Vital Signs at Tai Kwun: Lights Resurrected by Tetra Neon Exchange
Hong Kong’s Fading Neon Scene
Hong Kong's economic growth skyrocketed in the 1970s, blossoming into a streetscape of contending and kaleidoscopic neon signs competing for customers’ attention as they walked the narrow streets below.
Inspired by similar displays in New York, neon signs first emerged in Hong Kong in the 1930s to advertise shops and businesses along crowded street fronts, eventually flourishing into a flamboyant art form in the post-war era.
Fluorescent tubes were contorted into florid Chinese characters and animated figures, drenching the streets in a dazzling rainbow of hues and inspiring cyberpunk aesthetics as far as Hollywood productions. There’s just something distinctly Hong Kong about how neon lights symbolise its commercialism, round-the-clock energy, and bold, confident character. It’s a unique medium that combines the East and the West, the old and the new.
Shop owners commissioned signs in unique shapes and colours, protruding further outward into the roads and growing taller into the sky. Signs weren’t limited to large brands or department stores either – they embodied the soul of many family-run, local businesses who wanted to pass their shop on through the generations and decided to invest in a commissioned sign.
But with stricter urban planning laws restricting light pollution, in 2010, the government issued policies for removing unauthorised neon signs. Scores of signs were deemed illegal, and removal orders have increased over the years. Businesses are generally given 60 days to remove their signboard after receiving the order, though they can also apply for retrospective approval by the government. However, the procedures are cumbersome, requiring extensive paperwork documenting the signs’ specifications and inspections every five years. In a way, it’s easier and more cost-effective to remove the neon signs and replace them with (smaller) LED replicas instead, which means that signs are coming down quicker than ever, including many that are gone forever as the businesses retire.
Tetra Neon Exchange (TNX)
TNX is a registered non-profit organisation that rescues and conserves Hong Kong’s neon identity. Founded in 2020, they have received almost 60 signs in various states, most stored in a rural part of Yuen Long in the New Territories and raised atop wooden planks to prevent potential water damage.
Unfortunately, offers for preservation aren’t always met warmly. Not all sign owners can relate to the cause (quite understandably), and it often takes much persuasion to gain their trust. But any sign preserved is a small victory, celebrating local businesses’ culture, history, and stories.
Vital Signs
Vital Signs – cleverly named so – was curated by TNX to celebrate Hong Kong’s distinctive visual identity through its neon heritage. It’s a tribute to the skill, craftsmanship, audacity, competitiveness, precision, and can-do mindset that define this vibrant art form.
Cardin Chan, General Manager of TNX, likens the gas flow to the blood in our veins, and I agree. When neon signs light up, they come to life, with the gas inside buzzing and moving around. It’s a massive part of local culture that runs through people who grew up locally or are attached to Hong Kong’s nostalgic glow.
The exhibition featured authentic signs salvaged from the streets, recommissioned pieces and visual explorations by local artists, many of which are on public display for the first time. In addition, the sign-making process during conservation and restoration was also documented in video form and exhibited alongside handmade tools, putting the spotlight on the neon masters for the first time.
The Artwork
Laundry Steps
Tai Kwun’s Laundry Steps were transformed into a riotous, electrified streetscape crowned by a cluster of authentic neon signs (that we jokingly called “neon graveyard”. The staggered depth and height transported viewers back to the heyday of Nathan Road in the 1980s and 1990s, where dazzling, kaleidoscopic canopies of neon signs vied for attention and space. The resulting light bounced off the ceiling and the side walls, even during the daytime, creating an almost surreal halo of colours.
It’s an instantly recognisable sight that captures the vitality and excitement that once drew the world to Hong Kong and highlights the ingenious flair and imagination of Hong Kong's legendary neon masters. But unlike the old days when the signs were hung high above, visitors could get up close and marvel at the sheer size and audacity of the giants once synonymous with Hong Kong’s visual culture.
Koon Nam Wah Bridal (冠南華婚紗), Yau Ma Tei
Koon Nam Wah is one of the most prominent brands for traditional Chinese bridalwear in Hong Kong, having set up in Guangzhou 200 years ago before coming to Hong Kong in the 1920s. The owner was initially apprehensive about donating the signs, and it took TNX an entire year to convince them right up until the scheduled removal.
They’ve donated two signs to TNX, the larger of which was exhibited for the first time after restoration. The sign features bilingual text in purple and red surrounded by yellow squiggles, an uncommon choice that makes it iconic and understandable even to foreigners.
See Hay Jewellery (四喜珠寶), Sheung Shui
See Hay is a time-honoured jewellery shop in the Sheung Shui and Yuen Long area since the 1960s. People are accustomed to the concept of “double happiness”, “囍”, which literally comprises two copies of the Chinese character “喜” meaning joy. It’s traditionally associated with Chinese weddings as an ornament design in red or black. See Hay has taken it up a notch and turned it into “quadruple happiness”, forming a round logo with a geometric quality.
The two neon signs saved by TNX were from the Sheung Shui branch and have a three-decade history. One was the L-shaped sign on the Laundry Steps, and the other was an 8-metre-long horizontal projecting banner. A metal frame was reconstructed by hand to house the circular store logo from the latter, which can now be displayed separately as artwork. It’s fascinating how the neon masters fashioned complex glass tubes that twist and turn like a maze yet still light up perfectly.
Pak Loh Chiu Chow Restaurant (百樂潮州酒樓), Causeway Bay
The restaurant opened in 1967 and has remained in its original location for over five decades, serving traditional Chiu Chow cuisine with modern twists.
Although relatively simplistic in only yellow, the sign’s almost parallelogram shape and straightforward text make it iconic and instantly readable.
Tai Fat Pawn Shop (大發大押), Jordan
The classic pawnshop sign takes on a unique shape, like a bat hanging upside-down and holding a gold coin (the Cantonese for bat “蝙蝠” sounds like good luck and prosperity “福”)—lucky colours, like red, green, and yellow (for gold) are often used. Symbolism plays a large part in the industry, from the universal sign shape to the screen doors that save face for people pawning items to the high countertop for hierarchy and intimidation.
While bat-shaped signs are common, Tai Fat Pawn Shop’s neon sign includes a conjoined horizontal banner, of which only a few are left in Hong Kong.
Pak Ho Jewellery (百好珠寶), Kowloon City
The store began in the 1970s as a family business, and the current owner, a second-generation family member, was reluctant to demolish the sign as he had grown up with it. Its neon sign has a striking design, a symmetrical banner with flourishes and a refreshing pop of light blue reminiscent of Art Deco aesthetics.
Millie’s (妙麗), Jordan (a replica for “A Light Never Goes Out”)
This sign was commissioned as a prop for the first-ever neon-themed local movie, “A Light Never Goes Out”, released in April 2023, and was inspired by a massive neon sign that belonged to Millie's Centre.
The original masterpiece was a brilliant, peacock-inspired signboard that was beautiful and 3D in a wok-like shape – vastly out of scale with its comparatively small entrance, which anchored the corner of Nathan and Jordan Roads in the ‘70s and created one of the city’s most glittering intersections. The sign was nominated as one of the top 10 most beautiful neon signs in Hong Kong’s history in a 2019 list curated by M+ and published by Vogue.
While it’s impossible to replicate the original scale, the repeating heart shapes and feather-like motifs still make for an intricate and beautiful design that draws your eyes to it. After filming, the director donated the piece to TNX, but there were never the resources to put it back together until the Vital Signs exhibition. And because it was a movie prop, it came with a metal mesh structure and acrylic sheets instead of a metal box, taking considerable time for the team of neon masters and installers to reassemble.
Nam Cheong Pawn Store (南昌大押), Sham Shui Po
Built in the 1920s when Hong Kong’s pawnbroking industry exploded, Nam Cheong Pawn Shop is a Grade III historic building that boasts traditional features like saloon doors. The two neon signs that have served the Sham Shui Po corner for over five decades were torn down but recommissioned as a double-facing sign for the exhibition.
Tai Tung Bakery (大同老餅家), Yuen Long
Established in 1943, Tai Tung Bakery is one of Hong Kong’s oldest bakeries, offering traditional Chinese pastries and delicacies. The name stems from the founder observing the difficulties of public life and his wish that everyone would have meals and pastries, eventually naming the bakery to symbolise world unity (referenced from 世界大同).
The original store in Yuen Long had two neon signs, one horizontal banner at the top of the three-storey shophouse reading “Tai Tung 1943”, and a second vertical guidepost protruding from the second floor. The latter was rescued at its demolition and stands almost six metres tall. While not the largest sign of TNX’s collection, it presents a startling visual effect as the vivid colours bounce off the black runway, and it was mesmerising to see up close.
Oriental Watch Company (東方表行), Central
Founded in 1961, Oriental Watch Company has expanded to neighbouring markets and carries around a hundred prestigious watch brands. The neon sign used to adorn one of its oldest branches on Des Vouex Road Central and has been hanging over the traditional shophouse in prime commercial real estate since the 1980s.
It’s a simple yet memorable sign, with red Chinese characters written in Bei Wei script (北魏體), an old handwritten style with thick strokes that conveyed energy and vigour, most often appearing in Central and Sheung Wan. Below lies the English name in a simple white sans serif, set against a green backdrop that came alive at night with animated vertical stripes.
Autumn Harvest Company (秋田館), Sham Shui Po
It’s hard to tell what the store sells just by looking at the neon sign featuring a cutesy cat and dog in Japanese kawaii style. Kids’ toys, perhaps? It turns out it’s a hardware store that used to specialise in Japanese electronic products in the ‘90s and used to send their staff to Japan for training.
The sign was designed with an anime, almost electronic look as a nod to the store’s history, and shows how adaptive Hong Kong people are. It also presents food for thought at the exhibition: what preconceptions do people have about neon lights in Hong Kong, and can they be broken?
Tai Sun Jewellery (大新珠寶), Yuen Long
This was another massive sign that had witnessed 38 years go by in Yuen Long.
Initially part of a larger design with the company name in Chinese, the handwritten calligraphy characters for “Tai Sun” occupied a considerable amount of space and utilised the “spare-ribs” style (排骨字), i.e. the characters were filled out with neon tubes placed horizontally like shading. For various reasons, the neon sign could not be preserved completely, and only the top logo featuring the blue diamond surrounded by a distinctive gear-shaped ring was extracted for display.
This piece was part of my favourite view from Hollywood Road at night, where the soft glow emanated by the street-level portion of the exhibition formed a glowing presence that encompassed the space and bled into a gradient of colours from the neighbouring signs – almost like Tai Kwun had transformed into a cathedral with stained glass windows lit from within.
29 Colours by Master Wu Chi Kai
Master Wu Chi Kai, one of the few neon masters left in Hong Kong, has worked in the neon light industry for almost four decades, though it has been over two decades since he last worked on a signboard. As the neon scene dims, Master Wu continues to pass on the craftsmanship by collaborating with young artists to create small-scale neon lights for décor or art.
This piece was inspired by a colour palette displayed and reflects an attempt to explore the maximum number of neon tubes available in Hong Kong. Choosing the colours for the glass tube and neon gas, heating and bending the tubes into squiggly shapes were all an art. It took weeks for Master Wu to locate 29 of them, including antique ones like the shocking pink.
Surprisingly, of the entire spectrum, white was the most commonly used during the heyday of neon. It was often used in indoor venues as its pale glow meant it was less harsh on the eyes, which made it easier to read.
Dragon Phoenix (龍鳳呈祥) by Jive Lau
Dragon Phoenix reimagines a timeless Cantonese classic into vibrant art.
Locals will recall the endearing wooden reliefs in local seafood restaurants, often featuring a dragon and phoenix, a spiritual symbol for auspicious marriages. They were often massive and painted in gold for grandeur. While cliche, they formed the backdrop for many local wedding banquets, a significant symbol in oriental aesthetics.
Jive Lau, the founder of Kowloneon, reinterpreted the mythical creatures in buzzing neon that radiated a soft, almost pastel glow on its surroundings. It’s my favourite piece of contemporary neon art we saw.
Thoughts
Unpopular opinion: locals prefer authentic neon lights to laser light shows, which are, in many ways, over-commercialised and a bloody waste of money.
Sadly, I don’t remember walking down streets brimming with neon signs overhead nor recognise most of the pieces displayed. What I do have memories of, though, is how the iconic pieces here and there would (literally) light up my day when I walked past them.
In many ways, neon signs feel like my alter ego, a mishmash of aesthetics, colours and light that comes to life at night. And it’s depressing when you realise that, once upon a time, Hong Kong streets were living art galleries that have all but disappeared. The modern urban scene is all high-rise buildings or streets stripped bare – a sight that has become increasingly sterile at an alarming rate, draining the city of the grittiness and charm it was once known for. And the few signs still standing proudly have their days numbered, threatening to take a colourful slice of our heritage and history with them.
Neon signs belong to our streets, not museums. But right now, preservation is the best we can hope for, even though it means that the lights lose part of their soulfulness when removed from habitat and context. Who would have known that even these glowy monoliths would become a fading glory and succumb to modern times? The silver lining is that thanks to TNX’s efforts, these incredible pieces form only the tip of a growing iceberg, a collection deserving of a spot in permanent exhibitions.
It’s interesting how retro trends from my childhood have been making a resurgence in recent years. Will the craft of neon light survive to see the day (or night) and shine again with the recognition it deserves?
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