Tong lau (Cantonese) ortang lou (Mandarin) means "Chinese building" –Tong orTang (唐) refers to theTang dynasty and is used as a term to mean Chinese, andlau (樓) is a building with more than one floor. It is a general term for a type of building found in Hong Kong that also developed inMacau andCanton (Guangzhou) from traditional Southern Chinese townhouses.
Early tong lau buildings were generally long and narrow with a width of between 12 and 15 feet (3.7 and 4.6 m), determined by the length of the wooden beams.[1] In Hong Kong's building regulations,tong lau refers to a building with any living space intended for more than one tenant.[2] It is essentially a tenement building for residential and commercial use. The ground floor is reserved for commercial use, mostly by small businesses like retail shops and food vendors. The upper floors are for residential use, and cater to Chinese residents of Hong Kong.
Most early tong lau were two-to-four stories tall, due to building regulations that initially limited the height of building to 1.25 times the width of the street with a maximum height of 35 feet (11 m). However, due to the influx of migrants from mainland China to Hong Kong in the 1950s, height control of buildings was relaxed in 1955, and some tong lau that were built after that might have nine or more floors and be built withoutlifts.[3] The heyday oftong lau ended in the 1960s when population pressure resulted in many tong lau being demolished to make way for high-rise buildings, along with changes in building ordinances in order to allow for such high-rise buildings.[4]
Ke lau orqilou (Chinese:騎樓. meaning "riding building"), is a form of tong lau with an arcade running alongside the road for pedestrian use. The term was originally "kelau with feet" (Chinese:有腳騎樓;pinyin:yǒu jiǎo qí lóu;Jyutping:Jau5goek3 Ke4lau2), which was first used in Canton's building regulations in 1912, and referred to the columns forming the colonnade that supported the projecting floors that "ride" above. The ke lau buildings developed in Guangzhou were influenced by local traditions and the shophouses withfive-foot ways ofSingapore, which were first built following the instructions ofStamford Raffles given in histown plan soon after the founding of the colony in the early 19th century. Ke lau were built in Southern China (Guangdong,Guangxi andFujian) starting in the early 20th century. Most of the ke lau in Guangzhou were built in the 1930s until the outbreak of theSino-Japanese war, and few were built after that period.[5]
19th-century tong lau in Tai Ping Shan in Hong Kong. The terraced buildings used by the Chinese in the foreground are distinct from the larger buildings used by Europeans higher up in the background.
Early Hong Kongese tong lau mainly consisted of two- or three-story structures built back-to-back in areas such as Tai Ping Shan. 19th-century tong lau synthesizedChinese and European architectural features. While the Chinese component was based on building design from southern China, mainly that ofGuangdong Province; European influences were usuallyNeoclassical. The tong lau roof used wood and/orXieding tiles and iron was used for the balconies. The balcony's design was based on Cantonese styles. Windows used French styling and were made of wood and glass. The upper floors were supported by brick pillars and protruded out to the edge of the street.[citation needed]
Inside, the floors were connected by wooden stairs. Most floors ranged from 450 to 700 square feet with very high ceilings. Top floors were often living quarters for shopkeepers and their family.
Other architectural features of early tong lau are:[citation needed]
In 1903, in response to an outbreak ofbubonic plague, the Hong Kong government issued a set of new regulations for tong lau so as to improve the living conditions for inhabitants in these buildings. Newtong lau buildings needed to have a light well, have larger windows, and the buildings were limited to four floors so their residents can receive sufficient light. The frontage were set at 15 feet, and at the back there needed to be a six-foot lane, so as to remove back-to-back constructions. Roof tiles were also replaced by flat concrete roofs.[6]
In the 1920s,reinforced concrete began to be introduced as the main structural element, which allowed for averanda as well ascantilevered or recessed balconies to let in extra light.[6] An example of tong lau or ke lau from this period isLui Seng Chun, a building in reinforced concrete built in Hong Kong in 1931.[7]
Tong lau built after World War II were simpler in design:
Iron balconies were replaced with concrete ones and later sealed with windows. Roofs were often flat with an open terrace and later renovated to allow for additional residential space. Wooden windows gave way to stainless steel windows. Air conditioning units were added to the windows in the 1970s and 1980s. Often clothes racks were added below the windows and hung above the sidewalk or street below. Signs were hung on the exterior walls and protruded onto the streets below.[citation needed]
Other features of the new tong lau included:[citation needed]
Thepostwar boom and influx of immigrants led to a shortage of housing in Hong Kong. Many tong lau were renovated to become rental units. In order to become spacious space, each unit was separated from adjacent units through brick party walls, is between 13 and 16 feet wide (about 4 to 5 m).[8]
The ground floor of a tong lau was used as shop space, but a cockloft was often built on the upper space in front of the partition wall of the kitchen, or utilized as working area. Rooms on the upper floors were divided into smaller rooms and sublet as units by owners; said rooms were only big enough to accommodate bunk beds. The middle of the floor was a common space for tenants to eat and use. Bathrooms and kitchens were also shared among the tenants of each floor. Tenants paid for electricity and water on a monthly basis.[8]
The subletting of floors in tong lau led to changes in housing regulations in Hong Kong.
After the 1960s, many tong lau were demolished to give way to taller apartment and commercial buildings, especially new town or private apartment. Fewer Tong Lau are relatively found in Hong Kong today.[9]
On 29 January 2010, No. 45J Ma Tau Wai Road,Ma Tau Wai, a five-story-tall tong lau of more than 50 years history, suddenly collapsed at approximately 1:43 pm. Four people were killed. Such spontaneous, cascading and complete building collapse in Hong Kong has been quite rare since the Second World War and the incident raised concern of theHKSAR Government and the Hong Kong public towards the safety of the agingtong lau in Hong Kong, especially those built with similar specifications 50 or more years ago.[10]
Southern China, namely cities inGuangdong Province, is the birthplace of tong lau and ke lau. They were built by wealthy Chinese merchants in the cities likeGuangzhou and, with the aid ofoverseas Chinese, inemigrant market towns likeChikan, Kaiping.[11]
As bothHainan Island and the eastern part of theGuangxi Province lie in the broaderCantonese sphere of linguistical and cultural influence and historically were part ofGuangdong, several cities and towns also have this kind of architecture.
The city ofBeihai lies on the coast inGuangxi. The Old Sheng Ping Street (升平街舊址) is lined with 'ke lau architecture. Life and trade thrived here in the 19th century. Today it is full of restaurants, souvenir shops and adorned with sculptures and boards with information about local culture.
The historicalBo'ai Road area is located in the heart of theHainan capital city ofHaikou. Nearly all the buildings here are of tong lau style. Beginning in 2012, the entire area has been undergoing restoration. It started withZhongshan Road, now completed and converted into apedestrian zone. The restoration is currently expanding outward with the facades being replastered and painted. Lights facing toward the facades to illuminate them at night are now installed on many of the buildings. With road repair ongoing, and new, tourist-related businesses replacing the old shops, the entire area is being developed as a visitor attraction.[citation needed]
The southern part of the town of Chengmai, located inChengmai County, Hainan, has an area adjacent to theNandu River that consists of numerous, dilapidated tong lau buildings.[citation needed]
The tong lau buildings in the city ofWenchang's "Wennan Old Street" have been completely restored. Unlike Haikou's Bo'ai Road area, the facades are unpainted and are gray in appearance. The area is located downtown and is a visitor attraction.[citation needed]
An area within the town ofPuqian, mostly consisting of a single street, is lined with tong lau buildings. This street is the main route from the port to thecity center. However, the tong lau buildings here are in serious disrepair. In fact, many of them are structurally unsafe.[citation needed]
Tong lau are also found inMacau onAvenida de Almeida Ribeiro near theLargo do Senado. They are better preserved in Macau, where they did not give way to newer buildings. Upper floors no longer house people and often are assigned for commercial use. Tong lau here often featurePortuguese colonial architectural influences.[citation needed]
The existence of tong lau was a culmination of a series of historic forces including the economic development of Hong Kong, the Second World War, and the influx of Chinese migrants to Hong Kong.[12]
In 1898, the government introduced a building and public health ordinance which defined all the buildings including tong lau. In 1903, the government introduced a four-story limit as well as a maximum height per story of 9 feet (2.7 m). This explains the general appearance of tong lau. The ordinance changed in 1962; this became fully operative in 1966, and no tong lau was built later.[13]
^Woon, Yuen-fong (1984).Social Organization in South China, 1911-1949. Ann Arbor, MI: Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan. pp. 49–57.ISBN0892640510.
