土家第一團 The First Tour of To Kwa Wan
1) 土瓜 土家 To Home
土瓜 = 番薯/薯仔? 土瓜灣的『土瓜』究竟是什麼呢？番薯？薯仔？番薯都有人叫土瓜，但似乎太普通，處處都有而不於用作地名，所以有人說土瓜其實是沙葛。
鴻福街懷舊小店聚集點 : 土家 – 別看土家現時的精心佈置，甚具文化氣息，其前身是家禽檔口「昌興雞鴨」，抬頭一開可見店內還保留著招牌呢！中秋月餅興華大發糕點 – 內有形形色色的中國傳統糕點賣，例如鬆餅、棋子餅、光酥餅、蛋卷……又平又抵，不買也去看看這些懷舊小吃！財記百貨 – 招牌「日常用品 針線拉鏈」其實未能囊括鋪內賣的貨品。懷舊的如樟腦餅、花露水、美加淨香皂和線面的「海棠線」都可找到。不知我在說甚麼？問問你的媽媽或到店鋪探訪一下吧！
“To Kwa” = Sweet potatoes / potatoes (in Chinese)? What exactly does it mean by “To Kwa” ? Some people indeed call sweet potatoes as “To Kwa” but it seems too ordinary a name for a district. Some even say "To Kwa" means yam bean.
Hung Fook Street is an area where nostalgic shops gather : ToHome – used to be a poultry shop named ‘Choeng Hing Gai Aap’ selling chicken and duck. Look above outside ToHome you can still see the old signboard hanging there! Hing Wa Dai Fai Cake Shop – where you can find numerous kinds of Chinese traditional cake such as Chinese muffins, key cookies, Kong Sue breads, and egg rolls, etc. Choi Kei Store – A traditional store sells not only grocery, but also a variety of nostalgic goods like the old fashioned camphor, floral water (Chinese perfume), Maxam soap and beauty use accessories, etc . If you don’t know what we are talking about, you may go to ask your mum or visit the store yourself!
2) 啟明街 Kai Ming Street
以前啟明街都好多人住架，但好唔好彩被重建計劃列入為危樓，跟住啲人開始慢慢搬走，剩番好多家當遺物，附近一啲賣二手貨店就循環翻這些家當比啲低收入人仕。啟明街街頭的一塊空地在晚上用小燈光賣着這些家當，就是一個例子啦。
There used to be a lot of people living in Kai Ming Street, yet many have moved out after several buildings were sealed up and deemed uninhabitable by an act of condemnation by the Urban Renewal Authority. The left over belongings of the residents were being recycled by some second hand shops in the neighborhood to support the low-income locals. You will find the flea market at night selling the second hand goods in the open area of Kai Ming Street.
3) 環字八街 Eight Wan Streets
環字街即環字頭的街的統稱，多數為唐樓住宅。私家街顧名思義是屬於私家的街，而環字街的延伸並非由政府規劃。不過環字街的大廈業權分散，又無業主立案法團，私家街無人管理，不少天井去水位都變成骯髒的垃圾井了。
“Eight Wan Streets” is the general name refers to the Eight Streets whose names start with the Chinese character “Wan”. Most buildings in the area are tenements and residential homes. They were all private owned streets and was not part of the government housing development. The poor maintanence and lack of management of the streets resulted many floor drains at the patio which have turned into rubbish dumps.
4) 山寨廠 Cottage Factories
香港式山寨廠 : 土瓜灣四周都是矮矮的工廠大廈，唔講都知以前是個工業區。土瓜灣不但以香港最早期的工業區發源地聞名，更以多寄居在唐樓的山寨廠為區內特色。人地前居後鋪，土瓜灣上居下鋪。汽水廠、玻璃廠、羽毛廠……你嗡得出的都有！
Hong Kong Style ‘Cottage factories’ : It is needless to say To Kwa Wan was an industrial cluster, where three-/four-storey factories are still found everywhere. To Kwa Wan was famous not only in its significant industrial development, but also in its countless cottage factories situated at the ground floor of the tenement buildings. In the past, you could find ‘cottage factories’ producing soda, glass, feather … you name it.
5) 庇利船廠 Bailey Shipyard
庇利街的風光威水史 : 1897年註冊成立，比黃埔船塢還早，1905年建成船排，而現在的庇利街其實是當時船排旁的海溝填出來的。船廠曾經造過多艘省港渡輪，如廣東號、廣州號等。高峰時候有2500名員工，其中的管工甚至有牙力籌錢建北帝廟，可見庇利船廠當時相當具「霸氣」。
Bailey Street’s days of glory : Have you ever wondered why Bailey Street is so wide that it accommodates six lanes? It is because there was previously a shipyard called in that area. Bailey Shipyard was established in 1897, even earlier than that of The Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company Limited. The slipways were built in 1905 and Bailey Street was formed by reclamation of the trench beside the slipways. Bailey Shipyard had produced many ferries and boats for Guangdong province and Hong Kong. At its peak time, the Shipyard had around 2500 workers. Therefore, you can image how powerful the Shipyard was.
6) 維他奶 Vitasoy
維他奶站名黎架？土瓜灣人熟搭的紅VAN小巴，在附近下車時會叫「維他奶有落」。但環觀附近大廈卻不見維他奶廣告或廠廈。為甚麼有這樣奇怪的站名出現？皆因馬頭圍道與漆咸道北交界的漆馬大廈牆身以前有一大樽維他奶的廣告和大招牌，土瓜灣人都以此為地標。可惜，現在都被拆掉，只能在紅VAN中回味那大樽維他奶了。
Vitasoy – a name of a stop? You may hear someone yelling ‘stop at Vitasoy’ on a minibus to To Kwa Wan. Yet you cannot find any advertisement or billboard of Vitasoy in the surroundings. This weird name actually comes from a supersize ad of a bottle of Vitasoy Milk hung on the wall of Chatham Building, intersected at Chatham Road North and Ma Tau Wai Road, used as a landmark by To Kwa Wan-ers. It was gone, however, and can only be remembered on the minibus.
7) 紅土分界 Hung To Boundary
你在紅磡還是土瓜灣？ 同一條大馬路的兩邊分別有「馬頭圍道」、「土瓜灣道」兩個路牌，這就是兩區的分界了！在此你可以一隻腳踏在紅磡，另一隻腳踏在土瓜灣。
Are you in Hung Hom or in To Kwa Wan? Do you know the dividing line between Hung Hom and To Kwa Wan? On both sides of the same main road, there are . This is actually Here you can set one foot in Hung Hom, and another foot in To Kwa Wan.
8) 華樂戲院 Wa Lok Theatre
唔講唔知, 土家故事館附近有間戲院......不過已經係四十年前嘅時。啟明街的旺德大廈前身就係華樂戲院，係1960年開幕，六七十年代的時候好興旺！帶比附近街坊及工友一大娛樂，成為當年土瓜灣至紅墈八大戲院之一。
It is rarely known that there was a theatre near To-Home. Wah Lok Theatre was built in Kai Ming Street forty years ago, which has now become Wong Teck Building. After its opening in 1960, Wah Lok Theatre appeared to be the popular entertainment centre for people living in To Kwa Wan and the factory workers in both 60s and 70s, and was thus suggested as one of the best eight theatres in To Kwa Wand and Hung Hom.
9) 舊街市 Old Market
鴻福街連着玉成街到啟明街原本是舊街市，綠色排檔嗰種，好地道架，不過有少少衞生問題，所以直到 "紅蘋果街市" 興建後，街上排檔就搬走了，但現在還剩下一些街舖小店，賣下菜丶豆品和肉類。
The old wet market originally located near the conjunction between Hung Fook Street and Yuk Shing Street towards Kai Ming Street. There were green stalls in the old days. They moved away when Red Apple Market came. But there are still small stores remained selling vegetables, beans and meats.
10) 海心島 Hoi Sham Island
海心廟真的曾在海心 : 看看以前的地圖，土瓜灣的地勢其實有如龍吐珠，而龍口吞吐的珠，就是從前的海心石。「以前去海心石拜神，要坐船的。有簽香油的，回程免費；沒有簽香油的，要給一毫子。」財記百貨的周太說。現在海心石已跟陸地相連起來了。
Hoi Sham Temple – once at the heart of the Sea : As you read some old maps, the terrain of To Kwa Wan resembled a dragon spewing a pearl from its mouth. That “pearl” was Hoi Sham Rock. “In the past, you had to take a boat to worship the gods at Hoi Sham Rock. If you had paid tributes (e.g. burning incense) to the gods, the return boat trip could be free of charge; otherwise, you would have to pay 10 cents,” Mrs Chow at Choi Kee Store recalled. At present, Hoi Sham Rock has already been connected with the land.
11) 土瓜 土家 To Home