Heritage of Mei Ho House

The Mei Ho House marked the beginning of the Hong Kong government's public housing scheme and was one of the first eight public housing projects built by the colonial government in 1954 for Shek Kip Mei Village.

The reason for constructing the Mei Ho House was due to a fire accident in 1953. After World War II, a large number of immigrants from mainland China escaped to Hong Kong and the Shek Kip Mei squatter area become one of their settlements. In 1953, A disastrous fire struck on 25th December 1953 and almost 58,000 people lost their homes. In order to resettle these immigrants, the colonial government built a house called "Bowring Bungalows" as a temporary shelter for the fire victims, while Mei Ho House is one of these eight detached buildings. Due to the redevelopment plan, other buildings were demolished one after another, leaving only the Mei Ho Building as the only Mark I H-shaped resettlement block that remained in Hong Kong. Therefore, the government designated it as a Grade II Historic Building in 2005.

Other than being converted into a popular youth hostel with backpackers, the current Mei Ho House has also opened "the Heritage of Mei Ho House museum". The museum recreated the living scenes of old Hong Kong, such as residential units and grocery stores, as well as providing guide tours for groups and the public. These services allow people to understand the grassroots living in the public housing estates from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Due to the impact of the covid-19 epidemic, the Heritage of Mei Ho House museum is temporarily closed except for hotel room reservations.