"Chongqing Forest" was one of Hong Kong's iconic films of the 90s. Directed by Wong Kar-wai and photographed by Lau Wai Ke-keung and Toh Ke-fung, the film is a time-space journey that chronicles the love, longing and loneliness of Hong Kong in the 1990s. Since the film's release, it has earned recognition from the film industry and gained a cult following, including quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight Boy), Sophia Coppola (Lost in Tokyo) and other famous directors. In many ways, the film is a time capsule that captures the psychedelic and erotic desires of the metropolis of old Hong Kong. Let's look back at the filming location thirty years later and relive the scene when we first saw the movie.
1. Chungking Mansions
The title of "Chongqing Forest" includes a forest, which is like depicting the city, this building, as a huge labyrinth. Chungking Mansions, one of Hong Kong's most prestigious buildings, is located on the ground floor of Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, and was once seen by locals as a shady place full of crime, eroticism and drugs. Although originally designated as a residential area, the building houses many food stalls and tiny shops run by vendors from around the world.
Since the film's release, hundreds of surveillance cameras have been installed in the building, covering 90 percent of the building's public space, reducing crime and increasing the number of visitors. Another area of concern is that you can find people from all over the world in this mansion, which Time magazine called "the best example of Globalization in Asia," and The Economist likened it to the racially packed tavern of Star Wars, MosSEsley.
2. Midnight Express
Much of the plot of "Chongqing Forest" revolves around the "Midnight Express", a late-night fast food restaurant where Faye Wong plays Ah Fei. Located in the heart of Tak Ho Fong Street in Lan Kwai Fong, this fast-food restaurant has now been replaced by a "7-11 convenience store". Now, people meet here after work in the evening, buy snacks and drinks, and chat about the day. It's an iconic attraction in Hong Kong's cultural landscape, and people who come here are always immersed in memories, whether you're hanging out with friends or watching Affie dance with the California Dream under the filter of a bygone era.
3. Escalator from Central to Mid-Levels
There are two reasons why escalators connecting the Central Business District to the Mid-Levels neighbourhood are so famous, one is that it is the longest escalator system in the world, and the other is that it was one of the filming locations for the movie "Chongqing Forest".
The escalator was inaugurated in 1993 and had only just opened when filming was made, when no films had been filmed there, which aroused Wong Kar-wai's interest. In his films, the escalator is bathed in a melancholy green light that evokes the heavy loneliness of the city, and it follows the characters' lives as they weave through emotion and work. Today, it is one of Hong Kong's busiest and most famous landmarks, transporting more than 80,000 people a day to and from Mid-Levels and Central, and is an important part of Hong Kongers' daily commute.
4. Jia Ham Street Market
Under the elevator is the Jiaxian Street Market, where multiple scenes from "Chongqing Forest" take place. In the movie, Affie runs errands here during the day, while police officer 663 (Liang Chaowei) patrols the perimeter of the stall late at night. Located in Central, Hong Kong, the market stretches from Constantin Street in Soho District, Central in the south, through the middle section of Hollywood Road, and begins at Jiezhi Street on Fall Road, with a history of more than 160 years, and is the epitome of Hong Kong's prosperity of the collision of East and West, modern and traditional, and the combination of old and new. Unfortunately, the redevelopment of the precinct has led to the gradual disappearance of the market, but the remaining stalls and vendors still provide a valuable historical portrayal, and their vitality will forever remain in Wong Kar Wai's glorious scene.
5. California Restaurant
While not at all apparent in the movie, the California restaurant where Police 663 arranged a date is just across the street from the Midnight Express. Originally opened in the 1980s by Sheng Zhiwen, the restaurant has turned the previously unknown Lan Kwai Fong in Central, Hong Kong into a bar, specialty Western restaurant and nightlife hotspot, so he is often referred to as the "Father of Lan Kwai Fong". The restaurant and the building in which it is located were later replaced by the new California Tower, but it remains an iconic landmark for Hong Kong's nightlife. Today, the star-studded tower towers over the Central skyline and houses some of Hong Kong's best bars, restaurants and nightclubs.