Efforts to save Hong Kong’s disappearing neon signs

The lights are turning off in Hong Kong. The once spectacular neon hustle and bustle is now much reduced. Safety and regulations mean many shops and businesses have taken down the brilliant signboards that used to hang right over the heads of the crowds on the streets. Some local enthusiasts are trying to find ways to preserve this unique part of Hong Kong’s urban heritage. Cardin Chan, General Manager of Tetra Neon Exchange, a one-person NGO founded in 2020 with private funding, has been collecting some of the city’s abandoned neon signs given up by businesses over the years. Now it is keeping over 70 signs at its open-air storage space in a rural spot close to the border with mainland China. According to Tetra Neon Exchange’s survey, there are fewer than 500 outdoor protruding neon signs left across the city. “Neon is not only signboards. It could be art and craft. And then, at the same time, it gives Hong Kong identity and visual identity as well,” says Chan. Chan has been organizing exhibitions using some of the collected neon signs to help people understand and discover the city’s neon signs’ history and culture. “Eventually, we hope that we will be able to have, like an area or street space we will be able to [...] put back some of these signs so people would know, not to just to have this kind of like nostalgia, but also really having a second chance for them to see the neon streetscapes that we used to have.” The main reason the neon environment is receding is safety. New safety rules were introduced in the 2010s to prevent old decaying signs from posing a danger to pedestrians. Since then, owners of signboards and neon signs have been obliged to remove old installations, follow the new rules, and renew safety registrations regularly. Many businesses have chosen to give up the signs, in order to avoid costs and bureaucracy. The neon environment is now much less than before, but it still retains a few outstanding examples of street art that used to symbolize the heart of Hong Kong’s commercial success. This article was provided by The Associated Press.