Blue House

The Blue House is a four-storey tong lau, a shophouse tenement of the 1920s with cantilevered balconies over the pavement, in a part of Wan Chai where almost everything of its type has gone. It got its colour by accident when the works department repainted it in the 1990s with the blue paint it had in stock. Rather than clearing the residents, a conservation project retained them, restored the fabric and added a community and heritage function, an approach that won a UNESCO Asia-Pacific award for cultural heritage conservation in 2017. A house of stories on the ground floor runs exhibitions and guided walks, and the balconies and staircases are the exhibit.

What you actually see

• Cantilevered tong lau balconies - the 1920s tenement type in the street.
• The accidental blue paint - the colour that gave it a name.
• Residents kept in place - conservation without clearing the building.
• The house of stories - exhibitions and walks on the ground floor.

When to go

Year round. One hour. Guided tours need booking and run on limited days. People live here, so upper floors are private.

Honest expectations

It is a lived-in building, not an open museum; most of it cannot be entered. The ground floor exhibition is small. Without a tour the visit is a look at a facade. The lane is narrow and photographing residents is intrusive.

Nearby

Wan Chai market is below; Tai Kwun lies west in Central.