Wing On Centre, 211 Des Voeux Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Tel : 2852 1888 Fax : 2541 4342 Business Hours : 10:00am-7:30pm MTR : Sheung Wan Station (Exit E3) 1 hour free parking with purchase of HK$300. wing on Plus (Nathan Road) Wing On Kowloon Centre, 345 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel : 2710 6288 Fax : 2374 0476 Business Hours : 10:30am-10:00pm MTR : Jordon Station (Exit A) 1 hour free parking with purchase of HK$300. wing on Plus (Tsim Sha Tsui East) Wing On Plaza, 62 Mody Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel : 2196 1388 Fax : 2369 9262 Business Hours : 10:30am-9:00pm KCR : East TST Station (Exit P1) With purchase of HK$300 and a valid car parking permit issued on the same day, customers are entitled to a HK$15 wing on Plus (Tsim Sha Tsui East) cash coupon. Shop 114, Block C, Discovery Bay Plaza, Discovery Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong Tel : 2987 9268 Fax : 2987 6582
Business Hours : 10:30am-7:00pm (Sun to Fri) 10:30am-8:00pm (Sat) Tel : 2318 2455 Fax : 2331 9225 Business Hours : 9:15am-6:00pm (Mon to Fri) 9:00am-1:00pm (Sat) 7/F., Wing On Centre, 211 Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong Tel : 2852 1855 Fax : 2541 2482 Wing On Godown Building, 1 Wang Kee Street, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong Tel : 2318 2318 Business Hours : 9:15am-6:00pm (Mon to Fri) 9:00am-1:00pm (Sat)I have a unhealthy fascination with Chinese LEGO knock-offs, and we've published several articles, like this one, about the rubbish that's available in markets across the far east in the past. I think it's because I find it incredible that the stuff, which violates so many intellectual properties, is being made at all. Brickset member woodywood currently resides in Shanghai so sees a lot of the junk first-hand. He's kindly sent me some minifig packs so I can see how bad they are for myself. Warning: this article contains disturbing images and strong language.
First under inspection is JLB's (Jai Li Bo toys) Anna from Frozen. The box certainly looks attractive, and very LEGO-like. The contents, the figure and cards, are well packaged in heat-sealed bags. Unfortunately, that's all I have good to say about it. Once you open the packet it's immediately apparent what rubbish this is. Now, when I watched Frozen I'm sure Anna was a fair-skinned girl with what the Disney wiki calls 'long strawberry-blonde hair' in ponytails and a long-flowing blue dress and red cape. I must assume that a different version was shown in China because this figure has a blue crop-top and an impressive tan... :-) As you can see the figure needs to be assembled from the cheap plastic parts, some of which are still on their sprue. The joints are loose and it's difficult to get the hair to stay on. A flower is thrown in for good measure. The best part of it is the trading cards... Next under the microscope is Star Wars Han Solo by Bom Bom.
Again, the box, a good rip-off of a real LEGO one, and the packaging is not bad, but it soon becomes apparent that the photo on the front is that of the LEGO version of the figure, not the one in the box. The arms and hands are not pre-assembled and if I had to guess I'd say the plastic used is polystyrene rather than ABS. The parts are very badly moulded and have sprue marks in prominent places. The hair fits better than on Anna, but once on it's impossible to get it off!. It bears a passing resemblance to the image on the box, but the printing is absolutely shockingly bad. Once again, the best part of the set are the cards, which have the appearance that they are part of some sort of game but the numbers and information is all rubbish. Collectors will want the whole set of them, I'm sure... Frankly they are complete and utter rubbish and I would not wish them on any child. Not only are they terrible quality and possibly made from unsafe materials, but in the case of Anna, in particular, the contents of the box bears no resemblance to what you think you're buying which can only result in disappointment.
I know you won't need me to tell you this, but steer well clear! I really don't know why LEGO and Disney tolerates this stuff being made and sold, but as we have discussed before, I guess the legal framework to prevent it is not in place in China. Now, excuse me while I go and disinfect my LEGO room and banish this junk to the bin. Thanks to woodywood for sending them, I think... :)Kong Photos26 PhotosCity PhotosKowloon CityKowloon Walled CityPopulated PlaceDensely PopulatedKong S ChaoticChaotic KowloonForwardAt its peak, more than 33,000 people lived in the 6.4-acre city. It was considered by many to be the most densely populated place on earth.LEGO dans le monde LEGO dans le monde Le Groupe LEGO est présent dans de nombreux pays du monde. Vous trouverez ci-dessous la liste des pays dans lesquels nous sommes présents ainsi que les adresses. Akasaka Garden City 2F, 4-15-1A renegade photographer got inside this lawless Chinese city 119 times denser than New York
Between the 1950s and 1994, tens of thousands of immigrants constructed a towering community 12 stories high across a 6.4-acre lot in Hong Kong. It was called Kowloon Walled City. With a population of 33,000 squeezed into the tiny lot, the city was 119 times denser at its peak than present-day New York City. Although it faced high levels of crime and poor sanitation, the city was also impressively self-sustainable — until its demolition in 1993. In the late '80s, Canadian photographer Greg Girard found his way into the windowless world. He shared some photos and thoughts on his time in Kowloon Walled City with us here. You can check out the rest of his photos together with essays and work from photographer Ian Lambot in the recently released book "City of Darkness: Revisited." Though Hong Kong had been under British rule for decades by the time construction began, a clause in an 1842 treaty meant China still owned the property that would become Kowloon.
Caught in legal limbo, it was effectively lawless. By 1986, the Walled City had caught the attention of photographer Greg Girard. Girard would spend the next four years in and out of the city, capturing daily life inside its teetering walls. The Lego-like city was built over decades, as residents simply stacked rooms one on top of another. The end result "looked formidable," Girard tells Tech Insider, "but who knows?" Kowloon offered just about every business imaginable, for better or worse. At night, schools and salons were converted into strip clubs and gambling halls. Trafficked drugs — mostly opium — made frequent appearances. One woman, Wong Cheung Mi, worked as a dentist. Like many of the Walled City's dentists, Wong could not practice anywhere else in Hong Kong. This drew hordes of working-class citizens to visit the city just to receive affordable healthcare and services. Stacked housing blocks meant virtually no sunlight could pierce through. Even during the day, Girard says, "it was nighttime all the time in there."
The one place of respite from the dampness was on the roof, though Girard says this was the most unsafe of all: "There were a lot of additional things sticking out and spaces between buildings that had been combined." In-house manufacturing was a huge part of the Walled City's infrastructure. Dog-meat butchers, entrepreneurs, and noodle makers enjoyed zero oversight inside the walls. Hui Tuy Choy opened his noodle factory in 1965, totally free to ignore health, fire, and labor codes. Sanitation was of minimal importance, Girard says: "It was an intensely difficult place to function, with no laws governing health or safety." Law enforcement typically only intervened for serious crimes, Girard says, though rumors were always swirling that Hong Kong's government preferred to turn a blind eye. One law that was consistently enforced: The Walled City could be no higher than 13 or 14 stories. Otherwise, low-flying aircraft would have trouble meeting the nearby runway.
Despite its seedy reputation, the Walled City offered a sense of togetherness to thousands of people who had no community, Girard says. "Its physical reality kind of belied this community that it was," Girard says, adding that people's attitudes toward him changed around 1990 when they learned the structure was to be knocked down. People began living increasingly quiet, traditional lives. Though he entered as a threatening outsider, Girard eventually left having formed genuine relationships. After the city was torn down in 1994, the country built a park in its place. Today, Kowloon Park attracts photographers, birdwatchers, and tourists looking for a relaxing trip — with plenty of room — through scenic Hong Kong. "Hong Kong is kind of a surreal place," Girard says. "The Kowloon Walled City was one of its more surreal mutations, but Hong Kong evolves and Kowloon evolves." You can check out the rest of Girard's photographs of Kowloon Walled City, together with essays and work from photographer Ian Lambot, in the recently released book "City of Darkness: Revisited."