Pictures courtesy of rlomaxhk.

Wan Chai remains the home of Hong Kong’s red light district, with bars and night clubs concentrated around Lockhart Road. The raucous, neon-lit setting served as a backdrop for Richard Mason’s famous novel The World of Suzie Wong, about an encounter between an American artist and a prostitute.

Between the 1950s and 1970s – during the wars in Vietnam and Korea – a large number of foreign soldiers were stationed in Hong Kong, and Wan Chai became their go-to place for a night of entertainment. Illustrated below are some of the bar cards used to entice young military men to the district’s pubs and clubs.

Guest contributors for Hong Kong Free Press.