By reading this entire post, some of you may develop feelings of nostalgia. Others may not and would rather see something involving tits (again). Well.. if you pay attention, you’ll realize we have something in store for everybody. Most of the below has been made possible by these guys, heroes to most locals as they provide more malls and restaurants. We’d hate them, if it wasn’t for the catchy tune accompanying that flash animation. Here goes:

1) Kai Tak Airport was the international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. With numerous skyscrapers and mountains located to the north and its only runway jutting out into Victoria Harbour, landings at the airport were insanely difficult. But damn did it look cool.

2) Kowloon Walled City was a Chinese military fort in Kowloon, which became an enclave after the New Territories were leased to Britain in 1898. From the 1950s through the 1970s, it was controlled by triads and had high rates of everything awesome such as prostitution, gambling, and drug abuse. Check out this website for much more on this awkward piece of this city’s history.

3) Queen’s Pier was a public ceremonial pier in front of City Hall in Central, Hong Kong. On the 26th of April 2007, the pier was officially closed by the government in order to facilitate land reclamation. Soon after, the adjacent Star Ferry pier was closed as well. As you may recall, there was fierce opposition by conservationists. Of course our government said “fuck you” and made sure every single protester was dragged out.

4) Lai Chi Kok Amusement Park was a kick ass amusement park in… Lai Chi Kok! You know, that ugly industrial area where some of your gweilo friends who work in textile/fashion have their office. Unfortunately on the 31st of March 1997, the park was closed as our wise government decided to use the land for residential public housing instead. Tino (天奴) the elephant, the favorite pet of park owner Deacon Chiu was so hugely popular among kids that all media reported about the animal being put down in 1989. Our IT guy is still in therapy because of this.

5) Originally called Dragon Water World, this park was one of the three major amusement complexes towards the late last century in Hong Kong. In the final years of its existence, this complex was renamed by the owner as Joyful Town and entertaining BBQ customers was the core business, leaving the remaining facilities to gradually run down. That’s right: we’d rather roast some chicken wings than do stuff like this. The complex was closed in late 2000 to give way to a piece of railway. A special place indeed, also because our own busty Harbour Hussy vividly recalls shitting her pants as a child there.

6) Lee Theatre was a prominent theatre in Causeway Bay. Once one of the premier performing venues in Hong Kong, it was demolished in the 1990s and replaced with the Lee Theatre Plaza, a 22-story shopping and office complex. Next to the hosting of Cantonese opera and concerts, the theatre also showed films. Interestingly, the last one it screened before closing down was Terminator 2: Judgment Day, potentially the greatest action flick of all time directed by Smurfahontas Avatar creator James Cameron.

7) The Tiger Balm Garden was built at a cost of HK$16 million by Chinese entrepreneur and philanthropist Aw Boon Haw and his family in 1935. It was opened to the public in the early 1950s and it was one of the first theme parks in Hong Kong. In 1998 the Garden was sold so that it could  -surprise!- be redeveloped into a residential area. Its odd and slightly fucked up sister park in Singapore is still there. Check out these pictures to see what we’re missing.

8) The Hong Kong Club was the first gentlemen’s club in Hong Kong. Founded on 26 May 1846, its members were (and still are) among the most influential people in the city, including senior government officials and the heads of the major trading firms. Prior to its 1980s redevelopment, the previous Hong Kong Club Building was famous for being one of the last renaissance style buildings left in Hong Kong. It was also a place where locals and women were not allowed.

9) Of course not from here originally, but nevertheless tragic. Krispy Kreme opened its first store in our city in September 2006, and had six stores at its peak. Unfortunately it went into liquidation on the 27th of October 2008. We burn a candle on this day ever since.

10) THE ENTIRE %@&#* ISLAND

And lastly, this. We found an incredibly cool Flickr page containing literally hundreds of before and after shots of stuff on Hong Kong Island. Turns out practically nothing is what it used to be. A shame. But as you’ll probably be gone in a few years from now anyway, at least you know a future visit will entail some unfamiliar sights.