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Step Back In Time With Historic Hong Kong

By Sophie Pettit 27 October 2015
Ever wondered what it would be like to take a stroll down Ladder Street in 1870, climb the stone slabs of Pottinger Street in the 1930s, or browse the shops of Queens Road at the turn of the twentieth century? Well, we may not have cracked the secret of time travel just yet, but we have discovered Google Street View, and for global travel blog HotelClub that will do for now. They have created a new interactive online tool called Historic Hong Kong which takes us on a virtual tour of our city through the ages and allows us to see what it looked like up to one hundred years ago. This works by overlaying old images of iconic Hong Kong hot spots on top of current ones from Google Street View, enabling us to see how Hong Kong has evolved into a modern business metropolis, whilst also experiencing the historic beauty that still shines through the neon-lit streets today. "Hong Kong is a city that has evolved rapidly in very recent decades and we wanted to allow people to compare and contrast and see first hand just how much, and at the same time, just how little the city has changed," Amira Haroen, marketing executive at HotelClub, tells Localiiz. "Whilst the LED billboards, self-driving cars, and Maglev might all be new additions, the city has grown on its old foundations. Streets, when compared to photos of them from the 20s and 30s, look oddly familiar - save for the horse and cart." [masterslider id="140"] Creators worked closely with Hong Kong historian Mark Footer to ensure that the most iconic and historically interesting locations were featured, such as Nathan Road, Queen's Road, Kennedy Town, and Des Voeux Road, with the oldest photo dating back to Ladder Street in 1870. "Hong Kong is a financial epicentre, a beautifully historic city and a diverse melting pot of culture and architecture," Haroen adds. "Now, with the use of Google Street View, we are able to walk around this vibrant city and explore its architectural history as if we were there ourselves all those years ago." Step back in time and take a stroll in Hong Kong.
Delve deeper! Learn more about the history of Hong Kong with HotelClub’s Guide to the History of Hong Kong Cinema, and The History of the Junk Boat. Enjoy!

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Sophie Pettit

Editor-in-chief

Sophie is always on the lookout for a great story and her next big adventure and loves nothing more than discovering the city’s hidden gems—and most delicious cocktails. When she’s not exploring new places, she’s off travelling and ticking countries off her bucket list.

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