Hong Kong Neon

The world of Wong Kar-Wai

Between the 1950s and the 1980s, neon signage flourished in Hong Kong, profoundly shaping the city’s urban image. Vast installations cast the streets in a distinctive, almost mystical glow—an effect unique to the flickering gases within neon tubes. In 1995, filmmaker Wong Kar-wai employed this luminous atmosphere as a defining visual element in Fallen Angels, thereby creating a lasting tribute to the city’s typographic landscape.

From the late 1990s onwards, demand for neon advertising declined, as producers increasingly relocated to mainland China in search of lower production costs. At the same time, emerging LED technologies and a growing awareness of light pollution placed mounting pressure on the often informally installed neon structures. From 2006 onwards, Hong Kong’s municipal authorities removed an average of 3,000 such installations each year.

In December 2017, I travelled to Hong Kong to document the remaining neon signs. My explorations took me across all parts of the city; night after night, I followed the glow of this distinctive medium. Although Hong Kong’s neon may be in decline, it has lost none of its enduring fascination.

Those wishing to learn more about Hong Kong’s neon heritage will find extensive resources at neonsigns.hk, part of M+, Hong Kong’s museum of visual culture.