Canon
Hong Kong Arts Centre, 2 Harbour Road, Wan Chai
1980s

Perched atop the Hong Kong Arts Centre in the 1980s, Canon’s was one of several largescale, corporate-sponsored neon signs that took advantage of a location overlooking Victoria Harbour. Its size and positioning, requiring a structural support system with only two possible connections to the Arts Centre’s roof, contributed significantly to the technical and regulatory challenges in erecting the sign.

Click here to understand the installation process of Canon’s neon sign.

Courtesy: Far East Neon Light Co. Ltd

Polaroid
Wan Chai Ferry Pier, Wan Chai
1980s

Seeming to hover above the Wan Chai Ferry Pier in the 1980s, the multi-directional Polaroid neon sign offered a continuous surface that accommodated the company’s brand mark and English and Chinese names, while making them visible to ferry passengers and pedestrians alike.

Courtesy: Far East Neon Light Co. Ltd

Golden City Pharmacy
Kingston Street and Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay
1970s

Located at the crossroads of Kingston Street and Gloucester Road, the Golden City Pharmacy had a neon sign that covered both of its shop fronts, with the Chinese characters for “Reasonable Price” inscribed at the corner. Before the prevalence of LEDs, neon signs were widely used by pharmacies, as they were seen as projecting an image of reliability and trustworthiness.

(Reproduced by permission of the Government of the HKSAR from the collection of the Hong Kong Museum of History)

999 San Jiu
Shun Tak Centre, 200 Connaught Road Central, Sheung Wan
c. 2001

Advertising the company’s medicines, the 999 San Jiu neon sign sprawled across the facades of Sheung Wan’s Shun Tak Centre at the turn of the millenium. Covering a total area of more than 24,000 square feet (2,200 square meters), it was the world’s largest neon sign at the time.

Courtesy: Keith MacGregor

Tin Chau Candles and Incense
158 Queen’s Road West, Sai Ying Pun
1986

Like the red candles found on household altars, the neon sign of Tin Chau Candles and Incense brightly illuminated its section of Queen’s Road West. Written in kaishu calligraphy, the company’s name in red evoked the colour of traditional Chinese candles and incense, while the green-coloured characters listed the shop’s products and services.

Courtesy: Keith MacGregor

Shing Kee Restaurant
Chai Wan
1980s

Being temporary in nature, Hong Kong’s metal food shacks rarely host neon signs. However, there have occasionally been exceptions, including the Shing Kee food stall in Chai Wan, in the 1980s.

Courtesy: W! Foundation

Crocodile Garments Limited
219 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai
1990s

Neon signs have sometimes been the subject of copyright disputes. Such was the case with this neon sign, which was erected by Crocodile Garments Limited, but closely resembled the logo of the French brand Lacoste:

‘I believe this is the only non-verbal sign illuminating the waterfront. A garment manufacturer registered this mark in Hong Kong before a French brand of knitted polo shirts [Lacoste], also sporting amphibious reptiles- albeit facing right, became interested in distributing in the territory.

Although the overseas company had owned the emblem for decades prior to the local organization’s start, they were enjoined from selling here until the owner of the pictured brand struck a deal with his erstwhile competitors, allowing both of the embroidered saurians to be marketed in harmony. ‘
–by Henry Steiner, Foolish Things (1997)

View of the Hong Kong skyline
c.1960
Central waterfront

As early as the 1960s, global corporations saw the advertising value of incorporating their logos, in neon, within the iconic skyline of Hong Kong island. As pictured, these companies included Heinz, Omega, Sony and Pepsi-Cola. The latter, at far right, is reminiscent of a similar Pepsi-Cola sign that was erected along New York’s East River in 1936. The New York sign has since been preserved near its original site, though its Hong Kong counterpart no longer exists.

Courtesy: University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong