"3811, waiting in the old place, like flowers"

“Oaths are just words in smoke.” March 8 is International Women’s Day, but for some movie fans (especially fans of Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui), this day is also related to movies. In "Rouge Button" , March 8th at 11pm was the date and time Ruhua had arranged to meet with the Twelve Young Masters. They agreed to die for their love and met decades later at 11pm on March 8, 1987 on Panshan Road in Sai Ying.

Not long ago, I attended a gathering of Hong Kong 01 blogger columnists. The venue happened to be in Sai Ying Pun. I had to pass through a mountain road. I felt a change and experience when I walked through this scene again. It was the MTR. The Island Line extends to the west of Hong Kong Island, now to the Western District, and a few stops from Central to the University of Hong Kong Station. As soon as you come out, you will reach the mountain road, which is convenient and fast. The "old place to wait" for Ruhuayue Twelve Young Masters happens to be Exit A of the HKU MTR. In the past, Tangxi Fengyue was located in Nanli, just outside Exit A of the MTR station. It is said that there were indeed many red card aunties back then.

Thirty years ago, Ruhua returned to the earth from the underground, went to the newspaper to place an advertisement, leaving only the sentence "3811, waiting at the old place, Ruhua", and then took the Dingding back to the Western District. When she returned to the earth, Tangxi Fengyue had long since disappeared, and only Dingding could evoke her memory. If Ruhua and Twelve Young Masters postponed their appointment for 30 years, then she would probably choose to take the subway today, right? Anyway, she came up from the underground, and Sai Ying Pun and Hong Kong University stations are the two stations farthest from the ground. She took the last subway train late at night and met at Exit A of the subway station.

In the movie, Ruhua is very sad when she sees today's Sai Wan. Everything has changed. Yuan Yongding (Man Ziliang) said to her: "Everything has changed. Everything here has changed." It has become more than just a mountain road. The scene also includes the antique store "Price Shop" on Hollywood Road in Central.

In the play, Yuan Yongding found an old newspaper in the "Fair Price Pavilion" about the twelve young men who died in love. There are many antique shops on Hollywood Road, and Cheap Shop is particularly eye-catching on Hollywood Road because of its red sign. The store continued to operate for decades until the owner announced its closure last year. "Rouge Button" brings one less scene to the pilgrimage site for movie fans.

I took the time to pass by the Affordable Store that day and saw that the door was closed and a leasing notice was posted on the door. Unlike many old stores that have closed down due to the real estate hegemony in recent years, Fair Price Store itself is the property owned by the owner. It is said that the owner is old and has no energy to take care of it anymore, so he decided to close the business and rent out the property. A few days ago, a friend posted a photo of the new Affordable Store. Someone has been renovating the store, and the new store has opened. It has finally become a cultural and creative store.

The shops in Affordable Hall have only changed hands, but some scene landmarks have completely disappeared due to inclusion in the redevelopment plan. Take the pedestrian elevator from Hollywood Road to the mid-level and pass by Jia Qing Building, the home of 663 (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) in "Chongqing Express". I entered this building with my friends a few years ago. It was still the home of photographer Du Kefeng when filming. Now it has been razed to the ground, large cranes are rumbling at work, and a new building will be completed in the near future.

Further down, there is the historic Central Market, a Grade III historic building, where Yam Tat-wah and several of his colleagues were lynched after nightfall in "Slaying the Wolf". Historical buildings cannot escape the redevelopment plan, which is nothing more than considering how to revitalize them. I passed by the market that day and saw that the entire outer wall had been erected with scaffolding. The floating oasis plan a few years ago was criticized for being too expensive, so it was finally scrapped and started over. Finally, a simple plan was made to retain as much as possible the original shape of the market when it was completed.