[2010.02.23] WING LEE STREET STILL FACES DEMOLITION DESPITE BERLIN FAME

courtesy of on.cc

ECHOES OF THE RAINBOW (SHUI YUET SUN TAU) mainly shot on location around a group of pre-war tenement buildings on Wing Lee Street, Sheung Wan. They are facing demolition and rebuilding threats. A concerned group expressed that Wing Lee Street's 60s old city features are the only remaining ones in Hong Kong. Wing Lee Street as early as 2003 was included in the urban renewal authority's Staunton Street/Wing Lee Street rebuilding project. Fortunately the project ran into one obstacle after another, Wing Lee Street "survived" until the film production. Although Wing Lee Street is famous due to ECHOES' award, the urban renewal authority for now has no plan to change its development project. It feels that since they are neither historical buildings or legally defined monuments, only three tenement buildings from 10 to 12 would remain. The rest will be rebuilt into six story tenement building groups.

Already fighting for the entire Wing Lee Street conservation for two years, the Central and Western district concern group's Law Nga Ning stressed that the importance of Wing Lee Street was not only as an award winning film location; the entire street was located on an elevated street and completely preserved the 50s and 60s Hong Kong old city features. Only a few are remaining in Hong Kong, so it urges the government and the urban renewal authority to fully preserve the area.