Aberdeen: A Brief History

Aberdeen is a district located on the south side of Hong Kong Island. Its name is derived from the Scottish town of the same name.

Historically, Aberdeen was a fishing village inhabited by the Tanka people, who are also known as the "boat people" because they traditionally lived on boats and made their living from fishing.

During the 20th century, Aberdeen developed into a major fishing port.

This photo captures a beautiful portrait of what a Tanka lady wearing a woven straw and holding her baby on her back in traditional baby carrier. This scene was soon to disappear. In the 1960s and 1970s, the government began to redevelop Aberdeen, building public housing estates and reclaiming land from the sea. Today, Aberdeen is a bustling district with a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial areas.

Keith Macgregor has been photographing Hong Kong for nearly 50 years. He documented Hong Kong since the economic boom period of the 70s, a time of immense prosperity, social development and general optimism. Nearing the end of its status as a British colony, many photographs depict a fascinating time where the visual contrast between British and Chinese culture, as well as what could be described as the old and the new, was still immensely visible and played into what made the city dynamic yet still mystical in nature.

Keith Macgregor拍攝香港近50年。他由香港於70年代開展黃金時期時一直以相攝記錄社會發展繁榮和樂觀的時期。很多照片仍是英國殖民地的香港，並描繪出那個迷人的時期。其中的中英文化以及新舊之間的視覺對比仍然非常明顯，並融入並創造出這個充滿活力的城市畫面，但同時本質上仍然保留其神秘感。