Yau Ma Tei Theatre

Yau Ma Tei Theatre
Yau Ma Tei Theatre
Traditional Chinese	油麻地戲院
Simplified Chinese	油麻地戏院
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Yóumádì Xìyuàn
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Yau maa deih hèih yún
Jyutping	Jau3 maa3 dei6 hei4 jyun2

Yau Ma Tei Theatre
Address	6 Waterloo Road ; Yau Ma Tei
Owner	Hong Kong Government
Operator	Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Designation
Hong Kong Graded Building – Grade II
Designated	18 December 2009;13 years ago
Reference no.	229
Type	Chinese Opera
Capacity	300
Construction
Opened	21 June 1930;92 years ago
Closed	31 July 1998;24 years ago
Reopened	July 2012;10 years ago
Rebuilt	2010-2012
Tenants
	Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong
Website
	https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/ymtt/

Last updated May 19, 2023

Yau Ma Tei area

Situated in the south of Kowloon, Yau Ma Tei (油麻地 or 油蔴地) was once a village and is now one of the most historic areas in Hong Kong. Before British rule of Kowloon in 1860, Yau Ma Tei was known in historical documents by the name of Kwun Chung with Tanka fisherman clustering around its beach and bay. Today, after many reclamation attempts by the Hong Kong Government, a harbour still stands which is used for the fishing industry. Yau Ma Tei is also famous for its Typhoon Shelter and seafood dishes which are offered both on and off-shore.

Yau Ma Tei is now known as the part of Hong Kong "where the city never sleeps". The English spelling of Yau Ma Tei has variations such as Yau Ma Ti, Yaumatei, Yaumati or Yau-ma-tee. Part of the Yau Tsim Mong District, the Yau Ma Tei area has its north border at Dundas Street and Mong Kok while Tsim Sha Tsui and Austin share the south border. Victoria Harbour lies at its west, and the hills of Ho Man Tin at its east. Tourists and locals alike come to Yau Ma Tei for bargains at Temple Street night market, Chinese opera singing, and just to have a taste of the abundant cultural atmosphere. Other stalls located on the same street house fortune tellers and palm readers, goldsmiths, and wedding costumes. Aside from the traditional culture, modern structures such as the Broadway Cinematheque at Public Square Street presents Yau Ma Tei's modern culture.^[2]^[3]

Other historical structures

Yau Ma Tei is home to many historical buildings. On a southern coastal hill sits the Kwun Chung Fort constructed by Lin Tse-hsu, the Wing official of the cultivated village in a river valley at that time, to protect the village from the affronts of the British. Holding the British from Kowloon throughout the Battle of Kwun Chung in 1839, the fort was later taken down for development after the British took over Kowloon.

Other heritage sites include the Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market, located on Waterloo Road has been standing for a century. Adjacent to it is the Yaumati Theatre, previously the largest of its kind in the Kowloon area. Also down the road are the Kwong Wah Hospital, the first hospital established in Kowloon in 1911, and the YMCA headquarters and hostel. The Yau Ma Tei Police Station in the district holds great historical value.^[4]

Near the Yau Ma Tei Theater lies the Red Brick Building (known as The Engineer's Office of the Former Pumping Station) which is also being converted into a Xiqu Activity Centre for the performance and training of Cantonese opera.^[5]

History of the theatre

Sources conflict over the exact year the Yaumati Theatre was completed and open to public, which fall between 1925 and 1931. The décor of the theatre has shown some hints for the opening time of it. In the late 1920s, the dominant architectural style was the Neo-classicism while the Art Deco was an emerging trend of the next decade. While the front and the proscenium arch were designed as Neo-classical style with Art Deco influence, the interior décor of the theatre is Art Deco. This provides a crucial clue that the theatre was built in the late 1920s but not the mid-1920s. Another important clue is the manufacturers’ label found on the vintage film projectors kept in the projection room. Both of them were manufactured by Strong Electric Corp. of Toledo, Ohio, USA, and one of them has a patent registration year of 1927 and 1928. From this it can be proves that the cinema was opened no earlier than 1928.^{[ citation needed ]}

The Theatre used to be the venue of entertainment for working class citizens and was patronized by rickshaw riders, coolies and low-income families. It gradually lost customers to newer theatres in later time, particularly in the 1980s when the popularity of home video entertainment increased.^{[ citation needed ]} Toward the end of its life, it screened erotic films to maintain its business. Some traditional cinemas in Hong Kong were demolished and re-developed into shopping malls and ‘mini-cinema complexes’ (a complex of small cinemas with 200 or less than 200 seats). Yaumati Theatre was not converted to either of because of its inherent spatial and technical problems of its pre-war design. In order to survive through the vigorous competition with other cinemas, Yaumati Theatre started to screen erotic films and even sold pornographic tapes in the concourse in order to increase the profit.^[6]

The theatre finally closed on 31 July 1998. In the same year, it became a Grade II historical monument and the only pre-WWII monument that survived in the Kowloon area.^[7]

Movies shown throughout the years

Pre-World War II period: Silent movies^{[ citation needed ]}
From 1930s to the eve of Pacific War: English-language movies (mainly Hollywood productions) and Chinese-language movies (mainly Shanghai productions)
During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong (1941-1945): Japanese movies and propaganda films
Post-war years to 1960s: Mainstream Hong Kong-Cantonese movies produced by local production companies (mainly Lan Kwong Film Company (嶺光影業公司) and Kong Ngee Company (光藝製片公司)).
1970s: Mandarin-language movies (primarily from Shaw Brothers Studio and Golden Harvest)
1980s: Cantonese-language movies from Golden Princess Amusement Co., Ltd.
After the late-1980s: 'Chain Showing' (連環場) of pornographic films, i.e., one ticket for several adult movies shown in one day
31 July 1998: Closure of Yaumati Theatre^[8]

Cantonese opera venue

Yaumati Theatre is the only pre-war theatre building in Hong Kong still in existence. It is now being renovated to become a permanent venue for Cantonese opera.^[9]^[10]

This conversion of Yaumati Theatre it into a Xiqu Activity Centre was proposed by the Hong Kong government in 2007 for the purpose of preserving and promoting Cantonese opera in Hong Kong, as well as facilitate the sustainable development of Cantonese opera by providing performing and practising venue for Cantonese opera troupes. According to the 2007 Policy Address, this centre will include a 300-seat auditorium, stage and multi-function rooms, with the Red Brick Building acting as a supporting facility.^[11]

Conversion works are planned to commence in the second half of 2009 and were scheduled to be completed in 2011.^[12] The venue reopened in 2012.^[13]

Heritage impact assessment

Yaumati Theatre has been a Grade II historic building since December 1998. The implications of this is that all alterations on the building have to comply with a set of heritage conservation requirements in order to guide its future use and protect its cultural significance, including long term development, conversation and maintenance plans for the building. The Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) for Yaumati Theatre was carried out by Architectural Conservation Office on behalf of the Architectural Services Department in October 2008, with the agreement of both Cantonese Opera Advisory Committee and the Antiquities and Monuments Office of HKSAR Government.^[8]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yau Tsim Mong District</span> District in Hong Kong, China

Yau Tsim Mong District is one of 18 districts of Hong Kong, located on the western part of Kowloon Peninsula. It is the core urban area of Kowloon. The district has the second highest population density of all districts, at 49,115 km² (18,963 sq mi). The 2016 By-Census recorded the total population of Yau Tsim Mong District at 342,970.

Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong.

Jordan is an area in Hong Kong, located on Kowloon Peninsula. It is named after a road of the same name in the district. The area is bordered by King's Park to the east, Tsim Sha Tsui to the south, Ferry Point to the west, and Yau Ma Tei to the north. Administratively, it is part of Yau Tsim Mong District.

The West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) is a large arts development in Hong Kong. Based on a Foster and Partners master plan and comprising 40 hectares, the district will eventually include 17 venues. The Xiqu Centre for Chinese opera, the Freespace centre for contemporary performance, and the M+ Museum are already open, while the Hong Kong Palace Museum, Lyric Theatre, and other spaces for arts education and commercial structures, are expected. It is managed by the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA).

Mong Kok East station – formerly Mong Kok railway station and Yaumati railway station – is a station on Hong Kong's East Rail line. Only out-of-system interchange is available with Kwun Tong line and Tsuen Wan line at Mong Kok station via a footbridge. The station is connected to Grand Century Place, a large shopping mall.

Kwun Chung, or Koon Chung in early documents, is an area of Hong Kong, Yau Ma Tei or Tsim Sha Tsui located in the Yau Tsim Mong District.

Shanghai Street is a 2.3 km long street in the Jordan, Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok areas of Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Completed in 1887 under the name of Station Street (差館街), it was once the most prosperous street in Kowloon. It originates from the south at Austin Road, and terminates in the north at Lai Chi Kok Road. Parallel to Shanghai Street are Nathan Road, Temple Street, Portland Street, Reclamation Street and Canton Road. Though parallel, Shanghai Street was marked by 2- to 3-floor Chinese-style buildings while Nathan Road was marked by Western-style buildings.

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Lee Theatre was a prominent theatre in Causeway Bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Once one of the premier performing venues in Hong Kong, the Beaux-Arts theatre was demolished in the 1990s and replaced with an office building and a shopping centre.

The Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market, officially Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market, also simply known as the Fruit Market, is a wholesale fruit market in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Yung Shue Tau is the public square in front of the Tin Hau Temple in Yau Ma Tei of Kowloon in Hong Kong. The name in Cantonese means banyan tree head, and many banyan trees are still there. Yung Shue Tau is known natively but seldom written on the maps. The temple and square are deemed as the heart of the Yau Ma Tei and the remnant of fishing traditions.

The Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company Limited (HYF), is a ferry company founded in 1897 in Hong Kong. It is commonly known as Yaumati Ferry. After restructuring the company in 1989, it became a subsidiary of Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings) Company Limited.

Mong Kok Ferry Pier (1924–1972) was a ferry pier to the west of Shantung Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong, located inside the old Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter. The site was covered over during land reclamation under the West Kowloon Reclamation Project.

The Engineer's Office of the Former Pumping Station, Water Supplies Department, sometimes called "The Red Brick House", is located at No. 344 Shanghai Street, in Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong. It has been classified as a Grade I historical building since 2000 by the Antiquities Advisory Board in view of its historical and architectural merit. It is now owned by the HKSAR Government.

The Tin Hau Temple Complex is a temple in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It comprises a row of five adjacent buildings: a Tin Hau Temple, a Shing Wong Temple, a Kwun Yum temple, Shea Tan and Hsu Yuen. The nearby Temple Street is named after it.

West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre is one of the flagship programmes of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA). The West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre has been held since 2012 by the WKCDA which aims to promote Cantonese opera and the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD). Due to its popularity, the WKCDA continues to organise the West Kowloon Bamboo Theatre annually after 2012. Starting from 2013, apart from Cantonese opera, the theatre also provides performances of modern music and Chinese dance. There was a New Year Fair being provided as well.

Yau Ma Tei Car Park Building was a public multi-storey car park located at No. 250 Shanghai Street, Yau Ma Tei, Yau Tsim Mong District, Hong Kong. Built in 1970, the building is scheduled for demolition in 2021.

References

External links

Official website
Hong Kong Place: Historical Buildings (in Chinese)

Coordinates: 22°18′45″N114°10′09″E / 22.312436°N 114.169187°E / 22.312436; 114.169187

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[1] ESB-096/2002

[2] YMT Local Cultural Study

[3] The Local Culture Characteristics of Yau Ma Tei

[4] Yau Ma Tei history

[5] LCQ16: Revitalising Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme

[6] An article by the former Secretary for Home Affairs, Dr. Patrick Ho (2006)

[7] Development Proposals/Cases Related to Preservation of Historic Buildings

[assessment-8] 1 2 "Heritage Impact Assessment Report of Yaumati Theatre and Red Brick Building" (PDF). Antiquities and Monuments Office . Architectural Services Department. October 2008.

[9] "The Conversion of the Yau Ma Tei Theatre and Red Brick Building into a Xiqu Activity Centre"

[10] LCQ11: Promotion of Cantonese Opera development, January 7, 2009

[11] "The proposed facitilies in the Xiqu Activity Centre and its surrounding areas"

[12] LCQ1: Yau Ma Tei Theatre, April 18, 2007

[13] "7 places to discover Cantonese Opera in Hong Kong | Hong Kong Tourism Board".

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