Revisiting the world of Suzie Wong

The beautiful and forever ambiguous The World of Suzie Wong was one book that helps seal Hong Kong's reputation as the hedonistic Pearl of the Orient. Written by Brit Richard Mason, the 1957 novel tells the love story between a young English painter and a "hooker with a heart of gold".

The hotel where Suzie met the love of her life - the Luk Kwok Hotel on Gloucester Rd in Wanchai, Hong Kong - is no longer a brothel but instead one of the more smarter-looking modern hotels on the island.

However, just two streets further south sits Hong Kong's "unofficial" red-light areas, aptly dubbed "the Suzie Wong district".