Hongkongers have bid farewell to another iconic shop sign after the one for Leung Tim Choppers Factory in Cheung Sha Wan Road was taken down on Wednesday night – the latest to fall foul of government regulations.

Workers removing the shop sign of Leung Tim Choppers Factory in Sham Shui Po on January 11, 2023.
Workers removing the shop sign of Leung Tim Choppers Factory in Sham Shui Po on January 11, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Citizens took pictures of the sign, with some posing under the enormous “knife” which had been part of the street furniture of Sham Shui Po for over 40 years.

Citizens taking photos of Leung Tim Choppers Factory's shop sign on January 11, 2023 before it was scheduled to be removed that night.
Citizens taking photos of Leung Tim Choppers Factory’s shop sign on January 11, 2023 before it was scheduled to be removed that night. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

It was just the latest such Hong Kong icon to be removed. In 2015 a giant cow-shaped Sammy’s Kitchen neon sign on Queen’s Road West was taken down while a neon sign for the 79-year-old Tai Tung Bakery in Yuen Long was removed last month.

Reporters and spectators waiting on a curb outside Leung Tim Choppers Factory as its shop sign was scheduled to be removed on January 11, 2023.
Reporters and spectators waiting on a curb outside Leung Tim Choppers Factory as its shop sign was scheduled to be removed on January 11, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

After the Minor Works Control System was launched in 2010, many overhanging signboards, a feature of the city which appeared in international films, were deemed to be illegal structures subject to removal.

Mr. Leung, owner of Leung Tim Choppers Factory, taking a photos with the shop sign with his family before the sign was removed on January 11, 2023.
Mr. Leung, owner of Leung Tim Choppers Factory, taking a photos with the shop sign with his family before the sign was removed on January 11, 2023. Photo; Kyle Lam/HKFP.

On Wednesday, people gathered outside the shop to take photos of the sign. Mr. Tim, whose grandfather founded the shop, climbed up with his family and captured their last moments with it.

Shoppers at the Leung Tim Choppers Factory on January 11, 2023.
Shoppers at the Leung Tim Choppers Factory on January 11, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

While pedestrians on Cheung Sha Wan Road will not longer be able to view the sign, it will be displayed as part of an art exhibition later this year.

The shop sign of Leung Tim Choppers Factory before it was removed on January 11, 2023.
The shop sign of Leung Tim Choppers Factory before it was removed on January 11, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
A worker cutting off a cable holding up the shop sign of Leung Tim Choppers Factory on January 11, 2023.
A worker cutting off a cable holding up the shop sign of Leung Tim Choppers Factory on January 11, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
The shop sign of Leung Tim Choppers Factory being loaded onto a truck on January 11, 2023.
The shop sign of Leung Tim Choppers Factory being loaded onto a truck on January 11, 2023. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

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