A small shop with a long history
For over 40 years Tony Leung has occupied his tiny shop in a side street off Nathan Road. Boxes with camera equipment are stacked up to the ceiling and promotional posters from the last century hang above the display cases.
In 1975, an Indian, Hari Harilela built the Holiday Inn Golden Mile on Kowloon’s main thoroughfare, Nathan Road. Hari’s father had emigrated to Hong Kong in the 1920s, starting out as a small tailor. Today his family is one of the richest in Hong Kong. The location seemed ideal to Tony Leung, who had completed his professional training with a camera manufacturer, and now took his chance and opened a small shop. “At that time,” he says, “the train station was still down at the pier and old English double-deckers travelled along Nathan Road. Shops that specialised in photography were scarce.”
Info
Address New Camera Sankyo Co. Ltd, G-19, Golden Mile Holiday Inn, 50 Nathan Road (entrance Mody Road), Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Tel +852 2367 0350, www. newsanky@hkstar.com | Public Transport MTR Tsuen Wan Line (red), Tsim Sha Tsui Station, Exit N5 | Hours Mon–Sat 10am–8pm| Tip Along the walls of the connecting tunnel between the MTR Stations Tsim Sha Tsui and East Tsim Sha Tsui you can find some impressive large-sized photos of historic Hong Kong.
Despite fierce public protest, the old Kowloon-Canton railway station in Tsim Sha Tsui was demolished to make room for the new Hong Kong Cultural Centre. The clock tower is all that remains of the old station, but over time Tsim Sha Tsui developed into a tourist magnet.
While big stores sparkle and glisten on Nathan Road, mainlanders pull their trolley cases down crowded pavements, and street vendors peddle cheap copy watches, Tony has stuck to his small shop - and his loyal customers have remained faithful to him. It has everything a photographer’s heart could desire, coupled with an excellent service that gives professional advice even to amateurs. And if you have any broken equipment, it can almost certainly be repaired at short notice. Among professional photographers on internet forums Tony is generally considered to be a reputable dealer with very fair prices.
“Why don’t you expand your business?” I want to know. “Oh,” Tony answers with a smile, “that was never necessary. Many shops around here are buying their merchandise from me anyway.”
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