Tai Yuen Street: A Brief History

Tai Yuen Street is a street located in the Wanchai district of Hong Kong. The street has a long history and has undergone many changes over the years.

In this photo you can see the market full of energy and movement, the neon signs advertise ‘the five life essential goods’, these goods were considered to be rice, oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar.

All the people are motion blurred expressing the energy of the market apart from a little girl in the middle of the photo that seems frozen and looking at the camera. carried on the back of lady in a traditional baby carrier.

In the early 20th century, Tai Yuen Street was a bustling marketplace known for its shops selling traditional Chinese goods such as silk, tea, and herbs. It was a popular destination for locals and visitors alike looking to purchase authentic Hong Kong souvenirs.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Tai Yuen Street became known for its toy shops, which sold a wide variety of toys and games. It was a popular destination for parents and children, particularly during the Christmas season.

In more recent years, Tai Yuen Street has become a foodie destination, with a wide variety of street food stalls and restaurants serving everything from traditional Hong Kong snacks to trendy fusion cuisine.

Today, Tai Yuen Street remains a popular destination for both locals and tourists, and it continues to evolve and change with the times.

Keith Macgregor has been photographing Hong Kong for nearly 50 years. He documented Hong Kong since the economic boom period of the 70s, a time of immense prosperity, social development and general optimism. Nearing the end of its status as a British colony, many photographs depict a fascinating time where the visual contrast between British and Chinese culture, as well as what could be described as the old and the new, was still immensely visible and played into what made the city dynamic yet still mystical in nature.

Keith Macgregor拍攝香港近50年。他由香港於70年代開展黃金時期時一直以相攝記錄社會發展繁榮和樂觀的時期。很多照片仍是英國殖民地的香港，並描繪出那個迷人的時期。其中的中英文化以及新舊之間的視覺對比仍然非常明顯，並融入並創造出這個充滿活力的城市畫面，但同時本質上仍然保留其神秘感。