The Birth of the Hong Kong Island Family.

Chapter 1 [The Initial Chapter]

In 1946, Hong Kong's population rapidly soared from 60 in the early post-war period to 150 million.Hong Kong already had a housing shortage, and the Japanese army bombed many houses, so many people were forced to sleep on the streets.At first glance, the homeless are poor and dirty, but upon closer inspection, they are found to be well-organized, with no sign of despair or giving up.

They put their belongings on the ground and on the outer wall: straw mats, bamboo baskets, bamboo brooms, cooking utensils, and tin cans. The environment is fully utilized, and children can also have space to play.The influx of cheap labor is only waiting for the influx of countless funds and technologies. The combination of the three will achieve the glory of Hong Kong's industrialization in the next three to forty years.

In Hong Kong in 1946, the tallest building was the "Third Generation HSBC Building", with a height of 70 meters and a total of 13 floors. It was the largest building in the Far East at that time and the first air-conditioned building in Hong Kong.

The HSBC Building was once used as the government headquarters during the Japanese colonial period in Hong Kong. Later, due to the shortage of supplies, the Japanese army transported the bronze lion at the entrance to RB to prepare for recycling. After the surrender of RB, the two lions were found by the U.S. Army and shipped back to Hong Kong under the order of MacArthur. This pair of bronze lions has been used until later generations.

In Hong Kong in 1946, the law stipulated that "ordinary private houses" could not exceed five floors, and the residential houses in Hong Kong were generally in the style of "tenement buildings" and "arcade buildings".The property sales at this time are sold in units of "buildings" and "buildings". As for "sale in strata" and "off-plan flats in installments", no one has yet proposed. (Later, in 1948, Wu Duotai proposed layered sales, and in 1954, Hailingtai proposed installment payment, uncompleted flats, and shared sharing)
In Hong Kong in 1946, housing rents began to rise. With the influx of a large number of wealthy and factory owners, rents will reach an extremely exaggerated level in 1949.If you want to rent a house, you have to pay the landlord a "top fee" first, and then pay the monthly rent.It only takes a few years for the landlord to earn back the value of the property itself. (According to records, the Bao family in Ningbo leased a one-story property of more than 1948 square meters in 2. The top-up fee was 450 Hong Kong dollars, and the monthly rent was [-] Hong Kong dollars.)

1946年的香港，1英镑固定兑换16港币，1美元固定兑换4港币。香江的警察薪资是120港币/月、普通银行职员薪资是100港币/月，而绝大多数人的薪资远不及这两种职业。

For 3 cents, you can take the tram on Hong Kong Island, for 5 cents, you can take the Star Ferry across Kowloon, Hong Kong Island, for 3 cents for a piece of bread, for 8 cents, you can eat a bowl of fried rice noodles from the "Yung Kee Restaurant" in Central. Remember the restaurant's porridge has risen to [-] cents. (millimeters = angles, cents = points)
In Hong Kong in 1946, the vast majority of factory workers had to work 16 hours a day, all year round, and their salaries were very cheap, ranging from 30 to 100 Hong Kong dollars.It is precisely by virtue of these cheap labor that those entrepreneurs have brought Xiangjiang's plastics, garments, textiles, toys, flashlights, umbrellas and other commodities to the world.

It is precisely because labor is so cheap that many young people prefer to be a policeman when looking for a job, followed by joining an association (also a dock laborer), and finally entering a factory; even girls hold this view when choosing a partner, some girls even She would rather be the concubine of a rich man than marry a poor man.This is still an era when the laws of the Qing Dynasty and the laws of the United Kingdom coexisted. Xiangjiang is a highly capitalized society, and everything is based on money and respect.

In Hong Kong in 1946, people on the streets dressed in a combination of Chinese and Western styles. Many women wore white shirts and black trousers, with long braids. Most women tied their children with cloth belts behind their backs. Occasionally, a few young women wore long gowns or cheongsams. , outlines a graceful figure, which is particularly eye-catching.

Some men wear undershirts and trousers, and some wear shirts and trousers, with oil dispensers and watches, which are almost the clothes of two classes.The passers-by are in a hurry, but it confirms the vitality of Xiangjiang after the war.

In Hong Kong in 1946, rickshaws were one of the most common means of transportation in this era, competing for business with the rattling Hong Kong trams and emerging cars and buses.As for taxis, there are less than 200 in Hong Kong at this time, and there are about 1400 licensed cars and 1100 trucks.

The driver of the rickshaw is the best portrayal of the hard life of the Chinese in Hong Kong in this era. The driver is an abject poverty class. He only cares about picking up customers. His muscles and muscles are strong but prematurely decayed. , barefoot, on the dark shoulders, wearing a worn and yellowed sweat towel.

At this time, the fare of a rickshaw is about 5 cents, but it will inevitably be abandoned by the times. (In order to fight against the emerging means of transportation, in the early 50s, rickshaws launched a five-cent movement to go to Hong Kong and Kowloon, using their feet to fight against cars, and finally forced the Hong Kong government to stop issuing rickshaw licenses and restrict rickshaw driving routes. After all, it was defeated in front of capital.)
In Hong Kong in 1946, the sea surface of Victoria Harbor was empty and wide, and the coastline was completely different from that of later generations. "Tsim Sha Tsui East" had not yet been reclamated, and Central and Wanchai had not undergone large-scale reclamation and widening.

There is a small naval fleet in the middle of Victoria Harbor, including a cruise fleet and two aircraft carriers. Not far away, there are also warships staying at the 'Tamar Naval Base'. heavily guarded.

In Hong Kong in 1946, the Star Ferry Pier was at the narrowest part of Victoria Bay, facing the Central Pier. The green and white Star Ferry shuttled back and forth between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, transporting all kinds of people across the sea.

In the early 70s, when the Hung Hom Tunnel and the MTR were not in operation in the 80s, the Star Ferry was the only way to connect Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, with tens of thousands of people passing by every day.The fare of the Star Ferry is 5 cents. The ticket is like a small book, with orange red and white obliquely on the front, Chinese and English on each side, with the year and month on it, and the note 'must be submitted for inspection (inspection) before it can pass 'wait.Later, the Star Ferry ticket price increased several times. In the 60s, it was already 2 cents (third-class seat), and because of a price increase of [-] cents (cents), a big incident happened.

In Hong Kong in 1946, the first "Miss Hong Kong" was held in late June. The official name was "International Charity Swimming Competition". Chi Nightclub' is the Li Caifa industry who has the nickname of 'Uncle Caifa' and 'Hong Kong Du Yuesheng'.

A beauty pageant in this era is to arrange for a few young girls to walk around in front of Chinese and foreign judges in sexy bikinis.The purpose is to respond to the call of the 'Hong Kong British Government' at this time - Hong Kong people urgently need a form of mass entertainment to divert the "sequelae" of the war.As a result, the "Miss Hong Kong" beauty pageant with a charitable nature came into being amidst the depression.

As for that 'Li Caifa', he is the boss of the Hong Kong Green Gang, and his 'Ritz Nightclub' is regarded as the best entertainment venue in Hong Kong in recent years, but Li Caifa was later 'deported' by the Hong Kong British government, suspected of various Illegal activities.

In Hong Kong in 1946, children with children could be seen everywhere on the streets, and there were no adults to take care of them. At a young age, they had learned to share the burden for their parents and take care of their younger siblings; An iron pot, which is where the lunch prepared by their parents is placed; in this way, the adults can devote themselves to work, saving one person from taking care of the children, and avoiding delays in earning extra work.There are no human traffickers in this era, and there is no Karma.

In Hong Kong in 1946, there was a boy named "Lin Zhichao" who came to Hong Kong from Guangdong Province.He only has 50 Hong Kong dollars in his pocket, which is the support given by his widowed mother who sold the jewelry.Before leaving, Lin Zhichao vowed to his widowed mother and younger sister: within two years, they will be brought to live in Hong Kong.

Lin Zhichao has no ambitions, because he knows that without background and backing, it will take time to get ahead in Xiangjiang.So within two years, he can only say that he will bring his mother and sister to Hong Kong, but he dare not say that he can let them live a prosperous life.After all, the first pot of gold is often the most important.

(End of this chapter)