Hong Kong’s high density industrial areas

Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated cities on earth, but it isn’t just houses that are stacked up tall – factories and warehouses are as well.

Multistorey industrial buildings in Kwai Chung

Towering industry

Kwai Chung is full of twenty storey buildings dedicated to industry.

Multistorey industrial buildings in Kwai Chung

Divided up into a rabbit warren of storage units and work rooms.

Multistorey industrial buildings in Kwai Chung

Goods come in and out via a loading dock at ground level, with turntables used to direct trucks into parking bays.

Truck turntable in the loading dock of a multistorey industrial building in Hong Kong

San Po Kong is an older industrial district, but no less dense.

Multi-storey industrial buildings at San Po Kong, with Lion Rock in the distance

With Kwun Tong being another.

Speeding past Hong Kong's old industrial developments

Mixing homes and industry

Industry isn’t just in dedicated areas – districts like Jordan have towering light industrial buildings between the apartment blocks.

Entrance to a light industrial building in Jordan

And other districts have the ground level of apartment buildings taken over by workshops.

Recycling depot on Second Street

Mechanics.

Mechanics workshop on the ground floor of an apartment block on Bonham Road

And recycling depots.

E-waste recycling shop on Second Street

And by the water

The Kwai Tsing Container Terminals are one of the busiest ports in the world.

Multi storey warehouse at the Modern Terminals complex

But with little space, massive multi-storey warehouses have been built to handle cargo.

Multi storey warehouse at the Goodman DP World and Modern Terminals complexes

Loading docks at ground level.

Multi storey warehouse at the Modern Terminals complex

And spiral ramps to allow trucks to access the upper floors.

Freight depots at the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals

Similar truck accessible warehouses were built at the former Kai Tak Airport.

Multi-storey warehouse complex in Hong Kong, with ramps for trucks

Beside Kowloon Bay at Kwun Tong.

'Kerry D. G. Godown' warehouse at Kowloon Bay

'Kowloon Godown' warehouse in Kwun Tong

And by the wharves in Kennedy Town.

Warehouses behind the China Merchants Wharf in Kennedy Town

Footnote – public factory estates

Turns out the Hong Kong government didn’t just build public housing towers, but public *factory* blocks. Between 1957 and 1973 eight multi-storey factory estates were built by the Government of Hong Kong Resettlement Department, with another nine built by it’s successor the Hong Kong Housing Authority between 1973 and 1984.

Six of these later estates are still leased to tenants today.

Liked it? Take a second to support Marcus Wong on Patreon!
Become a patron at Patreon!
This entry was posted in Everyday Life and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Hong Kong’s high density industrial areas

  1. MatthieuTofu says:

    And Horizon Plaza, a converted factory, is an example of one that the public can access! Haven’t visited in a while but it was still quite eerie on a weekday despite its conversion to a shopping mall.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *