Chungking Mansions

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Chungking Mansions
重慶大廈
The front of Chungking Mansions in August 2013
General information
Type	Composite Building
Architectural style	Modernism
Address	36–44 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Coordinates	22°17′46.94″N 114°10′20.89″E / 22.2963722°N 114.1724694°E / 22.2963722; 114.1724694
Named for	Chongqing
Completed	11 November 1961; 63 years ago (1961-11-11)
Technical details
Floor count	5 blocks, 17 floors
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Lamb Hazeland & Co.
Developer	Jaime Tiampo
Website
https://www.chungkingmansions.com.hk/home.htm

Chungking Mansions is a building located at 36–44 Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Though the building was supposed to be residential, it is made up of many independent low-budget guesthouses, shops and other services. As well as selling to the public, the stalls in the building cater to wholesalers shipping goods to Africa and South Asia.^[1] The unusual atmosphere of the building is sometimes compared to that of the former Kowloon Walled City.^[2]

Chungking Mansions features guesthouses, curry restaurants, African bistros, clothing shops, sari stores, and foreign exchange offices. It often acts as a large gathering place for some of the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, particularly South Asians (Indians, Nepalese, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans), Middle Eastern people, Nigerians, Europeans, Americans, and many other peoples of the world. Peter Shadbolt of CNN stated that the complex was the "unofficial African quarter of Hong Kong".^[3]

The building was completed on 11 November 1961.^[4] The developer, Jaime Tiampo, a Chinese-Filipino immigrant, had financed the construction by selling strata title lots off the plan.^[5] Many of the buyers were from overseas, leading to a multicultural environment from the complex's earliest days.^[6] Now, after more than five decades of use, there are an estimated 4,000 people living there.^[7]

Located in the golden mile of Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Chungking Mansions is in one of the busiest districts of Hong Kong; it is surrounded by entrances to the Tsim Sha Tsui station and East Tsim Sha Tsui station of the MTR.^[8]

The area surrounding the building is highly touristic, with two adjacent hotels including the lavish Peninsula Hotel, and a Holiday Inn hosting many tourists year-round. Shopping malls such as Isquare and Harbour City are shopping hotpots nearby, while the infamous tourist icon Star Ferry is only a ten-minute walk from the building. Cultural attractions such as the Hong Kong Cultural Centre and the Museum of Art are also only a few minutes away across Salisbury Road. Being on such expensive land, Chungking Mansions with its budget friendly guesthouses and shops, contrasts sharply to its surroundings.^[9]

Across the road is Kowloon Park anchored by the Kowloon Mosque, the park itself is a popular refuge from the crowding of the Chungking Mansions and the surrounding area, while the mosque serves an important religious function for the many Muslims who inhabit the building.^[10]

Chungking Mansions is named by developer Jaime Tiampo after the city of Chongqing, to commemorate the time when the Republic of China established the provisional Capitol there during WWII. The old postal name of the city Chungking was specifically chosen as this resembles its Cantonese pronunciation more closely.^[11]

The building is 17 storeys tall and consists of five blocks, named A, B, C, D and E.^[12] There are two lifts in each block, one of which serves even-numbered floors, the other odd-numbered floors. A CCTV camera system exists at the ground floor level for each of the lift cars.^{[citation needed]}

The first two floors are public spaces where most shops are located, and where residents wander around under the blocks; the third floor is a terrace level between the blocks where the tower blocks start to rise out of the base of the building. All floors above this floor are accessible only by the stairways and lifts contained in each block, which is unlike the designs of other similar buildings in the same period such as Mirador Mansion. This quirk cemented the image of Chungking Mansions as a maze or labyrinth, where once inside, it is hard to get from one place to another.^[13]

The only exception to the disconnected blocks is the separate Chungking Express (Cke) Shopping Mall, accessed by escalator via a separate entrance a few meters north of the main entrance. It was opened in 2009 and protrudes into the third floor of blocks A and B, yet it remains isolated from the other parts of the building through always-locked back doors.^[14]

Due to various incidents such as a major fire in 1993, and eight maintenance orders from the government in 1997–98, a committee was appointed and the building was then renovated four times in the 21st century.^[15]

• In 2000, various renovation works to public amenities were planned, then carried out from March to November 2001. The works cost a total of 13,484,200 HK$.
• In 2004, the old rubber flooring of the ground floor and first floor was replaced by new granite tiles. Costing a total of 2,460,000 HK$.
• In 2005, in order to increase efficiency, the old mechanical elevators were refurbished. Costing a total of more than 3,000,000 HK$.
• In 2010, the façade was repainted and renovated, while bands of computer controlled multicolored LEDs were also installed. Almost all of the characteristic advertisements and air-conditioner blocks were removed.^[4] Being the most expensive of all the renovations, it costed a total of 19,080,000 HK$.^[15]

Before Chungking Mansions was completed in 1961, Chungking Arcade (Chinese: 重慶市場), a mall with a U shaped "horseshoe" plan containing more than 30 shops selling a variety of goods catering to tourists, stood in its place.^[5]

The 50,000 square ft. site was developed into Chungking Arcade in 1941 by the Jaime Tiampo family, who were Hokkien immigrants from the Philippines. Jaime Tiampo was a merchant who built his fortune in Iloilo, Philippines, and moved to Hong Kong in 1938. By leveraging their Catholic connections in Hong Kong, they purchased a lot of land in Nathan Road from the Dominican Order of Priests and developed it into the U shaped shopping center.^[5]

Vehicles were able to enter the arcade from Nathan Road. Shops were owned mostly by Chinese merchants, and offered a variety of products including audio-visual products, fur clothing, jewellery, watches, and currency exchange.^[11] There were also foreign style bars, including one such called Henry's Café operated by Henry Lowcock (father of DBS headmaster S.J. Lowcock), which were popular with British servicemen at the time.^[5]

Operation of the arcade was suspended during 1941-1945 when the Japanese occupied Hong Kong, during which Allied bombers dropped two bombs on the Arcade, one exploded and another which weighed over 500 pounds was buried and not uncovered until the construction of Chungking Mansion in 1959 fifteen years later.^[5] After the war, the arcade expanded into more than 50 shops with new stores such as tailor shops, silk and ivory stores to bars.^[5]

During the 1950s, Tsim Sha Tsui was rapidly growing as an commercial district, leading to plans for re-development of the Arcade. Plans began as early as June 1956, with eviction notices issued to its 50 plus owners.^[16] Although initially unsuccessful, the tenants were eventually vacated in 1958, with construction of the Chungking Mansions starting in 1959.^[5]

While Chungking Mansions was designed as mostly residential, the building includes a wide variety of commercial establishments, including many residential units repurposed into guesthouses.

There are three shopping arcades within Chungking Mansions. All have their main entrances on Nathan Road: the main arcade, Cke Shopping Mall and Wood House. The original mall was closed in 1998. It reopened later and the Cke and Wood House (later replaced by Health) were created. In addition, licensed and unlicensed shops and restaurants can be found on many upper floors, some requiring codes to get in.^[17][18]

• The main arcade is accessible from the main entrance. It is located on the ground floor and 1st floor of the building.
• Chungking Express Shopping Mall (Cke, Chinese: 重慶站). In 2003, the first and second floors were acquired by a developer for approximately HK$200 million, and spent HK$50 million on renovations. Under the new building plan, the 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m²) second floor was divided into 360 small shops measuring 50 to 500 sq ft (46 m²) each and resold. The new "Chungking Express" mall was relaunched at the end of 2004.^[19] It was later renamed Cke mall.
• Heath (Chinese: 慶方) is the latest addition. Opened in 2022, it is located in the 40,000 square ft. basement of the building.^[20][21]

Many shops in the building are import/export businesses dealing in parallel goods that are predominantly sold to Asian and African countries.^[22] On the main floors as well as on upper floors in the towers, there are many restaurants that attract visitors from all over the world. For example, some small and family-run Indian and Pakistani restaurants with traditional Indian curry and Nepalese food are very well known. Due to competition between the very large number of restaurants inside the Mansions that are similar in style, many of them send staff to distribute leaflets on the streets to aggressively promote their restaurants.^[23]

There are many money changers located in the lower floors of Chungking Mansions who provide exchange services to the high number of people from all over the world living or doing business here.

Shops in the arcade sell not only traditional items from all over the world, but also trendy goods. Some of the shops found in the Mansions are different from those that are outside on the streets, selling articles which are imported from Asia and Africa. Computers, DVDs and VCDs, clothing, and some traditional snacks from foreign countries can be found inside Chungking Mansions.

Chungking Mansions contains the largest number of guest houses in Hong Kong in one building, with 1980 rooms in total.^{[citation needed]} Since it offers some of the cheapest rates in town, it has become a legendary haunt for backpackers and budget travellers.^[24][25] In 1975, it was dubbed by Tony Wheeler in his influential guide South East Asia on a Shoestring as the only place for backpackers to stay in Hong Kong, cementing its reputation as a backpacker's haven starting from the 1970s-1980s.^[26]

There are over 110 guest houses in the five blocks providing as many as 1200 rooms, with various sizes and serviceability depending on the price, ranging from less than 100 HK$ up towards 600-700 HK$.^[27] Rooms and/or floors are usually individually owned and managed. In most rooms space is at a minimum, having one or two beds, a small TV, an "all-in-one toilet/shower" and a small closet. In cheaper rooms, beds are hard with a thin mattress and a small pillow. Most, if not all, rooms are equipped with an air conditioner. Many rooms do not have windows, or only small windows facing into the dim light wells, making it hard to distinguish night from day.^[28]

Television is a staple within these guesthouses, and is distinctly different to others in Hong Kong due to its wide range of television channels from a diverse array of countries. Apart from Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese channels, channels from India, Pakistan, Nepal, as well as the BBC, the French channel TV5Monde are available in these guesthouses. This reflects the multi-cultural nature of the building.^[29]

• 
  Main entrance (right) and Cke Shopping Mall entrance (left) in December 2008. The entrance of the Wood House shopping mall (and subsequently Health) is located further left.
• 
  Nightscape of Main entrance in Chungking Mansions in August 2018
• 
  Shops within the "main arcade" in March 2013
• 
  Typical guesthouse room in Chungking Mansions in August 2013

Due to many incidents throughout the years, Chungking Mansions has earned a notorious reputation by ethnic Chinese locals and overseas tourists alike as being a dangerous place of crime and disaster. Many people fear to even enter the building. Other factors that influenced the building's reputation include quasi-racist views from Chinese Hongkongers and upper class tourists, as well as media depictions which exaggerate its dangers.^[30]

The age of the building, the diverse ownership and management structure are causes of the building's reputation for being a fire trap. Unsanitary conditions, security, ancient electrical wiring and blocked staircases all contribute to the hazards. On 21 February 1988, a fire broke out in the building. A Danish tourist who was trapped inside was killed. The fire, as well as a blaze in a similar building, provoked a review of rules and regulations concerning public safety.^[31]

In 1995, Chungking Mansions made local newspaper headlines when Sushila Pandey, a 37-year-old Indian tourist, was killed in the building by her Sri Lankan partner Attanayake Wasala Dangamuwa, 54.^[32][33]

In an effort to tighten the building's security, in 2003 CCTV cameras were installed. As of 2013, there are 330 CCTV cameras covering 70 per cent of the building's public spaces.^[34]

Chungking Mansions is also known to be a centre of drugs, as well as a refuge for petty criminals, scammers,^[35] and illegal immigrants. For example, in a police raid in June 1995, about 1,750 people were questioned, and 45 men and seven women from Asian and African countries were arrested on suspicion of offenses including failing to produce proof of identity, overstaying, using forged travel documents, possessing equipment for forging documents and possessing dangerous drugs.^[36] In "Operation Sahara" in 1996, 52 men and seven women from 14 countries were arrested for violating immigration regulations.^[37] An episode of National Geographic's Locked Up Abroad showed the location as the rendezvous for gold smugglers, contracted to be mules carrying 60 or more pounds of gold into Nepal.^[38]

In recent years especially after the 2019-2020 Hong Kong protests, negative views on ethnic minorities in Hong Kong such as Africans have gradually decreased.^[39] Chungking Mansion's public image was improved too after Jeffrey Andrews, a social worker who leads the NGO Christian Action Centre for Refugees in the building, organized ethnic minority members to offer water and food to protesters on 20 October 2019.^[40] Since then, tours of the building organized by ethnic minority members has attracted many ethnic Chinese visitors, to celebrate rather than fear the building.^[41]

Chinese University of Hong Kong anthropologist Prof Gordon Mathews estimated in 2007 that people from at least 120 different nationalities had passed through Chungking Mansions in one year.^[42] Mathews also estimated that up to 20 per cent of the mobile phones recently in use in sub-Saharan Africa had passed through Chungking Mansions at some point.^[43]

With this mix of guest workers, mainlanders, locals, tourists and backpackers, the Chungking neighbourhood is one of the most culturally diverse locations in Hong Kong. In 2007, Chungking Mansions was elected as the "Best Example of Globalization in Action" by Time magazine in its annual feature "The Best of Asia",^[44] although racial tensions are known to boil over occasionally.^[45]

Chungking Mansions served as one of the filming locations for Wong Kar-wai's 1994 movie Chungking Express, and is referenced in the title.^[46]

In Michael Connelly's novel Nine Dragons, detective Harry Bosch travels from Los Angeles to Hong Kong's Kowloon district in search of his missing daughter. Chungking Mansions is described by a character in the novel as a "post-modern Casablanca—all in one building."^[47]

The Economist compared it to the Mos Eisley cantina in the original Star Wars and quotes anthropologist Gordon Mathews: "whereas the illegalities in Chungking Mansions are widely known, the wondrousness of the place is not."^[48]

Chungking Mansions serves as the main scenery in the book Aap in Pak by Nicky Runge. The main protagonist follows the case of 4 missing women who have all been seen last in the Chungking Mansions.^[49]

In Xu Xi's 2005 novel Chinese Walls, Chungking Mansions serves as the focus for the short story. Set in the 1960s, the protagonist, a young girl, is fascinated by a young orange haired prostitute who inhabits the multi-faceted city-like building.^[50]

• Hong Kong portal
• Architecture portal

• G. Mathews, Ghetto at the Center of the World: Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong, University of Chicago Press, 2011.
• M. Jäggi & J. Jansen Chungking Mansions – 3D In-Formality Archived 8 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Studio Basel, 2008.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chungking Mansions.

• Official website As of July 2012^[update], The Incorporated Owners of Chungking Mansions