Culture & Leisure

Hong Kong’s cotton trees are in full bloom. The flame-colour flowers mark the height of Spring in the city, especially along the road named after it: Cotton Tree Drive in the mid-levels. Native to India, Malaysia and the Philippines, cotton trees are widely cultivated in South China, Taiwan, Indo-China Peninsula and Malaysia by immigrants. According to Mr. Ken K. Y. So, arborist and t Chief Executive of The Conservancy Association, cultivation of cotton trees has been recorded in Hong Kong since the Qing Dynasty. Today, there are more than 8,000 trees according to Greening, Landscape & Tree Management Section of Development Bureau. Colloquially known as “hero trees”, cotton trees get the name for their straight and sturdy trunk., They are also named after the legendary hero of the Lizu people, one of the 56 ethnic groups indigeous to Hainan island in southern China. The late Hong Kong pop icon Roman Tam also had a song called Hung Min, the Cantonese name for cotton trees, in which he used the plant as a metaphor for the lofty and unyielding character of Chinese people. It also carries the connotation of cherishing and the promise of wealth and well-being. In 2015, a Wong Tai Sin District Councillor proposed to sterilize the cotton trees around town because he thought the kapok the plants produce was a nuisance. But the proposal was eventually dropped because there was no medical evidence that the white kapok affected the respiratory system. The scientific name of cotton trees is Bombax ceiba. It can be found all over the city, and there is a cotton tree lovers map marking out more than 40 places to admire the bloom. Many are in Tuen Mun and Mei Foo. The most famous place to see cotton trees blossom is along the Shek Kong …

  Tsang Fook Piano Company, Hong Kong’s oldest musical instrument store, announced on Jan. 22 that it will end its business in March. The descendant of the Tsang Fook family revealed the decision to close was made because the next generation had limited interest in inheriting the business. The announcement mentioned how the company has witnessed the ups and downs of the city for more than a century, and it is now time to say goodbye.  Its two branches in Wan Chai and Wong Chuk Hang are putting on a clearance sale before the closure. The founder, Mr Tsang Fook, learned how to make and tune pianos in Europe and America. In 1916, he opened Tsang Fook Piano’s first branch on Morrison Hill Road in Wanchai. In the 1980s, Mr Tsang set up a factory and manufactured his own ‘made in Hong Kong’ pianos named Morrison. The street nearby was named “Kam Hong Street” (translated as “the piano company street”) to commemorate the factory building. The brand earned its prominence not only in Hong Kong but also in South East Asia, Britain and New Zealand. Later on, the company expanded its business to music instruments wholesale, retail and education. Customers expressed their regret about the closure of Tsang Fook Piano Co. This afternoon, Mr Yip, a retiree, wandered around the showroom for half an hour, trying to turn back time. When Mr Yip was young, he visited the store regularly. He was the guitarist of a band. Since the 1950s, Tsang Fook Piano Company has been one of the few stores in Hong Kong selling foreign music instrument brands, including his favourite Gibson guitar.  “At that time, Tsang Fook was far more well-known than Tom Lee and Parsons Music. And now, the online world and the chains throttled its room …