Ship Street Renewal
The roots of Hop Yuen (Holdings) Ltd were long and deep in Ship Street, Wanchai, dating back to when the area around was a fishing port, and where sailors normally docked and went to pray in a temple for peace of mind once they jumped on shore.
Mr. Tse Yiu Wah, marked the history book of the company not just as its founder, but also as a living symbol of diligence, perseverance and integrity to each and every member of his family. Migrating to Hong Kong in the early part of the 20th century, not with much luggage, but along with plenty of skills and passion as a carpenter, he moved on to establish himself as a reliable constructor and also the first-ever Chinese property agent conceded with the right to build properties as early as from 1914.
The story of the Tse family will not be complete without a recognition of the unfailing endeavors in lobbying for an ultimate decision to retain the four-storey structure at No. 18 Ship Street, even if it was standing in the way of a notable district redevelopment plan announced in 2002. It was one of the three built by Mr. Tse Yiu Wah, whilst the other two were sitting at No.6 and No.12 Ship Street.
It was a passionate desire backed by deep-rooted family sentiments that had driven the lobbying efforts so hard and for so long that in hindsight it still seemed an experience of yesterday, despite the decades in between. Today the building standing proudly at No.18 Ship Street has not only ingrained in its fabrics the living memories of the Tse family, from generation to generation, it has also been a standing testament to the conservation of heritage value that has lived and grown with Hong Kong.
Hop Yuen Construction (合源建築): A Century of Building in HK
While many construction companies covered earlier in the group have faded into history, Hop Yuen Construction is still going strong after over 105 years of continuous operations. The firm is perhaps best known for its original building at 18 Ship Street in Wanchai, which was successfully preserved thanks to the lobbying efforts of the family during a period of major urban re-development in the district.
Hop Yuen was founded in 1914 by TseIu-wah (謝耀華, also spell Yiu-wah), who came to HK from his native village in the early 20th century with not much possessions but skills and passion as a carpenter and over time became a builder. The same year he founded Hop Yuen, he also became the first Chinese property agent conceded with the rights to build properties on Ship Street in Wanchai and over time, he built three shophouses on the street – no. 6, no. 12 and no. 18, the last one built in 1937.
Tse Yiu-wah was involved with the HK Building Contractors Association from the early days and Hop Yuen’s membership number was 42. His wife gave birth to 2 sons and 8 daughters and lived to over 90 years old. In 1967, her sons organized a large banquet at the Ying King restaurant in Wanchai to celebrate her 91st birthday which was attended by many from the Tse Clansmen Association and also figures from the construction and real estate industry such as Chan Kwok-ping from Wah Ying Cheong and others covered earlier in the group such as Chan Wing-ming and his brother in law from Joy Fat Construction and Chung Cheu-kee and his sons (see articles).
Tse Yiu-wah was succeeded at Hop Yuen by his two sons – Tse Noon-wing (謝暖榮) andTse Wai-yin (謝偉賢). Noon-wing inherited 18 Ship Street while Wai-yin inherited no. 6 and the eldest daughter of Yiu-wah who was single inherited the property at no. 12.
Tse Noon-wing married Wong Mee-kuen in 1939 and his family worked and lived in the 4-story building (used to be the tallest on the street)on 18 Ship Street with himself and his wife living on the third floor, their 8 children on the fourth floor, his mother on the second floor and Hop Yuen’s office on the ground floor. As 18 Ship Street only had 450-700sq ft per floor and had around 20 people (including 5 domestic helpers and employees of Hop Yuen) under the same roof at one time, the building was crowded and always bustling with activities. Outside of business, Tse Noon-wing was deputy supervisor of Tse Clansmen Association and director of Chiu Lun Association.
Noon-wing’s eldest son TseSik-yan (謝錫恩) pursued a career in education after graduating from HKU, Cambridge and University of London and served as head of biology for Queen’s College and principal of the Sir Ellis Kadoorie Secondary School in West Kowloon and is chairman of the HKU Alumni Association and founder of the HK Society of Biology. Noon-wing was succeeded at Hop Yuen by his second son David TseSik-hung (謝錫洪), who joined the family business after graduation from HK Baptist College and married Hon Suk-yee(韓淑儀), sister of Dr. Jeremy Hon Kwok-kuen in 1981.
Under the leadership of David, Hop Yuen continued to grow and expand.In 1990, Hop Yuen became an authorized contractor of the MTR Corporation.In 1995, the firm was involved in renovation work for the library of the St Stephen’s College in Stanley. In 1997, the firm did renovation work for the lobby of main branch of the Wing Hang Bank in Central and the same year, Hop Yuen (Holdings) Ltd was incorporated as the holding company for various subsidiaries. In 2001, Hop Yuen was awarded the contract to enhance the above ground entrances of MTR stations across HK.
As part of the urban re-development effort in Wanchai, the government approached the Tse family to take over the buildings on Ship Street. In December 2002, 100 members of the family gathered for a banquet at 18 Ship Street for one last time before handing the building over to the government. The building, which is classified as a Grade II Historical Building by the AMO, has been rented out to restaurants and shops but the family has expressed displeasure about the Hop Yuen sign in the façade being removed and the overall maintenance of the building. In 2003, Hop Yuen Centre opened at 171 Queen’s Road Central as the new office for the Hop Yuen group.
In 2004, Hop Yuen was involved in the re-development work at 28 Peak Road on the Peak. In 2006-08, the firm did the re-development work for St Stephen’s College Preparatory School in Stanley. In 2008, Hop Yuen established a scholarship fund for children of its staff members. In 2009, Hop Yuen was one of the many contractors involved in the construction of the HK Jockey Club International BMX Park. In 2011, the firm was involved in the rail work for MTR in Sheung Wan and the project required it to be completed within 54 hours to minimize disruption to the neighbors.
In 2014, Hop Yuen established the Hop Yuen Charitable Foundation in celebration of its 100th anniversary to support various charities in HK and elsewhere.
有關合源建築掌舵人謝錫洪的二三事
以下是有關合源建築負責人謝錫洪的一篇網誌文章(作者陳曉蕾)，請看以下：
灣仔那麼多橫街窄巷，船街的起點並不特別起眼。不過幾幢唐樓、幾幢舊樓，非得極其細心定睛看，才會發現有三幢並不相連的唐樓──外形相近，風格相類，隱隱約約藏住了故事。
這三幢下鋪上居的唐樓，都是合源建築公司東主謝耀華起的。船街十八號經營木業，傳給長子；六號給次子做打鐵；大女兒梳起不嫁，就把十二號給她住。轉眼九十年快要過去，十八號住了謝家子孫三代──直到今年市建局收地被封。
「我那時戴鳳冠霞佩，坐大紅花橋，大襟姐也有兩個，大串炮仗由三樓一直吊到地下，整條街都好熱鬧！」謝老太笑得好甜，神態彷彿回到一九三九那年。她嫁給謝家長子時，心裏督定：這船街就是我的家了，哪想到會有給迫遷的一日。
如今的居所，幾面牆壁都掛上當年的結婚禮物，恭賀家翁的鏡子，晶亮亮的，半點塵埃也無；同學送給丈夫的錦繡，微微發黃，顏色卻依然鮮麗；當眼處是兩幅遺照：家翁、家婆，和丈夫。
最捨不得祖屋什麼？輕輕一問，謝老太的笑容頓時暗下來，說：「舊屋好好，不用搭電梯！那樓梯我每天上上落落好幾趟，扶手木頭滑溜溜的。」
以前家裏住了好多人，樓梯總有人走。地下是店鋪，二樓是家婆住的，起初還在中央開了個洞，以欄杆圍起，鋪面情況一目了然，後來老人去了，才封掉做客廳。她一直和丈夫住三樓，八個孩子住四樓，家裏還有五個工人煮飯帶小孩做雜務，夥伴晚上也睡在鋪裏，四層樓每層不過五百多呎大，住上二十多人，閣樓走廊都有人睡。「可是一點也不覺得擠，也不會吵。」她用力點頭：「我覺得舊屋，樣樣都好。」
有次家婆從樓梯跌下來，竟然只碎了身上佩帶的一塊玉！
家翁監督下蓋的樓房，結實而樸素，水磨石地板多少年來沒壞過，紙皮石也沒掉過一顆；波浪型的窗框是防盜用的，手柄永遠掛一把銀哨子，必要時可用來叫警察；廚房的入牆煙囪，當年可算是時髦；後院還有一口井，香港限制用水的年頭，鄰居都來借水。限於高度管制，房子無法加高，地方不夠得動頭腦，樓梯鏤空做孩子的書櫃、甚至在頂部鑿空變工人「房」，別忘了謝家專營建築業。
孩子成人後先後搬走，長子當校長，由次子謝錫洪接手打理地下的建築公司。每天早上謝老太都要在三樓的露台站一會：「我喜歡看街景。以前船街的房子都是三層，我們四層樓是最高的！非常涼快，現在變成最矮，空氣也變差」說畢，又急急補充：「但住慣了，就有感情。」
露台下的船街變化真大，早年街道會水浸，謝家小孩會在門口放船玩！六月十三日魯班誕，做建築得的按傳統派飯：大碗白飯，扣上滿滿的菜，鄰居小孩都來拿，後來熟人一一搬走……回憶飄遠，家翁謝耀華由木匠再入行做建築，再當上首名華人地產經紀，一九一四年開始在船街興建物業，名成利就後回東莞鄉下替長子找媳婦，就看中了自己，風風光光地嫁來香港，先後生了二男六女。
「我家婆在舊屋住到去為止……我丈夫是在舊屋出世的……」如今八十多歲的謝老太低聲說。市建局特地派一位女職員，和謝老太談了好久、好久，好不容易才說服謝家遷出。謝老太非常希望政府不要拆掉舊屋：「最好是保留下來，做博物館、餐廳都好，房子還很堅固的。」
2002年十二月底，祖屋要交給政府的前夕，海外的親戚孫子也差不多全回來，統共一百多人，每層都開了兩圍酒席，盛況讓電視台也來拍攝。
搬離祖屋，也就別去前鋪後居、左鄰右里的日子。謝老太現在仍住灣仔，大廈單位有寬闊的平台，放從老家搬來的盆栽，其中一個女兒就住樓上。可是新居怎也不如舊居大，過年團年容不下所有家人，只得光顧酒樓。「以前孫子來看我，最喜歡就是在樓梯玩包剪槌，人來人往，很熱鬧的。」謝老太輕輕說，臉上全是不捨。
「房子交給你們，就是謝家在船街的時代結束了。可是，你們開始任重道遠，要對歷史、對社區負責，修復文物。」
合源集團負責人謝錫洪給重建局的信件如此寫道。
他說：「十幾年前父親過身，媽媽已問怎樣處理祖屋，我答應在有生之年，都維持現狀，不會賣掉，現在真是遺憾。」
謝錫洪說政府一直有意重建船街，前土發公司已派人來遊說，到如今的市建局，職員語氣和態度都有改善，似乎比較開明，相對願意尊重歷史文化，亦肯付出過千萬元作賠償。但交出祖屋，仍是迫不得而，他慨然：-「官字兩個口，高官四個口，特區高官七個口！」
船街六號和十二號於戰後建成，多年前已出租，部份樓層亦轉手，唯有十八號從一九一四年起，一直是謝家住宅。謝鍚洪仍和市建局的官員保持聯絡，再三強調願意幫助，若祖屋要做博物館需要文物、若做餐廳需要設計……只是，千萬，千萬不要拆掉。
謝家第三代，也是有情人。謝錫洪領了賠償，特地選擇把上環一幢六層高的舊樓翻新做集團辦事處，地下還特地闢作展覽室，起名為「回家真好」。集團的業務己由建築、樓宇維修增至室內設計，謝錫洪的女兒便正在英國唸室內設計。「她傻傻！本來選產品設計，面試時老師搞錯，去了室內設計系，對方居然又遊說她讀，結果便改變志願。會否回合源幫忙？言之尚早！」謝錫洪笑笑說。
假若謝家第四代真能參與重建船街設計工作，可是美事一樁。
值得一提，謝錫洪亦是香港賽馬會的會員、馬主，名下馬匹包括安定繁榮、明智之選、魯班精神、福盃滿賞，而他亦是運通財賽馬團體成員，名下馬匹包括八心之鑽、八心之煌。
