Hong Kong Snapshot (98) – Tai Hang, Coolest Corner of HK, but dying 香港隨拍 (98) – 大坑，死亡中的最美麗小區

Traffic in Hong Kong is quite heavy. When you walk along the street, you feel that people around you are rushing by because they are walking so fast. The high buildings and narrow streets are a reflection of Hong Kong. Hong Kong's prosperity is built on people's fast - paced life. Maybe you will find a small park on the road by chance. In the park，you can take a breath, getting rid of your daily rush for a while, and move on. Fortunately, in the downtown area of Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island, we still found Tai Hang, a small community for us to enjoy a peaceful life. However, the small community is being destroyed.

香港，車水馬龍，車流不轉，走在路上，身邊的人匆匆而過，因為他們走太快了。高樓並立，街路極窄，都是香港的寫照，香港的繁榮，是建立在人民的急促，要在鬧市找一片寧靜，也許你偶然會在路中找到一個小公園，抖抖氣，放下日常的匆忙，然後繼續上路。幸好，在香港島銅鑼灣鬧市，我們仍找到大坑這個小社區，享受一片安寧，不過，這小社區正被破壞。

Tai Hang is on the east side of Causeway Bay and only the Hong Kong residents know it. What I want to tell you is that you can find the original coastline of Hong Kong Island in Tai Hang. This is Tung Lo Wan Road. To the north of Tung Lo Wan Road is full of reclaimed land. Only the land of Tai Hang has existed since ancient times. As early as the beginning of the 19th century, the first Hakka people came to Tai Hang to build the village, which was the beginning of Tai Hang. The famous Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance is initiated by the Tai Hang Village.

大坑位於銅鑼灣的東邊，相信不是香港居住的市民都不知道這個地方。先要告訴大家的是，在大坑，你可以找到香港島本來的海岸線，這是銅鑼灣道，在銅鑼灣道以北，盡是填海而成的土地，只有大坑的土地，自古而有。早於十九世紀初期，首批客家人來到大坑建立大坑村，這是大坑的啓始，聞名中外的大坑舞火龍，正是大坑村所發起。

銅鑼灣道 Tung Lo Wan Road

每年中秋節的舞火龍都是盛事！  

On the eve of the Mid-Autumn festival in 1880, a typhoon hit the village of Tai Hang. After the typhoon, the villagers found a python devoured the village's poultry, so they worked together to kill it and sent it to the police. The next day, the dead snake disappeared. There was a plague in the village of Tai Hang, and many of the villagers were ill to death. While the villagers were in a state of panic, one of the elders had a dream. The dream hinted that the villagers should use grass to form a dragon which inserted joss sticks into it. In the Mid-Autumn Festival night, the villagers danced with the fire dragon and walked around the village, so that they could drive out the plague. As a result, the people of Tai Hang Village would have the Fire Dragon Dance on the Mid-Autumn festival every year. In fact, the reason why firecrackers would work is that it contains white peony, and the joss sticks can really get rid of the plague. However, the residents thought that it was the hint of God, so they continued the custom from generation to generation.

在1880年的中秋前夕，颱風吹襲大坑村，颱風過後，村民發現了一條大蠎蛇吞食了村中的家禽，於是村民們便合力把它打死，並將蛇送到警署。豈料第二天，死蛇不見了，大坑村發生瘟疫，很多村民病世，正當村民們枉恐不安時，當晚有一位長老得仙人報夢，說只要在中秋節晚上，用草紥成一條龍並插滿香枝，合村民之力舞動火龍繞村遊走及於炮竹，就可驅除瘟疫。村民跟隨長老的夢而行，結果真的軀除了瘟疫，於是大坑村的村民每年都會在中秋節舞火龍。其實，由於炮竹含有琉璜白藥，加上香火確能軀瘟疫，不過村民們以為神明真的顯靈，就將這習俗一代一代的延續下去。

1868年的大坑村 Tai Hang Village in 1868

(Photo Source: Apple Daily)

1920年的大坑村 Tai Hang Village in 1920
(Photo Source: Apple Daily)
 

Tai Hang has always been a neglected community. The area is full of small Tong Lau, distributed car houses, hardware stores, grocery stores and so on. It wasn't until 20 years ago that Hong Kong's property market went crazy, and Causeway Bay became the most expensive place in the world. Merchants began to look for suitable places to develop, and Tai Hang on the east side of Causeway Bay was their target. Since about 2007, investors continued to buy bunks in the Tai Hang and developed it into the latest cuisine variety street. Except for the businessmen, a group of young designers and start-ups also took advantage of the tranquility and cheapness of Tai Hang district, and entered there to start their own businesses. As a result, today's Tai Hang small community has gradually taken shape and has become the “back garden” in Causeway Bay.

大坑一直是不受重視的社區，區內盡是矮小的唐樓、橫街窄巷間只有車房、五金店、雜貨店。直到20年前，香港的樓市開始瘋狂，尤其是銅鑼灣的租金達到世界第一貴，商人們開始尋找適合發展的地方，銅鑼灣東邊的大坑正是他們的目標，大約由2007年開始，投資者不斷買入大坑的舖位，將其發展成最新的食街。而除了商人，一班年輕的設計師、初創者們，也看中了大坑區的寧靜與便宜，紛紛進駐大坑創業，慢慢形成了今天的大坑小社區，銅鑼灣的「後花園」。

大坑浣紗街 Wun Sha Street, Main Road of Tai Hang

 

Walking into Tai Hang, we can feel the atmosphere of peace. Under the rare low-rise Tong Lau which seldom be seen in Hong Kong, there are many special food shops, new brand shops as well as delicate boutique. There is not much traffic in the area，so we can walk in the street directly. It can take you an afternoon to walk slowly down the road looking for a favorite meal, or to admire the decor of a specialty store. I'm sure you haven't thought about how the great changes Tai Hang undergoing and gradually form today's look.

走進大坑，我們感受到一片寧靜的氣息，香港少有一大片矮少的唐樓下，是一家又一家的特色食店、新創品牌店、還有經過精心打份的小店。區內走過的車不多，我們大可走在馬路中，慢慢走過，尋找喜愛的美食，或是欣賞特式小店的裝橫，倒可花掉你一個下午。相信，你沒有想過，因為這些轉變，大坑經歷了驚天的變化。

不同類形餐廳任君選擇 Different style of restaurant

 



酒吧林立 Bar and Lounge
 


美麗的小店 Beautiful Shop
 

Today, there are 80 food stores in Tai Hang in just over 100 meters of four streets. However, 97 restaurants have closed since Tai Hang turned into food street in 2007. Is it really food street right now? Tai Hang attracted a large number of food stores because of the low rent. In the past six years alone, while in 2013，Tai Hang's store rents were even higher than those in Causeway Bay! The proprietors madly increase the price of rent so that the food shop owners can't bear it at all. As a result, the restaurants closed one by one. In 2016, there were 23 empty shops to be rent in Tai Hang, and the food street exists in name only. It was only ten years from prosperity to death.

今天的大坑，單是四條街道，短短百多米，已有80間食店，但同樣的，由2007年大坑轉變成食街至今，已有97間食店結業，食街，真的是食街？本來的大坑，因為租金便宜，吸引了大批食店進駐，但只是短短的6年間，在2013年，大坑的地舖租金甚至比銅鑼灣還要貴！這是因為業主的瘋狂加租，讓食店根本承受不住，結果一店起一店又結業，在2016年，大坑就有23個空置單位待租，食街名存實亡，從興旺到死寂，只是10年。

大坑正有無數舖位待租 The white and red spot are shops not rented

(photo source: HK01)

剛在一個月前結業的咖啡室 A Café just closed one month ago
 

At the same time, the car houses and hardware stores of Tai Hang have been forced to close down or relocate due to the soaring rent in the area, and the ecology of the area has been completely changed. Although Tai Hang is now a beautiful community, it has nothing to do with residents. They wouldn't visit the pricey restaurants every day, but are affected by soaring rents in the area. Meanwhile, the life pattern of the residents in this area has been changed, too. This is a feature of Hong Kong: following the trending. Tai Hang suffers this situation. When a few restaurants succeed in a community, countless restaurants rush in, which eventually leading to the death of the whole business circle.

同樣的，大坑本來的車房、五金店等，也因區內的租金瘋升，被逼結業或搬遷，區內生態完全改變，雖然大坑現在變成了美麗社區，但是這其實與居民無關，他們也不會每天到那些貴價食店光顧，但卻被區內急升的租金影響，很多前舖後居的街坊，都被區內的環境改變了生活模式。這是香港的一個特式：跟風，大坑就是這樣，當有幾家餐廳在某個社區成功了，就有無數餐廳都趕緊進駐，把整個生意圈都搞死，最後，一拍兩散。

 

Of course, these things have nothing to do with us, and we cannot change them at all. I had to come here by accident and continue to enjoy the tranquility and beauty here, forgetting the countless blood and tears behind the beauty.

當然，這些事情與我們無關，我們亦無力改變，我只好偶然到訪，繼續享受這裡的寧靜與美麗，忘記美麗背後，那無數的血與淚。

!steemitworldmap 22.2769082 lat 114.1889541 long d3scr

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Thanks for spending your time to read my articles. I like to share stories of Hong Kong. I wish you may support me and I will keep going!

謝謝你能抽空閱讀這篇文章，我平日喜歡分享香港的故事，希望大家多多支持，我會繼續努力！

 

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Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://aaronli.vornix.blog/2018/06/29/hong-kong-snapshot-98-tai-hang-coolest-corner-of-hk-but-dying-%e9%a6%99%e6%b8%af%e9%9a%a8%e6%8b%8d-98-%e5%a4%a7%e5%9d%91%ef%bc%8c%e6%ad%bb%e4%ba%a1%e4%b8%ad%e7%9a%84%e6%9c%80/

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