There's still a few old ceramic and concrete street signs around town that were made before 1930 and there are 95 cast iron plates in service that were installed between the 1930s and 1960s - they were hand-crafted and can weigh up to 30kg.
There was a change of design in the 1960s to 1970s with the plates made of concrete again, then there was a new design and now the most recent ones are made of aluminium - they began in 2005 when 19,000 street signs were replaced.
The oldest street sign in Hong Kong is at the Pak Tai Temple in Stone Nullah Lane, Wan Chai. It has an iron frame and individual ceramic tiles.
Lower Albert Road at the old Dairy Farm Depot, now the Foreign Correspondents Club - ceramic tiles in a concrete frame.
Lower Albert Road at the old Dairy Farm Depot, now the Fringe Club - ceramic tiles in a concrete frame.
Wyndham Street at the old Dairy Farm Depot, now the Fringe Club - ceramic tiles in a concrete frame.
West End Path at the Old Lunatic Asylum Chinese Block in Sai Ying Pun.
On Tai Street at Western Market in Sheung Wan.
Wa Ning Lane close to Blake Garden in Sheung Wan.
1930s to 1960s T-shaped cast iron - Chinese characters read from right to left.
1960s to 1970s concrete - Chinese characters read from right to left and are right-aligned.
1970s to 2005 - Chinese characters read from left to right.
2005 to present aluminium - the current design with street number indications.
Cast iron street sign, made in the 1930s to 1960s. Original location unknown; installed here in 2018 at the renovated Central Police Station Compound.
Hollywood Road
Wyndham Street
Shing Wong Street
Shing Wong Street
Connaught Road Central
Ching Lin Terrace
Des Voeux Road West
Queen's Road West
Sai On Lane
Water Street
Lloyd Path on The Peak, barely visible intersecting with Barker Road.
23 December 2017
Burrows Street
6 August 2017 - now gone after redevelopment in 2020.
Cross Street
10 December 2017
Johnston Road
6 August 2017 - now gone after redevelopment in 2020.
King Sing Street
22 December 2017
Tai Wo Street
8 July 2017
Triangle Street
19 October 2017
Blue Pool Road
Blue Pool Road
Broom Road
Green Lane
Hawthorn Road
Hip Wo Lane
Cotton Path - stolen in February 2021.
Haven Street
Lan Fong Road
Lee Garden Road
Pak Sha Road
Percival Street
Healthy Street East
Kam Hong Street
Cape Collinson Road - this in a private collection.
Apliu Street
22 December 2017
Stolen in July 2023. Members of the public had reported missing street signs to authorities and the Highways Department informed police that seven street signs in Sham Shui Po were missing. A man was arrested soon after on Fuk Wing Street after an investigation. So far, none of the signs have been recovered.
Apliu Street
22 December 2017
This is no longer in active service but it is nailed to the floor in a bric-a-brac shop in Apliu Street.
Fuk Wa Street
23 December 2017
Stolen in July 2023. Members of the public had reported missing street signs to authorities and the Highways Department informed police that seven street signs in Sham Shui Po were missing. A man was arrested soon after on Fuk Wing Street after an investigation. So far, none of the signs have been recovered.
Ki Lung Street
28 December 2017
Stolen in July 2023. Members of the public had reported missing street signs to authorities and the Highways Department informed police that seven street signs in Sham Shui Po were missing. A man was arrested soon after on Fuk Wing Street after an investigation. So far, none of the signs have been recovered.
Kiu Kiang Street
22 December 2017
Lai Chi Kok Road
28 December 2017
Castle Peak Road
Cheung Wah Street
Fat Tsueng Street
Fuk Wah Street
Fuk Wing Street
Kim Shin Lane
Woo Sung Street
Wai On Street
Hak Po Street
Fife Street
Nelson Street
Hung Fook Street
Hung Kwong Street
Hung Kwong Street
Kowloon City Road
Lung To Street
Ma Tau Kok Road
Kwong Fook Road
Fu Shin Street
Luen Wo Road
Dao Yang Road
Hai Wing Road
Hai Wing Road
Chung Hing Street
School Road
Tai Sun Street
Kat Hing Street in Tai O, Lantau
Aberdeen Street
Apliu Street
Arran Street
Bedford Road
Bedford Road
Boundary Street