Early photos of Mid-levels

Thank you to Martyn Gregory for sharing these old photos of Mid-levels with us. They were taken in the late 1800s.

You can click on any photo to visit its page. There you can zoom in to see more detail, read any notes about the photo, and add a comment about where and when it was taken.

The photos come from several albums of photos, probably bought as souvenirs of visits to Hong Kong. Professional photographers offered a selection of popular views. Customers could choose the photos they liked, and have them mounted in an album.

Government House and the nearby Botanical Gardens (then called the "Public Gardens") were both popular choices. Here's a view looking up at Government House, with the slopes of the Peak in the background:

For the next photo we've moved inside Government House. We're looking out from the upper floor, with the gatehouse in the foreground and the Botanical Gardens on the hillside above. If you look closely, you can see the Gardens' fountain among the trees:

Next are several photos taken in the Gardens, starting with the main entrance and moving round to the fountain:

If you walk up past the fountain and turn around, you'd see this view down to Government House and the harbour:

The next few photos are titled "Walks above Town". That could include Glenealy, which was considered a pretty spot for a walk among the ferns, but I guess these were also taken in the Botanical Gardens:

I'll post the next three photos with the captions given on their album pages. There's no doubt about the first one, but the other two look suspiciously like they lead to or from the Botanical Gardens as well!

"Road leading to the Public Garden"

"Looking towards Robinson Rd." 

"Robinson Road" 

Finally, we escape from the Gardens. This photo shows the junction of Upper Albert and Albany Roads, with College Gardens in the background:

The last photo isn't one that I recognise. If you can identify it, please could you let us know in the comments below?

Thanks again to Martyn for sharing these photos from his private collection.

Martyn is a specialist in 'China Trade' paintings and pictures related to the Far East: that is, works of the period 1700-1900, by both Western artists and Chinese artists who painted 'in the Western manner' for the traders and ships' officers who visited the China coast. You can learn more at: http://www.martyngregory.com/