Sincere Department Store, which was the favorite of the famed prostitutes, was the first Chinese department store and was established at this present location in 1900. And seven years later, Wing On store was founded, and subsequently moved to this location. After that, department stores such as The Sun, Li Wa, Whiteaway Laidlaw and Tai Yau were opened one by one in the neighborhood. It was so clamorous and lively! Sincere had even set up an amusement park on its rooftop, where there were performance shows, exhibitions of rare and precious items and animals, lucky draws and games. It was a great place for the clients of the brothels to have a heart-to-heart talk with the prostitutes. The most impressive and swankiest event had to be the first fashion show in the history of Hong Kong, which took place at the Sincere store on 12 April 1930. At the show, Chinese and Western models paraded the latest fashion, and lots of West Quarry girls flocked to see the show. The ladies both on and off the stage gave the gentlemen there a real treat for their eyes! On Double Ten Day (10th of October, the National Day of the Republic of China) in the same year, Max Factor organized a special make-up class for the girls at a restaurant in West Quarry. The grandeur of the occasion is still vivid in my memory!

Along with the sons of merchants and the officials from Guangdong, many amorous and talented scholars were regular clients of West Quarry. Before the Restoration in late Qing, imperial examination was still held to select talents in the whole country. Hence, many candidates from the provinces of South China would travel to Beijing through Hong Kong by sea to attend the examination. When passing by Hong Kong, they wouldn’t miss the opportunity to visit the brothels to enjoy indecorous fun with the prostitutes before the examination.

In fact, the prostitutes also loved shopping at the department stores. Besides buying stuff to dress up, more importantly, they learnt about the latest seasonal trend of hair-style and fashion through the window displays.