酒店所以搜尋青年旅舍時，你或者會找到美荷樓。美荷樓現在是一座青年旅舍，而它的前身是香港第一個公共屋邨。

Before 1953, there were no public housing in Hong Kong and there were many slums where people built their house by wood. In the Christmas of 1953, a fire disaster came to a slum in Sham Shui Po and 58,000 people lost their home.
1953年之前，香港沒有公共屋邨，只有私人樓宇。住不起私人樓的窮人家，就唯有自己用鐵用木蓋屋自己住，我們叫這些做寮屋。其實這是不合法的，不過沒地方住誰理它，政府也是睜一眼閉一眼。直到1953年的聖誕節，深水埗的一個寮屋區發生大火，由於屋都是木造的，很快就把整個寮屋區都燒光了，58000人一夜之間無家可歸。

after the fire (photo source from wikipedia)

After the fire, the HK Government found the importance of proper housing and they built the SheK Kip Mei Estate, the first public estate at the same location. One of them was called Mei Ho House.
火災後，港英政府終於正視香港的房屋問題，他們就在火災原址興建了香港的第一個公共屋邨 - 石峽尾邨，其中一座樓就叫美荷樓。

Mei Ho House in 1956 (photo source from Wikipedia)

In 2007, the estate was demolished but Mei Ho House was kept for preservation. It is now a complex of hostel and museum.
2007年，石峽尾邨完成了它的歷史使命，正式被重建，唯獨美荷樓，被選中成為代表，得到活化保育的機會，成為今天集青年旅舍與博物館於一身的美荷樓。

The last moment of Mei Ho House as a public estate (photo source from Wikipedia)


And now.

Part of Mei Ho House is now a museum introducing the history of HK public housing. We can see the old life of Hong Kong. In the old times, kitchen, shower and toilet were shared among the same floor and you can imagine the number of sex crimes at that moment.
美荷樓的地下及一樓是一個博物館，介紹香港的公共房屋歷史，我們從中可以看到香港基層市民這50年來的住屋環境轉變。在以前，廚房、沖涼及廁所都是一層樓共用的，你可以想像當年有多少的風化案發生。不要看香港好像很多年前已很繁盛，其實也有很多不為人知的一面的。

A cafe called 41 Cafe in Mei Ho House, as Mei Ho House was block 41 of the Shek Kip Mei Estate.
博物館的旁邊是一家餐廳，叫四十一冰室，四十一取名於美荷樓是石峽尾村的第41座。懷舊復古的設計，攝影龍友可不要錯過。

Also a store called the Mini 41. There are tones of super old toys and accessories.
還有一個士多，叫四十一士多，裡面全是香港舊時的玩具和小玩意，還有很多我兒時才能見到的東西！

The term “first public estate of Hong Kong” gave Mei Ho House a special meaning. Located in Sham Shui Po, Mei Ho House is an easy to go spot for us to know more about the history of Hong kong, as well as to feel the oldness of Hong Kong.
「第一個公共屋邨」一詞給予美荷樓一個特別的意義。位處深水埗，交通方便，美荷樓絕對是值得一去的地方，讓我們去了解更多香港歷史，也去感受更多當年的香港生活。

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