Soho, Chinese: 苏豪, 荷南, Pinyin: Su Hao
Picture of Soho, Hongkong
The Soho district in Hong Kong is an entertainment zone located in Mid-levels and bordering Sheung Wan, within the Central and Western district. The name is derived from its location: South of Hollywood Road, and it arguably extends up to and including Robinson Road.
One of the easiest ways of getting to Soho is through the Central-Mid-Levels escalator, which was built in 1993. It is said that the very existence of now vibrant Soho is attributed to the creation of the escalator system, which at the time was the longest escalator system in the world, and in fact prior to the escalator the area was populated by many elderley locals, old go-downs and porcelain shops.
The area now consists of restaurants, bars, nightclubs, art galleries and antique stores of Staunton Street and Elgin Street. Soho also is home to the first fulltime comedy club in Asia, The TakeOut Comedy Club Hong Kong. Hong Kong taxi drivers usually regard "Soho" to mean either Staunton Street or Elgin Street. It is easier to say "Soho" than "Standon gai", or "Elay gan gai." However just be sure you mention "Central", or driver might take you to SOGO, a department store in a different district.
Buildings in the Soho area are a mix of commercial/residential, with the commercial businesses on the lower floors, and residential above the First Floors. Around the same time the Mid Levels Escalator was built, a few foreigners started to move into the area, taking up both commercial premises and renting flats. At the time the flats were cheaper than other expat areas in Hong Kong, and only a few minutes walk from the business district.
The name Soho was first mentioned in a 1996 article in the South China Morning Post newspaper attributed to Elgin Street restaurant owner, Thomas Goetz, who came up with the acronym. Goetz was also instrumental in forming Soho's first business group, and The Soho Association Limited (TSAL) was established in 1998 to represent its members in relation to difficulties they were experiencing with the local government departments in relation to licencing, and to collectively promote the area. The first Chairman was Jean-Paul Gauci, who had opened many businesses in the area.
However, in 2000, Democratic Party member Kam Nai-wai wanted to see Soho formally re-named the "Elgin/Staunton Street Themed Dining Area", and Kam and some Long-term residents associated the name Soho with being a place of disrepute, with red light district associations. The irony is Elgin Street was known in the 1860s as "Hung Mo Giu Gai," or "Foreign Girls Street," due to the vast number of European-staffed brothels. It was renamed after Lord Elgin, British envoy to China, during the Second Opium War (1857-1860).For several years the Democratic Party fought an ongoing battle against the new bars and restaurants in the area, and also against formal adoption of the name "Soho", preferring instead the descriptive "Staunton/Elgin Street Themd Dinning Area", despite the fact that there were more non restaurants businesses than restaurants! The apprehension is that use of the name "Soho" will cause association with the London area of the same name.