‘Heart of Kwun Tong’: hundreds say goodbye to old Yue Man Square in Hong Kong

Hundreds of Hongkongers gathered in Kwun Tong overnight on Saturday to bid farewell to the streets around a historic town centre before they faded into history, with many stopping to capture one last photograph of a neighbourhood that had been part of their lives for decades.Families, couples and former residents queued beneath the Yue Man Square and Tung Yan Street signs, while others lingered at the busy junction to watch traffic pass through the last time before the roads were permanently closed at midnight on Saturday, as part of the redevelopment of the Kwun Tong town centre by the Urban Renewal Authority (URA).Fiona Kung, a 63-year-old retiree, told the South China Morning Post that Yue Man Square had been a regular weekend destination when her daughter was growing up, as the family lived in nearby Lam Tin.“We used to come here for beef offal noodles, street food and shopping,” she said.“It wasn’t a fancy place, but it was always lively. There were people everywhere, and it felt like the heart of Kwun Tong.”Hundreds gathered in Kwun Tong overnight on Saturday to bid farewell to the streets of Yue Man Square. Photo: Facebook/YuemansqMany others took to social media to post old photographs of their time in the area over the years, such as dining at the long-standing McDonald’s restaurant on 20-22 Yue Man Square, which closed in 2017 after 36 years in business.