GO WEST

It’s teetered on the brink of cool for years now, unable to cross over. But with the recent proliferation of high-society interest, is Sheung Wan finally becoming sexy? christina ko ventures out

WHEN LANE CRAWFORD held a press preview for its autumn/winter 2010 collections, the city’s fashion editors were given a designated meeting point, upon where they would be shuttle-bussed to a “secret location” for a special presentation. With a little bit of due diligence (Foursquare- and Twitter-stalking), this editor uncovered the base of the covert operation, a pre-functional office space on the western side of the island – Sai Ying Pun, to be exact, the mini-district that shoots out from Sheung Wan. But what was it that possessed the department store and leading arbiter of cool to drag the collective voice of Hong Kong fashion all the way out there?

On Connaught Road West, on the ground floor of the unremarkable Kwan Yick building, windows were wallpapered in white and in black capital letters spelling the words: “Future Now. A showcase of new heritage and future classics.” The copywriters at Lane Crawford were referring to their presentation of this season’s must-have items, but it could just have easily been referring to the location. Or haven’t you heard? Sheung Wan – to put it in style-speak – is the new black.

Everyone has been to Sheung Wan. Back in the 19th century, the brothel-lined Possession Street was the first point of occupation by British forces during the 1842 invasion, and in the ensuing century-plus, the area has always been high in traffic. But just because it was populated didn’t mean it was hip. Given the choice, Hong Kong islanders would surely rank the gleaming newness of Central, the moneyed pre-eminence of the Peak, the vibrant commerce of Causeway Bay, even the red-light cachet of Wanchai above sleepy Sheung Wan, whose residential options couldn’t compare with eastern Hong Kong’s proliferation of housing complexes. Dried seafood was Sheung Wan’s most distinguishable feature, in spite of enduring local landmarks such as Man Mo Temple, Western Market and Cat Street.

History, clearly, hasn’t been on Sheung Wan’s side when it comes to hanging with the cool kids. But thanks to a few promising developments, the tide could turn. First came the yuppies – bankers who realised that the district was a mere $18 taxi ride from their offices (or favourite Lan Kwai Fong haunt). The residences popped up to accommodate them – grand-looking multi-block complexes such as Centre Stage and Queen’s Terrace. And now, the service industry is rising to meet the area’s increasing demand for things to do, places to meet, food to eat and beds on which to sleep.

That loft-like space chosen by Lane Crawford has now made its transition to an operational office space used by business partners Dinesh Nihalchand and Alex Bent. The two up-and-coming real-estate magnates have long been supporters of the western rising, and though their pet project, Kush Living, no longer exists, they continue to invest in Sheung Wan, both financially and spiritually. Their new company is called District 15, after Sheung Wan’s district allocation number.

“We started investing individually in residential units in 2004 and we were quite sick of Soho, and it lacked that edge,” says Bent. “So we came to Sheung Wan, which is five minutes from Central, but most people thought it was the back end or beyond. And we started taking apartments and renovating them and renting them out. When we met our investors, the Gidwani family, we started looking in Sheung Wan for apartment blocks, entire buildings we could convert into service apartments.” Next up, they are building, from scratch, a boutique hotel with support from the Gidwanis again, designed by Thomas Heatherwick and slated for completion in 2013. It’s location? District 15.

It’s no Causeway Bay, but the high-end retail scene is picking up too. Funky designer lighting shop Innermost took a space on Hollywood Road, and bridal gown store, Hitched! came to Wing Lok Street. When a couple of years back Dee Poon opened Dysemevas, her hipper-than-thou pop-up shop for undiscovered mainland Chinese designers, she ignored daddy Dickson’s designer districts and headed west to Sheung Wan. Art galleries are ubiquitous, and include Cat Street Gallery, Para/Site Art Space and a 4,000-sq-ft converted meatpacking venue called The Space, to open this month.

There are, more noticeably, places aplenty at which to eat and drink. The Press Room and M1NT were early arrivals, sitting side-by-side down the road from Man Mo Temple. And, as with the inception of many things great, it happened pretty much by accident.

“We needed something to stand alone, and there were no spaces in Central,” says Arnold Wong, one of the restaurant group’s founders. Business partner Alan Lo appends, “Everyone was looking for a bit more room to breathe. And quaint Sheung Wan is just right next to Central.”

For M1NT, the elite members’ club that moved in around the same time, it was a rent call. “CentreStage, the Henderson Land development, was introduced to us by a founding shareholder and we did the deal to move in at the same time as The Press Room Group. The generous space, along with the 10-year lease, was also attractive,” says former managing director Andrew Lewis. M1NT was making a buzz at the time, thanks to a concept that incorporated a huge number of shareholders with minority stakes in the club.

But instead of a people’s club, M1NT became a beacon for brand events and the elite. Lewis is launching a new club in the same spot, aptly named Republik. Besides an affinity for awkward spelling, there will be little in common with the previous incarnation. “While the members’ club format worked back in 2006-2008, the dynamics of what people are looking for have changed – and so has the Sheung Wan area,” explains Lewis.

“Republik will offer seating at the entrance on Hollywood Road. [It] will offer the locals and others who don’t necessarily want to meet their friends for a drink in LKF a place to meet after work and enjoy a cocktail. Plus, Sheung Wan is emerging as a creative hub, attracting like-minded people who are looking for something new and sophisticated.”

Sophisticated. Now there’s a word you wouldn’t immediately associate with Sheung Wan. Even those who develop in the area tend to cuddle up to its comfortable, friendly and nostalgic sides, rather than its association with the avant-garde.

One devil’s advocate who’s blunt as to whether  Sheung Wan’s revitalisation will go too  far is Yenn Wong. “It happens everywhere,” she says. “When it becomes popular, everybody wants to move there. The good comes with the bad; it’s never just one-way traffic. Hopefully it will still be nice, because the Government is trying hard to conserve a lot of things.” Her connection to the area is dual – besides opening 208 Duecento Otto, a New York-Italian restaurant on Hollywood, she also lives on High Street herself, having relocated from hometown Singapore.

“Sometimes in Singapore and Hong Kong,” says Wong, “it’s sad to see them only give [conservation projects] to non-profit organisations. Because, while they’re great at preserving, they can’t bring out new elements and make it a highlight. Some of the buildings deserve it. But sometimes it’s balance.”

For her, the balance means properly integrating into the neighbourhood, making it a cosy and welcoming place for existing residents in the area, something that she has made a concerted effort to do with 208. For her fellow “Westerner” and boyfriend Alan Lo, it means bringing more interesting projects to the area that can contribute to diversity, without harming the existing charm.

Another of Lo’s business interests include Blake’s, a property-investment company he helms with Darrin Woo, that is developing a snazzy new residential building designed by Ilse Crawford. And how exactly does that fit into the conservation picture?

“Over the past 15 to 20 years,” says Lo, “most of the developments we saw were very large-scale projects that in a way erase the existing street-level sociability. You go to New York, London, Paris…walking is a big part of the experience. I noticed it was starting to disappear as these old areas become gentrified. In a good way or bad way, that’s up to the public to decide. When I saw Sheung Wan, I thought, this is something that’s fast disappearing, and one of the only ways to avoid that is to come up with an idea where you can add value to the area without having to knock anything down.”

In a wider sense, the issues of gentrification are so difficult to handle because the definition of success differs so greatly. To Lo and Wong, bringing new interest into the area while retaining the old character is the aim, and both have paid homage to their respective locations by naming the venue after the Hollywood Road address number on which they sit.

Claire Hsu, founder of Asia Art Archive (AAA), believes the definition is a little bit fuzzier. She and her non-profit organisation came to the district by chance, but it couldn’t have been a happier pairing.

“It’s only in the last couple of years that the real changes have begun,” says Hsu, “with boutique hotels, plush serviced apartments and trendy dining spaces opening up. It’s gone from being a district that was not particularly desirable to be associated with to one that’s up-and-coming, even hip. This is, of course, a paradox considering it’s one of the oldest districts in Hong Kong.” But as long as her favourite aspects stick around – gorgeous rooftop terraces viewed from the library’s windows, narrow lanes on various gradients, traditional shops alongside contemporary galleries – she can’t really complain.

And perhaps there’s one string that connects all these people, as well as ones not seen or mentioned here, the residents and the shopkeepers who have made, and continue to make Sheung Wan the diverse, compelling district that continues to draw attention to today: change. The popular platform that got at least one modern American president elected, is nice, sometimes. But come near the elements that gave Hong Kong its history, and give Hongkongers their memories, and that’s when it’s time to stop and fight. Because Sheung Wan isn’t just about Sheung Wan anymore.

As Hsu puts it, Sheung Wan is “an authentic Hong Kong that dates back to the founding of the then-colony, now-administrative-region, and continues into the 21st century.” And if we don’t have our identity, then all we’re left with is a baleful assemblage of fancy apartments and restaurants, an ever-changing, restless landscape with no connection to the past, and even less of a future.

This is an edited version of the original, which appears in the October 2010 issue of Prestige Hong Kong.