This week in PostMag: the HSBC Main Building turns 40, the Hong Kong Sevens and new beginnings

Springtime heralds new beginnings, renewal and a world emerging from slumber. In that vein, PostMag enters into the next chapter of its long life as we bid a heartfelt farewell and express our thanks to Cat Nelson. Since autumn 2024, she has adroitly steered PostMag with her keen vision and relentless pursuit of inspiring stories, enriching our Sundays with razor-sharp wit, delightful reads and impactful reporting. I’m grateful for the path she has set PostMag on, and excited to continue the journey to guide you to live well and stay curious.

As a born-and-bred Hongkonger, I grew up reading PostMag – then Post Magazine, back in the day – so to be trusted with the singular opportunity to drive this beloved slice of Hong Kong life feels both surreal and exhilarating. PostMag has long been a mainstay of my Sundays. Now, I have the honour of playing a small part in yours.

In a stroke of serendipity, this issue coincides with two notable anniversaries. On April 7, 1986, HSBC inaugurated its Norman Foster-designed global headquarters on 1 Queen’s Road Central. Stephen McCarty and Charmaine Chan honour the skyscraper’s 40-year history through the words of Foster himself and the lens of photographer Ian Lambot, who had extraordinary access to the under-construction site to capture the structure’s cross-braced glory. Even if you’ve seen the HSBC Main Building across the years, here’s a view from a new perspective: several photos in our cover story have never before been published.

Another Hong Kong institution celebrates a milestone anniversary this month, with the Hong Kong Sevens marking its 50th year. Annemarie Evans revisits the excitement of the world-class sporting event through Bob Lloyd, who captained the Hong Kong team at the first-ever tournament when it was still held at the Hong Kong Football Club. Meanwhile, our photo editor, Alexander Mak, tackles our image archives for a visual sprint down memory lane – all the way to the try line.

Our features this week see David Frazier following in the footsteps of a new generation of free-spirited Chinese travellers who flock to the mountains of northern Thailand in the name of peace, love and self-expression and Christopher DeWolf decoding the symbiotic relationship between urban architecture and urban forests.

If the whirlwind of Hong Kong Art Week is still on your mind, our managing editor David Ho’s interview with Japanese artist Ayako Rokkaku – whose whimsical exhibition in the Landmark Atrium is on until April 17 – will prove to be a fitting final episode to close out the first quarter. Finally, Kora Kwok takes us into the Hong Kong-meets-Japan home of interior designer Keith Chan Shing-hin and Jeff Yeung charts the rise and rise of Bar Leone on the road to this year’s Oscars.