David Bellis

The seller described this photo as "Chinese Barber H. Kong 1920s", but there's a lot more than a simple haircut happening here. Full story: gwulo.com/node/59180

I'll be showing my favourite photos of old Hong Kong and telling their stories at this year's festival - hope to see you there! @litfest_hk #hklitfest Details & tickets: eventbrite.hk/e/david-bellis…

The Sam Ka Tsuen pier played in an important role in WW2. Today it's easily missed, hidden away among the seafood restaurants at Lei Yue Mun, but it can still be seen if you know where to look: gwulo.com/node/59149 #gwulo #hongkonghistory #ww2 #leiyuemun #samkatsuen

Who was "Mr Blank"? He's shown here, winning a race at Happy Valley in 1909. The newspapers' race reports list him under the pseudonym "Mr Blank". More: gwulo.com/node/59058

81 years ago, Japanese troops were getting ready to attack Hong Kong. To follow the events of December 1941, sign up for Gwulo's free daily email. Each morning you'll receive extracts from diaries written on that day in Hong Kong in 1941: gwulo.com/node/58985

1895 Hong Kong. We've identified all the buildings along the seafront (today's Des Voeux Road Central) in this detailed photo from 1895: gwulo.com/node/58962

c.1904 Mid-levels. Read more about this scene at gwulo.com/node/58938

In this short talk I use photos from the 1930s-50s to show how the war changed Hong Kong. (A recording of a talk I gave to @RGSHK members over the weekend.) youtu.be/CkRURCQmgkI

Explore old Pokfulam through this 1870s photo. Surprisingly, almost 150 years later several of these buildings are still with us. Others have already been demolished, and are waiting to be identified: gwulo.com/node/58876

New in '52 - This postcard's new buildings show Hong Kong was picking up speed again after the wartime years. But why were so many staff quarters, and why were HSBC's new quarters demolished so soon? See: gwulo.com/node/58861

You never know what clues will help us put a date on an old photo - for this one it turned out to be the relocation of a public toilet! Read more at gwulo.com/node/58838

A bunch of different clues helped pin down this photo's history: 1. (Main photo) 2. Skylines 3. Woodwork 4. Granite 5. ... Read the full story at gwulo.com/node/58813 #gwulo #oldhongkong #oldhongkongphoto #1930s #kowlooncity #kowloonwalledcity #lungtsunstonebridge

Thanks to @RubinVerebes for a very enjoyable interview about all things Gwulo, and his generous write-up: thebeat.asia/hong-kong/nomad…

Bottles, boats, and buttons are some of the items Gwulo's readers are asking for help identifying, in this week's newsletter: gwulo.com/node/57259

New on Gwulo: MTBs in 1941, Shek Kip Mei in 1956, Dairy Farm's cows in 1967, Vietnamese refugees in 1975, and lots more - gwulo.com/node/57186

New on Gwulo in the last week of 2021: charcoal kilns, VADs, Queen Elizabeth, fluffy cotton, pillboxes, and the usual assortment of Hong Kong people and pictures - see gwulo.com/node/57083

Let the people who lived through the fighting in 1941 tell you what it was like. Sign up to receive a free daily email with a selection of diary entries written in Hong Kong, 80 years ago: gwulo.com/node/56750

The @UkNatArchives collection also has many historic maps of Hong Kong. The recent visit turned up an old blacksmith's forge in Kowloon Park, major developments from the 1920s that never panned out, the Sanitarium up at the Peak, and a Monty Python moment: gwulo.com/node/56249

The @UkNatArchives collection of Hong Kong documents has all sorts of surprises. Last month's visit uncovered war crimes, the troubles of naturalisation, escapes from Hong Kong, and arguments over who controlled Kowloon City: gwulo.com/node/56213