Few fresh-eyed visitors to Hong Kong venture farther west than the burgeoning activity of the Central Business District.

But as explored in yesterday's piece about Sheung Wan, this once best-kept local secret and long-time treasure of Hong Kong's colonial history has been overshadowed by the city's construction dust.

The first landing spot of the British in 1842, Sheung Wan sets itself aside from the rest of Hong Kong with its local character. Family-owned seafood-trading companies, musty bird's nest shops, ancient temples, and winding roads twist around a neatly hidden MTR station at the end of the Island Line.

Expatriates and entrepreneurial locals are now moving into the area, bringing with them a creative energy that pushes forward a different type of business community - one focused on maintaining local flavors in addition to new globalized tastes.

New arrivals in old neighborhood

Among recent arrivals are Western-styled furnished apartments; cafes; marketing and media start-ups; contemporary art galleries; modeling agencies; and other small-scale companies, many of which have been set up in the area for about one year and hail from overseas.

"You feel the history of Hong Kong walking through streets filled with antique shops; Chinese dried herbs and medicines; art galleries; and the famous Man Mo Temple," says Jeannette of KOTUR, a designer brand of luxury handbags originally from New York City.

Other start-up businesses, such as Sheung Wan-based Open Air, seek to promote Hong Kong's lagging community spirit by setting up outdoor events and markets around the city - all the while sharing office space with a PR firm or a furniture business down the street from aging shopkeepers.

It's a heady mix of internationally minded young entrepreneurs alongside local Chinese residents in flip-flops and suits alike.

Coexisting business communities

The attraction to this area stems from its comparatively cheap rent, friendly neighborhoods and convenient location near Central business district, SoHo and Lan Kwai Fong.

Jimmy Lam, general manager of Graze Cafe, which has been open in Sheung Wan for 6 months, says: "You walk around the Sheung Wan area and you smell dried seafood in the air. You see guys working in these trading companies - probably for more than 20 years - and you can really get a sense of how this area was in the early days of Hong Kong."

He echoes a collective desire of the business owners here to continue to cultivate a small, tight-knit business community with strong local flavorings, while helping potential visitors realize that Sheung Wan is not that far from Central.

New Sheung Wan

What's in store for the future of "new Sheung Wan"?

Now that entrepreneurs have moved into the area, once-cheap rental prices are rising rapidly - reflecting a general trend of Hong Kong having some of the world's priciest real estate.

And as rent becomes more expensive, independent artists and creative-minded entrepreneurs seek affordable new locations, particularly in Sai Ying Pun where rent remains relatively low and the culture stays stubbornly local.

Mao, a dried seafood trader in Sheung Wan, sitting perched in his trading booth in a narrow street bordering Sheung Wan, is skeptical of this so-called rapid change.

Talks of building a new MTR station farther west has been going on for 30 years, he complains. And as long as the MTR station remains speculation, Sheung Wan benefits from Central's sky-high prices. More expatriates are being drawn to the conveniences of Sheung Wan rather than Sai Ying Pun.

A long-time office-space owner also remarked that in a bold movement away from its historical past, Sheung Wan is becoming "newer".

The 'new Midlevels'

With its prime location next to Central and rising real estate value, we can argue that this area is poised to become the "new Midlevels".

Lam reminds us that "SoHo used to be a lot of printing companies. But look at it now - a series of boutique restaurants along with good old-fashion noodle shops and outdoor eateries."

One might add the spotlight value that the area's cool cache brings, particularly among newcomers to the city who seek out the latest best-kept secrets and independent local trends to name drop at the next networking party.

Alex Bent of KUSH Living, a serviced-apartment brand, says: "I don't think Sheung Wan is the trendy new Midlevels. ... Sheung Wan is much more vibrant and dynamic than that, with lots of local businesses operating next to an exciting new wave of restaurants, art galleries and design studios."

The risk of drawing mainstream attention to a hip area is the potential drawback of losing its deep local flavor. Many local and new businesses in Sheung Wan are concerned with maintaining a community spirit where familiar faces pass by shop windows on a daily basis.

This area has the potential to join the ranks of Hong Kong's trendiest commercial and residential spaces, such as the established prestige of addresses occupying Midlevels.

Balancing a community spirit

The community of Sheung Wan is not alone in wanting to preserve the richness of the area's past while developing a bright future.

As the gentrification process repeats itself, old affordable neighborhoods are transformed by adventurous cultural producers. They attract upscale residents who then drive rent up.

Luckily for many local Chinese business owners, they have purchased their shops for many decades and show no sign of relocating to greener pastures.

The key factor for Sheung Wan and other gentrifying locals around the city, nevertheless, is the balancing of local spirit with entrepreneurial enthusiasm.

Both recent and long-term business owners express a strong desire to retain the district's community-based character, along with its rising economic potential - a sentiment shared by Hong Kong at large when trying to carve out its history in the face of rapid development.

But the question remains of how to preserve Sheung Wan's community spirit against its glitzy counterpart in Central and keep its still wild-western district neighbors?

After all, some say that connection is too integral to Sheung Wan's character to let the bond be broken.

(HK Edition 01/30/2008 page4)