Shanghai Street, Mongkok | 上海街，旺角

Running down a long section of the Kowloon Peninsula, Shanghai Street in Mongkok features this cluster of ten pre-war tong-lau shophouses, which have been listed as Grade II buildings for their historical value. This is one of the few remaining examples of the typical Hong Kong architecture of the 1920s, with their first- floor verandahs (now enclosed) and arcaded fronts facing the street. The four taller buildings interspersed among the shophouses were built in the 1960s. Such tong-lau shophouses were residential on their upper floors and commercial at street-level, with stores in this area selling Chinese and Western utensils, hardware, traditional Chinese wedding gowns, and even snake soup.

A major heritage preservation project by the Urban Renewal Authority has already started, which will see the entire block revitalised, with many of the original architectural elements preserved. However, critics fear the loss of the area’s original character and the break-up of the community of some 170 residents, who will need to be re-housed.

旺角的上海街沿著九龍半島地段延伸，擁有十個戰前唐樓店屋，而這些店屋因其歷史價值而被列為二級歷史 建築。其「騎樓式」陽台(現已封閉)和面向街道的拱廊，是1920年代香港典型建築的少數現存例子之一， 而圖中穿插於店屋之間四棟較高的樓宇則建於1960年代。這些唐樓的上層樓層多為住宅，而在街道的地下層 則為商業店舖，這個區域的店鋪主要出售中⻄餐具、五金、傳統中式裙褂、甚至蛇羹。

市區重建局已開始實施一項主要的文物保護項目，將會令整個區域煥發生機，同時保留了許多原有的建築元 素。然而，有些反對者擔心重建會失去該地區的原始特徵，以及需要重新安置大約170名的居⺠而導致成社區 分裂。