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Tai Yuen Street

is a unique place
and it is worth

preserving

Leung, a grocery owner who has
been selling umbrellas in a street stall
since 1962, says more people visit the
street after its redevelopment in 2007.
Electricity was provided and light-
ings were installed. Individual stalls
were reorganised. “It has become
more convenient for shoppers, and
for us as shop keepers,” she says. Le-
ung adds that the variety of goods sold
in the street has been multiplied after
the renovation, attracting customers
looking for different commodities.
“Tai Yuen Street is a unique place
and it is worth preserving,” says one of
the owners who has been running her
street stall business in Tai Yuen Street
for more than 10 years. Although she
never makes huge profits from her
business, she is unwilling to relocate
her store or to quit the business, no
matter how much compensation the
government is offering them.
Under rapid economic develop-
ment, old streets seem to have lost
their original appearance and iden-
tities. Yet, the history they hold, the
cultural values they carry and the
community stories they record, are
priceless treasures of the city. The des-
tiny of the two streets and the story of
our time are still in our hands.

Edited by Edith Chung
& Valerie Wan