Zolima CityMag

01/12/2025

In Hong Kong, it’s impossible to overlook the sight of bamboo scaffolding at every turn. Nicknamed "spiderman" (ji1 jyu1 hap6 蜘蛛俠), the workers skillfully lash together bamboo poles to form intricate, grid-like structures covered in netting that catch construction materials. This ancient technique, which dates back to at least the Han dynasty around 2,000 years ago, has played a significant role in shaping the city’s landscape. The scaffolding is sturdy enough to withstand the typhoons and tropical storms.

Bamboo scaffolding is also integral to Hong Kong’s cultural scene, particularly through bamboo theatres, which are recognised as intangible cultural heritage and used in traditional festival celebrations. Fast, adaptable, and flexible, bamboo scaffolding is a hallmark of Hong Kong, embodying the resilience and ingenuity of its people.

Recently, this centuries-old craft has made headlines due to the tragic fire in Tai Po. Its future is uncertain, with discussions about replacing bamboo scaffolding with metal. Yet one thing is certain: its significance and deep roots in the city’s identity can never be diminished.

Click to read more about bamboo theatres in our article!

Our heritage writer Cardin Chan joins a tight-knit crew of workers as they build an unusual bamboo theatre perched on the edge of a cliff on Po Toi.

28/11/2025

Hong Kong in the 1980s was festooned with signboards, neon and otherwise, that competed for attention in the streets. It was these vibrant displays that shaped the city’s unique identity and atmosphere. Neon signs, in particular, became iconic symbols of Hong Kong’s nightlife and culture.

Although neon has faded from the cityscape, it still shines in people’s memories, photographs, and through those who have worked to preserve its light in both traditional and innovative ways.

Photo: Keith Macgregor represented in Hong Kong by the Blue Lotus Gallery

27/11/2025

In the latest Pop Cantonese series, Eva Wong reflects on the expression "chicken intestine" (雞腸 gai1 coeng4) to refer to English — a funny, self-deprecating way Hongkongers describe speaking English. Tracing the term from 1980s textbooks to Young and Dangerous slang, Wong unpacks how a joke about squiggly lines reveals deeper anxieties around language, class, and belonging in postcolonial Hong Kong.

Why on earth would "chicken intestines" be used to describe English? The answer turns out to reveal a whole lot about Hong Kong.

26/11/2025

Clockenflap 2025 will transform Hong Kong’s Central Harbourfront into an energetic music and arts festival playground from 5 to 7 December! Following the first and second lineups announced earlier this year, the full lineup features different stars from all around the world.

Read the article for full lineup, including day splits!

In December, Clockenflap 2025 hits Hong Kong’s harbourfront with global stars, mixing fresh beats and iconic sounds like Ano and Bright Eyes.

26/11/2025

CHAT 六廠 exhibition Busy Needles uncovers the overlooked world of Hong Kong’s textile embellishment — a cottage industry powered largely by women whose handiwork helped propel the city’s rise as a global manufacturing hub.

Curated by Bruce Li, the show traces delicate drawnwork brought by missionaries to Swatow, the Maryknoll Sisters’ hidden embroidery workshop, and the dazzling beaded garments that shaped mid-century fashion.

Check out our article on how archival discoveries, replicas, and maximalist creations reveal the domestic labour, cultural exchange, and craftsmanship that form a uniquely Hong Kong aesthetic.

Busy Needles: how cottage industries, Christian missionaries and homespun craftwork combined to create something truly unique.

25/11/2025

Where is Hong Kong’s Neon Museum?

This excerpt from Neon Is Not Dead explores a tantalising question: with hundreds of rescued sign boxes, glass tubes, drawings and decades of documentation, why doesn’t Hong Kong have its own neon museum?

Looking to neon museums from Los Angeles to Warsaw, our managing editor Christopher DeWolf charts the passion, labour and logistical hurdles behind preserving these luminous artifacts — from sheer scale to complex restoration.

The lesson is clear: neon survives thanks to grassroots advocates. And Hong Kong already has the community it needs to build a museum of its own — if given the space to glow.

Some of Hong Kong's most amazing neon signs are in storage. Why not have our own neon museum? An excerpt from the book 'Neon Is Not Dead.'

24/11/2025

Thanks to your support, our Kickstarter campaign for Neon Is Not Dead has reached 120% of our goal! We still have 4 days left, so don’t miss out on the special 5% offer available on Kickstarter!

It's about the rise, fall, and rebirth of Hong Kong’s living light

21/11/2025

CT Music Fest Vol. 3 features three days of music and art collaborations from over 30 acts, spanning Hong Kong and the world. Festival-goers are invited to camp overnight on Cheung Chau. The festival runs from today until November 23 —don’t miss out!

As the city’s first camping live music festival, CT Music Fest Vol. 3 features three days of music and art with over 30 international acts.

20/11/2025

Observations in Hong Kong Back Alleys captures the quiet poetry of the city’s hidden spaces. In hundreds of photographs, Wolf turns everyday improvisations — pipes as drying racks, plastic jugs collecting leaks, shoes balanced on drainage lines — into a portrait of Hong Kong’s grassroots ingenuity. A hidden gem among his many works, the 2016 book reveals how ordinary people transform a city built for commerce into one that works for life. Check out the latest entry in our Hong Kong Reads series on local books you may have overlooked.

An overlooked collection of photos by Michael Wolf the late German photographer reveals Hong Kong’s improvisational urban genius

18/11/2025

Material innovator Elaine Yan Ling Ng and designer Katerin Theys join forces in Reverie Skin, a cross-disciplinary collaboration that turns Ng’s experimental textiles — paper, copper and Lurex — into sculptural yet fluid garments. Blending craft, science and architecture, the duo shows how Hong Kong’s tight-knit maker community continues to drive innovation. The result is couture that shimmers, moves and redefines sustainability: proof that Hong Kong’s creative edge is alive and evolving. Read more in our article and don't miss the exhibition, which runs until 27 November.

A collaboration between Elaine Yan Ling Ng and Katerin Theys shows how Hong Kong can still be at the cutting edge of fashion.

18/11/2025

Thanks to your support, our Kickstarter campaign for Neon Is Not Dead has already exceeded its goal! It allows us to expand our initial print run, and the first copies will be arriving before Christmas time! We still have 9 days left, so don’t miss out on the special 5% offer available on Kickstarter!

It's about the rise, fall, and rebirth of Hong Kong’s living light