After 50 years, Hong Kong shopkeeper closes Quarry Bay bookstore’s final chapter, faced with crippling rent rise
- Hui Kin-man, of King Luen, cannot stomach HK$30,000 monthly rent, after originally paying HK$750 in 1969
- The 72-year-old’s textbook and stationery shop in Quarry Bay is so small there is only space for one customer to browse at a time
Hui Kin-man, 72, took his time opening his tiny bookstore for business on Friday, the same way he has done for half a century.
But on this occasion, he is deep in thought, recalling the fond memories the shop he is closing for good have given him.
Nestled on a street corner in Island East, King Luen Books and Stationery is so small it only allows one customer to browse at a time.
The walls are hidden behind bookshelves piling up to the ceiling, with a metal stationery rack forming the centrepiece of a cramped, busy environment.
It is the kind of classic bookstore that fills the childhood memories of many Hongkongers.
The shop in King’s Road has been selling affordable textbooks and stationery in Quarry Bay since September 1, 1969, when the first landlord asked for a monthly rent of HK$750 (US$96) for what was then over 500 sq ft of shop space.
