First released in 1957 by Castle Films, GATEWAY TO THE ORIENT presents rare views of Hong Kong as it looked in the 50s. At this time the city was still a British Crown Colony. The sights seen in the film include the harbor, Tiger Balm Garden, Victoria Peak and the famous cog railway, botanical gardens, Kowloon, Aberdeen Harbor, and more. At the 4:30 mark some of the slums and poor areas of the city are seen, contrasted with the Dragon Boat Festival seen at the 5 minute mark. The Golden City Restaurant is seen at the 7 minute mark, with its exotic dishes.

In the 1950s, Hong Kong became the first of the Four Asian Tiger economies under rapid industrialisation driven by textile exports, manufacturing industries and re-exports of goods to China. As the population grew, with labour costs remaining low, living standards began to rise steadily.[66] The construction of the Shek Kip Mei Estate in 1953 marked the beginning of the public housing estate programme to provide shelter for the less privileged and to cope with the influx of immigrants.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com