Strolling beneath the ageing blocks of Wah Fu Estate, Kwok Yau-ming reminisces about how each building had changed over the years.
The 77-year-old has lived in the estate in Pok Fu Lam, in Hong Kong’s Southern district, for more than five decades. A former engineer, he worked on several maintenance projects for the Housing Department in the 1980s, including renovation on this estate.
“Because of the renovation projects, I had the chance to work on all the buildings,” Kwok beamed with pride. “I am very familiar with all the facilities here.”
Built in the 1960s, Wah Fu Estate was Hong Kong’s first public housing estate to feature self-sufficient facilities, such as a shopping centre and restaurants, making it a “luxury residence for ordinary people”.
The architect behind the design, Donald Liao Poon-huai, died earlier this month. The former secretary for housing was also known as the “Father of Wah Fu Estate”. His design featured self-contained public housing units with private kitchens and bathrooms, a model later adopted across Hong Kong.
The neighbourhood that Kwok has called home for half a century will soon undergo some dramatic changes.
This year, the government will roll out the first phase of its plan to redevelop Wah Fu Estate, with the second phase to follow from 2027 to 2030.
Kwok’s building will be targeted in the second phase; he is one of roughly 25,000 residents from this 18-block estate who will need to relocate under the plans.
Lifetime rooted in Wah Fu
For Kwok, Wah Fu Estate is more than a place to live.
“Wah Fu Estate is the place where I settled down and thrived,” he said. “I’ve lived here for over ... 50 years, and I can confidently say that this is where I’ve put down roots.”
After his previous home was set to be demolished, Kwok moved into Wah Fu Estate around 1973.
“The living environment was good, and we were really happy,” he said.
He also joined the Wah Fu Credit Union when he moved in, eventually becoming the head. The union is a community-based financial cooperative located within the estate. Members pool their savings to provide each other with low-interest loans, for instance, if a resident wanted to buy a new refrigerator.
Kwok described the estate as a community built on mutual support. Stressing the union’s motto, he said: “People helped each other. This community is ‘everyone for me, I for everyone.’”
Preserving the past
As redevelopment approaches, Kwok has taken steps to preserve the history of Wah Fu Estate.
He regularly pops by the community centre, Wah Fu Living Hall, and has helped the centre contact former and long-time residents to collect meaningful items – including cameras, weighing scales and tools – for an exhibition about life in the estate.
“Old things have commemorative value,” he explained.
Kwok also volunteers as a tour guide for Wah Fu, sharing stories about the estate and the credit union.
Though Kwok is attached to the community, he views redevelopment pragmatically: “There are things I’m reluctant to let go of when we relocate, but starting anew isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If the old is not demolished, how can there be new?”
Officials have proposed rehousing residents within Pok Fu Lam to keep the community together. Kwok believes this will allow them to maintain their ties.
“The most important thing for me is to have a safe place to settle down and thrive,” he said.
Memories that can’t be rebuilt
Looking at the new public housing flats under construction at Wah Fu North, 26-year-old Janne Tsui Fung-ha is reluctant to imagine life in her “new home”. Residents of Tsui’s block are set to be relocated by the end of 2026.
Tsui’s family has lived in the estate for 12 years, and it has become part of her family’s story. Her father passed away five years ago, and as relocation approaches, Tsui fears that moving will sever her last connection to him.
“Only me, my mum and my sister will live [in the new flat],” she said. “It’s like losing the connection with my dad.”
“[The estate] witnessed me growing up, witnessed the passing of my family member. It witnessed me finding my first job [and] graduating from secondary school,” she said.
“Redeveloping Wah Fu Estate is not just rebuilding [it]; it erases my only memories of me and my family.”
Authorities first proposed redeveloping Wah Fu Estate in 2014, and the plan has undergone multiple revisions over the last decade. During this time, residents waited for more information while going about their lives, wondering when they would receive official relocation notices.
Tsui recalled the moment she opened the envelope with the 20-page notice, saying it felt like a “loss of home”.
She realised that after spending more than a decade living in the estate, she couldn’t remember the name of each building. So she set off to build more memories of the neighbourhood.
For example, she joined the crowds at the annual Pok Fu Lam Village Fire Dragon Dance during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
“I saw many residents standing in the corridors to watch it; it’s stunning. This kind of cohesion just couldn’t be seen in other parts of Hong Kong,” she said.
In March of 2025, as part of a programme organised by Wah Fu Living Hall, Tsui led a guided tour of shopfront typography across Wah Fu Estate.
She led participants through old barbershops, CD stores and shops selling Papier-mâché offerings, highlighting design features from the 1960s and 70s.
“Walking around the estate felt like going back in time,” Tsoi said. “This place connects people of different ages and backgrounds ... It not only [allows people to reminisce], but it also lets newcomers feel how people lived before.”
