186-190 Queen's Road East

Project Status

The 3 buildings have been preserved for wedding-related adaptive reuse as part of the URA’s Redevelopment Project at Lee Tung Street (H15). Through coordination with the tenant, an exhibition area on wedding tradition has been set up on 3/F of the premises.

Historical linkage

• The three bays of verandah type tenement buildings form a continuous façade verandah facing Queen's Road East.

• The buildings lie on land reclaimed before 1887.

• The buildings were identified by Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) as Grade III Historical Buildings.

Architectural attributes

• The 3 pre-war residential blocks are unique Guangzhou-styled "Tong Lau", that were occupied exclusively by Chinese and predominantly seen all over southern Chinese cities and towns in the nineteen centuries.

• The shophouse's existence was a culmination of a series of historic forces from economic development of Hong Kong, Second World War as well as the influx of Chinese migrants to Hong Kong.

• The shophouses were a mixture of Chinese and Western architectural features. They were built in contiguous blocks in elongated layout and characterised by their narrow frontage. The shophouses have 4 storeys with verandahs facing Queen's Road East.

• Every unit is about 450 - 700 square feet with high ceiling and French windows to the verandahs. Light wells are located between the living space and the kitchen at the back.

• The shophouses did not have toilet provisions. The "nightsoil" from the pail latrine was collected by government scavengers at night.

• Ground floor was devoted to family business whereas upper levels were for residential purpose.