Latest news with #KaiTakAirport
Time Out
3 days ago
- Business
- Time Out
A Covid quarantine facility is being turned into housing for Hong Kong youths
If there's one negative thing we have to say about Hong Kong, it's that our houses are notoriously tiny and among the most expensive in the world. In light of our city's housing crisis, a Covid-19 quarantine facility in Kai Tak has been converted into a hostel for young people in Hong Kong. Named Runway 1331 in honour of the old Kai Tak Airport, this site is part of our government's Youth Hostel Scheme, which works towards housing young people at more affordable rates so they can save up to rent or potentially buy their own homes in the future. Currently, there are two facilities in the New Territories with an age limit for applicants capped at 30 years old, but this new Kai Tak venue offers rooms to Hongkongers aged 40 or below. This facility is one of the nine isolation sites built during the pandemic to quarantine coronavirus-positive patients, but has been left empty ever since. The 28.4-acre site houses 2,900 rooms with private bathrooms, as well as basketball courts, shared workspaces, a performance venue, and common areas for arts and culture activities. It has recently started trial operations by offering 250 rooms with rental prices starting at just $200 per night. With rents being between $3,000 and $6,000 per month for long-term tenants, Runway 1331 seems a far better alternative to subdivided flats or our city's notorious 'coffin homes'. Aside from being a place to live, the youth hostel project is also aiming to become 'the world's biggest incubator for the youth', with tenants expected to contribute to the hostel community by sharing their skills through workshops or organising other events. There will also be at least 100 rooms set aside to be given rent-free to tenants with creative talents. Runway 1331 is expected to be fully operational later this year towards September, with future admission criteria to be announced. To promote international cultural exchange, these accommodations will be open to youths of all nationalities, but we can expect priority to be given to applicants with talents in cultural, artistic, or entrepreneurial fields.
HKFP
14-07-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Unused Covid-19 facility in Kai Tak converted into youth hub featuring hostel, sports, cultural spaces
An unused Covid-19 isolation facility in Kai Tak will be converted into a youth hub featuring a hostel with rooms starting at HK$200 a night. Runway 1331, which opened on a trial basis on Sunday, is expected to officially launch in September. It consists of a hostel with 2,900 rooms with private toilets, as well as a performance venue, basketball courts, and common spaces for arts and cultural activities. The project is operated by Glorise Tourism & Culture – a subsidiary of the central government-owned China Tourism Group, also known as China Travel Service. Youth groups can apply for accommodation at trial rates of HK$200 a night for single rooms, while the rent for long-term tenants will range between HK$3,000 and HK$6,000 a month. At least 100 rooms will be reserved for people to stay free of charge if they have skills that they could use to contribute to the community, said Winnie Chiu, a director at Glorise Tourism & Culture. The project, near the old Kai Tak Airport, is named after the former airport's single runway numbered 13/31. Known as one of the trickiest airports to land in, Kai Tak Airport closed on July 6, 1998, while the neighbouring area has been redeveloped with the Kai Tak Sports Park and high-rise residential estates. Chief Executive John Lee announced in his policy address last year that the Kai Tak Covid-19 isolation site would become a 'youth development facility' for young people to 'stimulate creativity, develop culture and arts, and engage in mutual exchange.' In May, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak said the project aimed at attracting youth from overseas and giving them an extra accommodation option. 'When we speak to youths from different places, they often say it is difficult to find a place to live in Hong Kong,' she said. The Covid-19 facility in Kai Tak was among nine isolation sites built during the city's fifth Covid-19 wave in 2022, using workers from mainland China as Beijing sought to help the city amid the outbreak. The facilities were spread across the city, with the biggest one at Penny's Bay, near Hong Kong Disneyland on Lantau Island. Many of the facilities, however, were left underused as soaring infection figures made the government's policy of tracking patients and close contacts impossible. Lawmakers criticised what some called a misuse of public funds. Last year, the Development Bureau said some sites had been repurposed for other uses. The isolation centre in Tam Mei, located in Yuen Long, now serves as quarters for non-local construction workers. In Tsing Yi, the facility is managed by the Hong Kong Army Cadets Association to hold training for youth groups.
Time Out
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The M+ façade is showing magical Hong Kong moments from analogue photos
The expansive, LED canvas of M+ façade is one of the largest media screens in the world, and it is now showing a brand-new series of work that highlights Hong Kong in all its magical, intimate, neon-drenched, lively moments. Named HK:PM, this commissioned art piece is by internationally acclaimed photographer Greg Girard, who is well-known for capturing cities in transformation, and how personal moments come together to shape collective history. Analogue photos from Girard's personal collection, shot in Hong Kong between the 70s and 90s, have been animated to show the beauty and complexity of our city's dense urban fabric in cinematic fashion. Wong Kar-wai may have inextricably linked us with neon-lit romanticism, but these new sequences show real-life Hong Kong in all its striking glory. Some of the scenes captured include rare images of the now-demolished Kowloon Walled City; workers and fashionable citizens going about their daily hustle in Central; airplanes flying over the dense city blocks near the old Kai Tak Airport; neon-lit streets; revellers making the city come alive at night; and also some celebrity moments. Catch Hong Kong's photographic memories and stories shown on the M+ façade every night from now until September 28. The best place to view this is from the harbourfront between the Central ferry piers and the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park in Sheung Wan.
Time Out
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Part of the old Kowloon Walled City has reappeared in its original location
Hongkongers' fascination for the old Kowloon Walled City is still going strong, fuelled by the popularity of Soi Cheang's martial arts epic Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In. There is now a massive movie set exhibition of the 2024 film that has been constructed where the Kowloon Walled City actually used to sit, within what is now the Kowloon Walled City Park. The 'Kowloon Walled City: A Cinematic Journey' exhibition recreates key scenes from the film and is Hong Kong's largest-scale movie set exhibition to date. If you've seen the film or been to the previous Twilight of the Warriors exhibitions that were held in the airport or the Airside mall, you'll recognise iconic locations such as the No.7 Restaurant, the barbershop, the dental and bone-setting clinics, the grocery store, repairshop, and more. There will also be some new sights including a fishball factory, a communal well, and a plastic-moulding workshop. Care has also been taken to reconstruct the old precinct's narrow alleyways, with floor tiles repurposed from old buildings and a bustling street market that has been set up to present an authentic taste of the Walled City in the 80s. From the moment visitors step past the ceremonial flower board and through the iron arch designed to reference that period in history. The vibes are also enhanced by large-scale projections that display life in the Walled City through the day and night, accompanied by low-flying planes roaring over the area like they used to do in the past when Kai Tak Airport was still in use.
South China Morning Post
04-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Naval guns, crowds welcome Queen Elizabeth to Hong Kong in 1975 – from the SCMP archive
This article was first published on May 5, 1975 Advertisement To the boom of welcoming naval guns firing a Royal salute and the skirl of Gurkha pipers, the Queen was yesterday welcomed to Hong Kong as she sailed across Fragrant Harbour. Amid waving flags and beneath the skyscrapers of Hong Kong and Kowloon, the Queen and her husband, Prince Philip, received an enthusiastic welcome as they made their historic touchdown at Kai Tak. A historic moment for Hong Kong as Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip arrive at Kai Tak Airport on May 4, 1975. Photo: SCMP It was the first visit to the Colony of a reigning monarch since Hong Kong came under British rule 134 years ago after the first Opium War. Fireboats sent gigantic sprays into the air as the Governor's launch, Lady Maurine, took the Queen, Prince Philip, and the Governor, Sir Murray MacLehose, and Lady MacLehose, to an appropriately-named landing point on Hong Kong Island – Queen's Pier. The Royal couple enjoyed a triumphant welcome. Distant crowds cheered as the special British Airways Boeing 707 jet roared in over Lyemun. Advertisement Under brilliant skies, with a few puffy white clouds, the jet touched down gently as it landed. The Queen and Prince Philip stepped down from the plane to greet the Governor and Lady MacLehose, the Commander British Forces, Sir Edwin Brammall, the Colonial Secretary, Mr Denys Roberts, the Chief Justice, Sir Geoffrey Briggs, Senior Executive Councillor, Sir Yuet-keung Kan, and Lady Kan, and Senior Legislative Councillor, Dr S. Y. Chung, and Lady Chung.
