Game over for Hong Kong shop selling hand-carved mahjong tiles for 47 years

2026.03.22 13:50 Ko Yun-kan has been unable to find a new suitable location for the shop. Photo: Dickson Lee A shop selling hand-carved mahjong tiles will close for good next week after nearly half a century, marking the demise of one of Hong Kong’s few remaining traditional handicraft stores. Kung Yau Cheung Mahjong, founded 47 years ago, announced it would close on March 28. Owner and artisan carver Ko Yun-kan, who entered the trade aged 18, said the closure of the Mong Kok shop was not due to poor business but because the landlord had decided to take back the street-corner premises earlier this year. Ko, now in his sixties, said the shop on Shanghai Street was his first job and had been his life’s work. He said he had tried to find a new location but could not secure a suitable site, and had decided to retire for now. Ko added that having devoted himself to the craft every day for years, he lost the work overnight and felt a deep sense of loss. The shop was founded by his master, with Ko taking over in the 1990s. He said he grew up along with the business, witnessing both the evolution of Mong Kok and the decline of traditional craftsmanship. Ko Yun-kan has been making the tiles since he was 18. Photo: Dickson Lee Shanghai Street, once a hub for tailoring shops, is now dominated by construction material outlets. The hand-carved mahjong tile business has faced similar challenges. Though the craft was listed as intangible cultural heritage in 2014, machine-made tiles became mainstream in the 1980s, offering lower prices and efficiency. Electronic mahjong tables in the late 1990s – which reshuffle tiles automatically – further reduced demand for traditional sets. Ko said that while machine-made tiles cost around HK$800 to HK$900 per set, hand-carved ones could fetch HK$5,000. Still, many players came to his shop to replace missing or faded tiles, which he could carve within minutes. Customers usually collected their replacements within a few days. News of the closur

原文链接: 南华早报