This week in PostMag: ghostly signs of Hong Kong and Old Master Q

South China Morning Post

4 days ago

The best stories are often the ones hiding in plain sight: half-obscured and easy to overlook. That's the starting point for our cover story this week, on Hong Kong's ghost signs. It's a spooky, slightly mysterious term, but you know them – hand-painted shopfronts, weather-worn billboards and bits of calligraphy that have somehow survived decades of redevelopment and repainting.
The project is the work of designer Billy Potts and photographer Ben Marans, who have spent the past few years documenting remnants of the city's commercial past, from pawn-shop signs in Kowloon City to the red-and-white checkerboard once used by pilots landing at Kai Tak. They've created a virtual map (
hkghostsigns.com ), held exhibitions and built a community via Instagram. It's the kind of nostalgia Hong Kong loves, paired with an effort at preservation in a city that's always changing.
That same tension between progress and preservation runs through Christopher DeWolf's feature on Hong Kong's municipal services buildings, and the related Venice Biennale of Architecture exhibition. DeWolf revisits these multi-storey complexes that have long housed libraries, sports facilities, markets and cooked food centres under one roof. They were once hailed as symbols of efficient, egalitarian urban planning. But as the government demolishes and redevelops some, a debate is emerging: are we losing more than just buildings? For the exhibition's curators, the answer is yes.
There's a different lens on history in Paul French's profile of Old Master Q. The comic strip, created by Alfonso Wong Kar-hei in 1962, was once a fixture of Hong Kong pop culture and still holds nostalgic appeal for many who grew up with it. The character is instantly recognisable: the long coat, the bad haircut, the pratfalls and slapstick that somehow doubled as social commentary. Wong's son Joseph, who took over the strip, has preserved his father's legacy while nudging the character into the digital age. There's even an app. Of course there is. But the spirit remains charmingly old school.
We also head to Germany this week, where Peter Neville-Hadley takes us to Chemnitz, a former East German city once known as Karl-Marx-Stadt. Often passed over in favour of more photogenic neighbours, Chemnitz is now one of three European Capitals of Culture for 2025. Its programme this year ranges from classical concerts to street art, with many events taking place in former factories and public squares. It's a sharp contrast to another German city, Rothenburg ob der Tauber – postcard-ready and reliably packed with tourists.
One quick programming note: as I mentioned last issue, we'll be on pause in print next week, but back the Sunday after. You'll still find us online, as ever.
And, drumroll please … the crossword is back. We know it's long been a part of your weekend routine and as of this week, you can find the
PostMag quick crossword , alongside the SCMP cryptic, in the SCMP app and online.
Happy puzzling.