Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Welcome to Gwulo

Here you'll find over 50,000 pages about old Hong Kong to explore, including over 30,000 photos. The content is added by a friendly community of people who enjoy sharing what we know about Hong Kong's history, and you are very welcome to join us.

Kind regards, David

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Video: Early Brownies, Cubs, and Scouts in Hong Kong

Submitted by David on Tue, 02/10/2026 - 02:00

Scouts, Wolf Cubs, Brownies, and other children

When I bought this on eBay, the seller described it as “1915 Hong Kong Scout Albumen Photograph (HIGHLY RARE)”.

I’m not sure that’s all 100% true, so in this video I’m on the hunt for the clues that will show us when and where this photo was really taken. (If you don’t see the video below, please click here to watch it on Youtube.)

Resources:

View a high-resolution scan of this photo
The badges for British Army ranks
Photos of Brownies in Hong Kong
Photos of Cub Scouts in Hong Kong
Photos of Scouts in Hong Kong
The Annual Education reports can be viewed at HKGRO

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New on Gwulo: 2026, week 05

Submitted by David on Sun, 02/01/2026 - 02:00

What's new and updated on the Gwulo website:

General

Please do you have any photos of Scouts, Cubs, or Brownies, taken in Hong Kong in the 1910s-1930s? I am trying to put an accurate date on a photo I've just bought for a future video, and one clue is the children's uniforms. The style of those uniforms changed several times in the early years, so by comparing them with other photos where we know the date, I'm hoping to work out when this new photo was taken. (Here are the photos we already have on Gwulo of Cub Scouts / Scouts / Brownies.)
Should Hong Kong have an aviation museum?
The Sai On / Tak Shing / Tung Shan ferry
Several updates for my recent video: 1945 flight over wartime Hong Kong
- Correction: No evidence that Union Church was bombed
- We've created new Place pages for several sites related to the video:
  - Military buildings off Chung Hom Kok Road
  - Huts(?) on Shek O Road [????- ]
  - WW2 Outdoor Kitchen near Aberdeen Lower Reservoir [????-????]
  - Wartime Huts at South Bay [????-????]
  - Wartime Stoves below Brick Hill [????-????]
  - Wartime Stoves behind Deep Water Bay [????-????]
  - Wartime Stoves, Hatton Road [????-????]
Readers ask for help with:
- What were the likely routes to travel from London to Hong Kong in 1920?
- Looking for a photograph of the former Tsuen Wan District Police Station building on Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan, N.T. (as it was c.1980's if possible) to accompany an illustrated career memoir including time served there.
- Looking for help to correct metadata in the records for the Frank Fischbeck Collection of photos
- What or who is / was the origin of the restaurant name “Gripps”?
- Collector wants to buy pre-1920 maps of HK & surrounding region
- Looking for any information about the building at the left edge of this photo:
  - Caroline Hill Road, by Robbot27

Places

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A look back at Gwulo's 2025

Submitted by David on Sun, 01/25/2026 - 02:00

Highlights of the year included starting with a mention in the New Year's Honours List, and ending with the website passing 60,000 pages for the first time.

Gwulo's books also reached new milestones, with total sales of the English copies passing 9,000 copies, and publication of the Chinese translation of Volume 1.

Thank you to everyone who made this possible,

David

In more detail...

1. New Year's Honour

Here's that mention in the New Year's Honours List:

THE KING has been graciously pleased to approve the award of the British Empire Medal (Civil Division) to the undermentioned:

B.E.M.

David Richard BELLIS
Founder, Gwulo

For services to Heritage Preservation in Hong Kong.

The B.E.M. ceremony happens at the county level, which meant a trip to Pembrokeshire's County Hall. The Lord Lieutenant, the High Sheriff, and all the team at Pembrokeshire County Council gave us a warm welcome, and several local Cadets attended, looking very smart in their uniforms. My family from Hong Kong and the UK were able to join us too, which all made it a very special day for me.