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Staff reporter

Hong Kong welcomed more than 2 ½ million overseas visitors in 1981, drawn here by the world famous harbour, bargain shopping, and, if the official tourist guide is anything to go by, topless bars and bikini-clad escorts. Although the crown colony became an electronics production centre in the 1970s, the first phase of the MTR opened in 1979, and an increasing number of skyscrapers pierced the skyline with the city on the cusp of the 1980s economic boom, political correctness had yet to arrive on these shores...
Thanks to Jack Greenwood-Allum and James Taylor

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When golf pro Arnold Palmer unimpressed in Hong Kong with ‘pretty mediocre’ tee shots in 1964

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Hong Kong’s telephone system, before smartphones – from the 1920s to the 70s

Old Hong Kong

Topless bars, bikini-clad escorts and smelly bean curd: Hong Kong’s official 1980s tourist guide

"Topless bars abound in Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai (but the bottomless craze has not reached the colony yet so you won't be able to find out 'if it's true what they say' that way)," the guide notes. 

The guide advises: "If there are hostesses, it is prudent to pay for each round of drinks when served since letting chits accumulate may result in a total exceeding what you intend to spend."

And goes on to say: "If you pay a fee so that the hostess can leave before closing, nothing further is promised by the establishment."

Some of the advice contained within the guide proves that you really never can judge a book by its cover.

Hong Kong was established in 1842 as a British crown colony, the guide says, and while that legal status had not changed in 1981 "the term colony is out of favour", phased out of use in the 1970s and replaced by "British administered territory on the south-east coast of China".

The guide, sponsored by the Lee Gardens Hotel, says "If you are thinking of having a little party in your hotel room, even a quiet one, mind in bear [sic] that most hotels discourage visits by unregistered guests after midnight." The hotel is now a shopping mall.

Asking "Businessmen: why not stay an extra day?" the guide says: "Hong Kong has many fine beaches that are easily accessible. Your hotel can pack a picnic lunch basket and you can engage a bikini-clad escort for a truly enjoyable day".

The guide lists several Western restaurants and a rough idea of their prices, from the budget Spaghetti House (soup HK$6.50; meat HK$17.50) to swanky Hugo's at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Kowloon (soup HK$40; meat HK$104).

Chinese food has some dishes "considered questionable or abhorrent to others", the guide says, listing deep-fried rice sparrows, barbecued bear’s paw, fish lips, duck web, cooked rice worms and "the unbelievable Shanghainese bean curd", the smell of which "even a Frenchman can't get past."

Photos of "interesting people on busy streets and in colourful markets" can be "taken surreptitiously by not raising camera to eye level", the guide advises photographers.

The governor's residence in 1981, occupied by Murray MacLehose at the time. The building is today known as Government House and is the official residence of the chief executive.

A view from The Peak in 1981. Many local residents used the Peak Tram for everyday transport, according to the guide.

"Wigs are available in synthetics as well as human hair," the guide says. Among other shopping advice, it warns that while orange coloured imitation ivory has good castings, it is overpriced.

Shopping in Hong Kong is best because "high sales volume amortises rent to a smaller percentage per transaction than in many of the underdeveloped parts of the world", the guide says, adding "perhaps the largest single plus factor to explain the bargains ... is the astuteness of Hong Kong businessmen".

The guide advises visitors here during May to go to the Cheung Chau Bun Festival. It describes Cheung Chau as "perhaps the most interesting of the over 200 islands which comprise Hong Kong".

Some brands advertised in the guide remain popular in Hong Kong today. "Watches are best purchased only from reliable, authorised retailers," it says.

The guide warns that while cameras are an excellent buy in Hong Kong, visitors should beware of scams including unauthorised shops selling used cameras as new.

Causeway Bay was "increasingly popular with visitors since its shops stay open just as late as those in Tsim Sha Tsui", the guide says, adding "It is by far one of the most favoured nightlife areas by local Chinese".

An aerial view of the Shaw Brothers studio in Clear Water Bay. The guide advises cinemagoers that the Palace cinema on Gloucester Road is the only one in Hong Kong with a non-smoking section.

Made famous by Richard Mason's novel "The World of Suzie Wong", the quality of bars in Wan Chai had improved since the end of the Vietnam war, the guide says, and even though some of the "old atmosphere still prevails ... many new commercial office buildings are changing the character of the district".

"Hong Kong's harbour is perhaps the most beautiful and no visit would be complete without a water tour," the guide says. One tour offers a two-hour cruise, featuring live music and a spacious observation deck for the "fresh-air fiend and the sun worshipper" for HK$95.

The guide says: "Tsim Sha Tsui has replaced Wan Chai for concentration of all types and grades of night establishments, but every urban area of Hong Kong has fun places – bars, nightclubs, ballrooms (no liquor), discotheques, cocktail lounges, topless joints, etc ... especially etc!" 

"Other than horse racing and some licensed lotteries, gambling is illegal in Hong Kong; if you want casino games, go to Macau," the guide says.

The tourist association offered day trips to mainland China, including a stop at a kindergarten and a "sumptuous Chinese lunch", but "needless to say, a one-day tour will only be to Shenzhen (or Zhongshan)".

The guide was compiled in 1981 by Walter Hoffman, managing director of A-O-A publishers.

News

Hong Kong

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From warnings about Chinese food so smelly "even a Frenchman" couldn't get past it, to telling readers "engage a bikini-clad escort", the Hong Kong Tourist Association's official guidebook of 1981 is full of politically incorrect advice   


Hong Kong welcomed more than 2.5 million overseas visitors in 1981, drawn here by the world famous harbour, bargain shopping, and, if the official tourist guide is anything to go by, topless bars and bikini-clad escorts.


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