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In pictures: Hong Kong’s ‘Poor Man’s Nightclub’, a popular outdoor bazaar in the 1980s
Before Sheung Wan’s Tai Tat Tei was cleared for reclamation, it was where fortune-tellers, opera singers and hawkers gathered nightly
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Before 1992, Sheung Wan’s Tai Tat Tei or “Poor Man’s Nightclub” was a vibrant open space where market stalls, dai pai dong, Chinese opera, fortune-telling and all manner of entertainment came together, forming a hub for workaday shoppers and pleasure seekers while providing a means of livelihood for hawkers and street performers.
Throughout the 1980s, it offered tourists a glimpse into the city’s everyday rhythm and character.
August 2, 1992, was the last day of operations, as the site across from Western Market was cleared for the Central and Wan Chai Reclamation project.
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Here’s a look back at the Poor Man’s Nightclub from its 1980s heyday to its final night, through the lens of South China Morning Post photographers.
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