Gutzlaff Street

Gutzlaff Street is a lane in the Central district of Hong Kong, crossing Stanley Street, Wellington Street, Gage Street and Lyndhurst Terrace.

Gutzlaff Street
The dai pai dong operating on the street
Traditional Chinese吉士笠街
Karl Gutzlaff, in Fujian costume

Etymology

One of the oldest streets in Hong Kong, it was dedicated to the 19th-century Prussian Christian missionary Karl Gutzlaff, who also worked for the British East India Company and then the colonial Hong Kong government. Well-versed in several Chinese dialects, Gutzlaff is usually known as 郭實臘 (pinyin: Guō Shílà) or 郭士立 (pinyin: Guō Shìlì) in Chinese documents. In 19th century, the street in Chinese was 郭士立街 recorded in several directories.

History

Before the Second World War, the lane was known as "Red-haired Dame Street" (Chinese: 紅毛嬌街; pinyin: Hóngmáojiāo Jiē; Wade–Giles: Hung-mao-chiao Chieh; Jyutping: hong4 mou4 giu1 gaai1) by the locals, "red-haired" then being a common adjective for describing Westerners. One version goes that, in the old days, western women in Hong Kong were frequently seen near the street, as there were plenty of Chinese shoemakers, who were crafted in making western-style shoes, doing business in that area, hence the name and another nickname "Shoe Repairing Street" (補鞋街; bou2 haai4 gaai1 ).

Another version goes that some western brothels operated there during the early days of colonial Hong Kong, hence the name. Today the street is known by some local gourmets, as one of the few surviving dai pai dong is located there.

Latest finding shown the tenements in Nos. 2-10 Gutzlaff Street was inhabited by a legendary and powerful lady Ng Akew, aka Hung Mo Kew (Red-haired Kew). The popular name Hung Mo Kew Street (‘Red-haired Kew Street’) was coined for Gutzlaff Street subsequently.

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See also

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