Tong Lau: Hong Kong’s Anglo-Cantonese Shophouse Typology

Abstract

Tong Lau is a Cantonese term that applies to pre-WWII urban shophouses in Hong Kong that were derived from nineteenth century Southern Chinese urban shophouses. When exported to Hong Kong, the prototypal design underwent transformation and acquired characteristics specific to Hong Kong. Surprisingly, none of such usual suspects as climatic adaptation and material constraints played a key role in the shaping of the Tong Lau. Instead, the catalyst for the transformation process was none other than a deadly plague. This paper tells the story of the extraordinary historical events and circumstances that gave rise to the Tong Lau, a distinctive architecture with which Hong Kong has come to be identified.