HONG KONG
1950s

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U.S.S. Theodore E. Chandler (DD 717)
Plan of the day for Saturday 10 September 1955

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Tiger Balm Gardens

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"Gary’s favorite place in Hong Kong was the Tiger Balm Gardens.  This beautiful, grotesque-garden, theme park was built in 1935,
on seven and a half acres, by billionaire Aw Boon Haw, at a cost of HK$16 million. 
Filled with surreal statues, pagodas, concrete animals, religious figures, man-made caves, and life-size tableaux depicting Chinese folklore,
it was opened to the public in the 1950s."


Quote taken from
Alzheimer's, Archaeology, and the Armed Forces
by Susan Steele
Copyright 2016
Used with permission

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Clicking on the pictures makes them bigger.

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#223: Tiger Balm Gardens taken from the ship. Sept. 1955

#224: The entrance to world-famous Tiger Balm Gardens at Hong Kong. Sept. 1955

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#229: Taken at world-famous Tiger Balm Gardens. Hong Kong. Sept. 11, 1955

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#237: Taken at the world-famous Tiger Balm Gardens. Sept. '55

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#244: Sept. 11, 1955

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#248: Taken at world-famous Tiger Balm Gardens at Hong Kong. Sept. '55

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Hong Kong

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#270: Water taxis and a bum boat taken in Hong Kong harbor. Looking over to ward Red China, the mountains are in Red China. Sept. '55

#271: Hong Kong and harbor. Sept. '55

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#276: The T. E. Chandler's gig. Taken at Hong Kong, China. Sept. '55

#277: Some water taxis and a bum boat taken at Hong Kong harbor. Sept. '55

#278: Woman in Hong Kong, China. Sept. 11, 1955

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#280: Police man of Hong Kong, China. Sept. 11, 1955

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#282: Taken at Hong Kong China Looking Toward Red China. Sept. '55

#283: Hong Kong's factory district. The line across the water is a submarine net. Taken at Hong Kong, China. Sept. '55

#284: This picture is of a Modern Building at Hong Kong. Sept. '55

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#286: Hong Kong it self. The first to ships is the Wiltsie 716 and Hamner 715. The next ship is the station ship 39, the next is a British destroyer, the next is the U.S.S. Bremerton 130. Taken at Hong Kong, Sept. '55.

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#288: All of Hong Kong and the harbor. Sept. '55

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#290: A British destroyer at Hong Kong. Sept. '55

#291: A British destroyer taken at Hong Kong, China. Sept. '55

#292: Taken at Hong Kong, China. Oct. 1955

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Tai Tam Reservoir, Hong Kong

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#305: The biggest dam for Hong Kong's water supply. TyTam Reservoir. Sept. '55

#306: TyTam Reservoir, the key to Hong Kong's water supply. Sept. '55

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Stanley, Hong Kong

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#313: Stanley prison, a short distance from Hong Kong. Sept. '55

#314: The Village of Stanley, located there is the school for training firemen and policemen. A short distance from Hong Kong. Sept. '55

#315: The village of Stanley, a short distance from Hong Kong. Sept. '55

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Aberdeen, Hong Kong

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#318: Taken on a street in Aberdeen, a short distance from Hong Kong. Sept. '55

#319: A picture of all the fishing boats in Aberdeen. When fishing is best there may be as high as 5,000 boats there. Sept. 11, 1955

#320: Here are two of those floating cafe's where they have live fish in big tubs where you can pick out what you want, then they prepare it for you. Taken in Aberdeen, a short distance from Hong Kong. Sept. '55

#321: The big steamer in the center is a floating Café. They have big tubs of all kinds of fish which are alive. You pick out what you want. They fix it for you to eat. Taken at Aberdeen. The largest fishing port in China. Sept. 11, 1955

#322: Some boats at Aberdeen, the largest fishing port in China. Sept. '55

#323: My buddie Drussel. Taken in Aberdeen, a short distance from Hong Kong. Sept. 11, 1955

#324: Just some boats at Aberdeen, a short distance from Hong Kong. Sept. '55

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#326: Just some boats in Aberdeen, a short distance from Hong Kong. Sept. '55

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Repulse Bay, Hong Kong

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#327: A large beach on Repulse Bay, Hong Kong. Taken Sept. 11, 1955

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#329: A part of Repulse Bay at Hong Kong. Sept. '55

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Mary Soo's Side Cleaners

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"There are a group of girls here called
Mary Soo’s Side Cleaners. 
They make all the ships and work for almost nothing
​just to get the garbage."

Footnote:
"Mary Soo’s Side Cleaners: As an orphan, Mary Soo knew what it was to be hungry, and when she discovered that
the ships were throwing away large quantities of food, she asked the Sailors if she could have some.  The Sailors
shared their food with Mary Soo and they soon formed a symbiotic relationship.  Eventually, Mary Soo learned how
to paint the hulls of the ships, with the ships supplying the paint.  She acquired a fleet of small boats and employed some
of the unwanted baby girls that she had rescued.  These girls lived in the orphanage that Mary Soo ran.  Together,
Mary Soo and her girls scrubbed, cleaned, and painted the hulls of the ships that were anchored in the harbor in exchange
for the leftovers from the ship’s messes.  The food not only fed Mary Soo and her girls, but whatever was not consumed
by them, was distributed by Mary Soo to others less fortunate and then the remainder was sold. 
Mary Soo was known as a very shrewd business woman."

Quote taken from
Alzheimer's, Archaeology, and the Armed Forces
by Susan Steele
Copyright 2016
Used with permission

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#331: Geideck, Pap, Drussel, One of Mary Soo's Girls, Sousa

#332: The girls with the long pig tails are part of Mary Soo's side cleaners. The other boat is a bum boat. Taken just off the ship at Hong Kong. Sept. '55

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#334: Some of Mary Soo's girls taken at Hong Kong, China. Sept. '55

#335: Mary Soo's side cleaners. Taken at Hong Kong, China.

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Diving For Coins

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#336: A little girl that would dive for coins when thrown. Taken at Hong Kong harbor. Sept. '55

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Copyright 2015-2023, S Steele.  Contents of this website are protected by copyright laws.  All rights reserved.  This is not an "official" Navy site.  This website was put together to honor my father, Gary Steele.  Most of the photographs on this website are from Gary Steele's collection and they are used with permission.  Some of the other pictures are from the Navy and the Public Domain...thank you to those contributors!