I was in Hong Kong for a business trip last week, and have taken advantage of the Raya long weekend to spend a few more days in this city that is so dear to me (that’s where my husband and I got to know each other through a summer school program held by Chinese University of Hong Kong :))

Having been to Hong Kong for a few times already, I have decided to be less “tourist-like” this time and go without any planned itinerary/to-do list. Since we stayed at Wan Chai area, we started our “aimless wandering” around this area, trying to discover more than just the Golden Bauhinia Square.

Walking along Queen Road’s East and turned into Stone Nullah Lane, we’ve reached the Blue House (蓝屋). This “tong lao” (tenement house) is a preserved Grade-1 heritage site that is home to a community museum and a handful of long-time residents.

The Blue House is a four-storey Lingnan-style house built in the 1920’s with a mixture of Chinese and Western architectural features. The distinctive blue colour was not a deliberate aesthetic decision – the decorators only had blue paint, so a blue house it became.

In the 1950’s and 1960’s, kung fu master Wong Fei-hung’s student Lam Sai-wing and his nephew launched their kung fu studio here. There are still residents occupying the structure, despite a lack of modern conveniences such as flush toilets.

from Discoverhongkong

Speaking of the vivid blue finish, it was only added relatively recently. When the government carried out maintenance of the building in the 1990’s, the blue paint left over from some Water Supplies Department work were used to repaint the exterior. Not a bad colour for a left over supply!

The community museum at the ground floor featuring a rotating exhibits of grassroots culture.

Address: 72 Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island

How to get there: MTR Wan Chai Station, Exit A3. Walk along Tai Yuen Street to Queen’s Road East, then turn left to Stone Nullah Lane.