Hong Kong's Hakka Community Weaves Past and Present Through Culture Revival

Andy Kwok is the second generation of immigrant Hakka in his family. His father immigrated from Longyan City, Fujian Province, which is a famous Hakka gathering place, before 1949 to Hong Kong.

Kwok started his business in Hong Kong as a tailor, and later, he started a clothes factory. As an overseas Chinese, every time he went back to his mainland hometown, he and his family would be welcomed by the local government in the 1990s.

Now, the generation of Andy Kwok cannot speak Hakka, but they still remember the delicious taste of Hakka food they had when they went back to their mainland hometown as children. Most of their next generation has moved abroad and never been to their mainland hometown.

There are many people like Andy in Hong Kong, whose Hakka ancestors immigrated from the mainland, and their Hakka memory is decreasing generation by generation. Even museums and monuments like Sam Tung Uk and Tsang Tai Uk preserve little record of the Hakka lifestyle. Hakka culture seems to get lost in modern society. However, there is a group of people who are still making effort to preserve Hakka traditional culture.

According to the research data of Prof Lau Yee Cheung in 2010, there are about 1.2 million Hakka people living in Hong Kong, accounting for about 18.8% of the total population of Hong Kong. There are 359 Hakka villages in different areas of Hong Kong (CUHK New Territories Dialect Report), but only a portion of middle-aged and elderly people still speak Hakka.

Tsang Tai Uk is a classical Hakka walled house located in Sha Tin Wai , a Hakka village in New Territories. It was built by Tsang Koon Wan, a Hakka immigrant from Wuhua County, Guangdong Province, to Hong Kong, his initial wealth came from stone cutting.  

Tsang Tai Uk is located in Sha Tin Wai, which is now surrounded by modern urban architecture. Source: BP

According to the Chairman of the Hong Kong Cross-Strait Hakka Association, Kong Chyun Fu, Wuhua County is famous for its stone-cutting industry. Hakka men and women all participate in it. The Legislative Council of Hong Kong and many buildings in Mid-Levels Central were built by Hakka people.

This Hakka walled house took twenty years to build and used a lot of granite, which was considered luxurious at the time. Now, there are still over one hundred Tseng's descendants and residents with other surnames living in Tsang Tai Uk.

The door of the central hall of Tsang Tai Uk. Source: BP

Even though the main hall of Tsang Tai Uk still keeps the original appearance and is used as a place of worship, residents have changed their lifestyle from group living to single-family living, the outer walls were painted and covered with dense wires, TV antennas, and electric meters. In the inner corridor of Tsang Tai Uk, some rooms have been modified beyond recognition of their original appearance.

The courtyard inside the Tsang Tai House. Residents use the open space to dry their clothes. Source: BP

A few miles away in Tsuen Wan, there is another walled house now used as a Hakka museum of Hong Kong called Sam Tung Uk. As the staff of Sam Tung Uk, Mr. Lee introduced, Sam Tung Uk originally belongs to Chen family who immigrated from Fujian Province. At that time, most of the people who lived in Tai Wo Hau were Hakka immigrants from Fujian Province.

The front door of Sam Tung Uk, which is now used as a Hakka museum. Source: BP

However, the walls of Sam Tung Uk were painted white, except the central part still keeps the old appearance. The patterns on the walls and pillars have been covered with white and gray cement, and the tiles on the roof have been neatly repaired. Except for the main entrance, there are no traces of the past residents living here.

Walls of Sam Tung Uk have been painted white. Source: BP

In Sam Tung Uk, there are many small rooms with two stories now become exhibition halls introducing different customs. But those introductions are mostly about Cantonese people, little about Hakka.

The rooms of Sam Tung Uk now become exhibition halls. Source: BP

“The government of Hong Kong did not do well in protecting old Hakka architecture, ” Chairman of Hong Kong Cross-Strait Hakka Association, Kong Chyun Fu said, “Lai Chi Wo is the Hakka village that got protected best, but the transportation there is inconvenient. ”

Hakka have been immigrating from the central plains to different places since the Tang Dynasty. And Hong Kong is not the only place where Hakka people who have left mainland China can settle down.

“Wherever there is sun and sea, there are Hakka ”Directorof the Hong Kong Cross-Strait Hakka Research Institute, Dr. Li Jianzhu said, “I've been in Australia, and also in a very remote small town, those mining towns, I've seen a lot of mausoleums graves a piece of it, tombstones with Chinese characters on them, ancestry from Shanghang County, Fujian Province, ancestry from Meixian County, Guangdong. In that kind of Aboriginal place, these early Hakka miners from Fujian were buried over there, so you can see the Chinese characters, it means that we Hakka people lived over there and passed away there. It used to be an ideal to go back to your roots, but very often you just die in another place .”

To better trace the family origin and members, Hakka people write their genealogies and even take these genealogies to foreign countries with them. In this way, Hakka people can record who they are and where they are from.

Fujian Hakka Genealogy Museum is a thematic museum that collects the most Hakka genealogies in China. Lai Zhibin, the guide of Fujian Hakka Genealogy Museum, introduced that they have collected more than 20 thousand Hakka genealogies of the Qing Dynasty and Modern times, covering more than 190 family names.

Hakka Genealogy Museum in Fujian Province. Source: web

Lai Zhibin told me what they are doing now includes the digitization of genealogies, taking over the overseas genealogie,s and promoting Hakka culture. They also have received a lot of overseas Chinese to find their family roots.

Besides the genealogies, Hakka people hold the Hakka World Conference every year to better connect with each other. Hakka from different countries would gather together and communicate with each other.

Kong Chyun Fu said there is an Indian lady who participates in the Hakka World Conference every year; she cannot speak Mandarin, but can speak Hakka very fluently. He believes that overseas Chinese and Taiwanese have done a better job of passing on the Hakka language.

Under these circumstances, some of the Hakka in Hong Kong, like Kong Chyun Fu and Li Jianzhu are making an effort to preserve and promote Hakka culture. Two years ago, they wrote a proposal on behalf of Hong Kong Cross-Strait Hakka Association to Chief Executive John Lee. They hope Hong Kong can build an actual Hakka Museum containing a Genealogy Museum and a Domestic Instructions Museum, which could be copied from the Hakka Genealogy Museum and Hakka Domestic Instruction Hall in Fujian Province.

Hong Kong Cross-strait Hakka Association. Source: web

“Our museum also fervently hopes to have more cooperation with Hong Kong.” Lai Zhibin, the guide of Fujian Hakka Genealogy Museum, said.

Maybe some day Hakka culture will no longer be a lost culture in modern society, it would like many other cultures in the world, not only shines its glory in those old architectures, but also combines with modern elements and attracts people again. It is the origin of 1.2 million Hong Kong people and an indivisible part of this diverse city. It is not a memory of old days, but an invisible imprint of nowadays.

Hong Kong has overtaken Switzerland as the world's top cross-boundary wealth management centre, according to the latest Global Wealth Report 2026 published by the Boston Consulting Group. Industry professionals, academics, and researchers believe Hong Kong is pulling away from Switzerland and is likely to maintain its top position. They suggest authorities should actively expand the range of investment products, such as RMB-denominated and Islamic financial products, and strengthen external ties, including exploring Central Asian markets.

The latest Global Wealth Report 2026 published by the Boston Consulting Group

In 2025, Hong Kong managed US$2.95 trillion in cross-border wealth, ranking first in the world for the first time, slightly higher than Switzerland's US$2.94 trillion. Though the margin between Hong Kong and Switzerland is slim in 2025, according to estimates by the Boston Consulting Group, the gap between the two is widening. The Boston Consulting Group estimates that by 2030, Hong Kong will manage US$4.6 trillion in cross-border wealth, while Switzerland will manage US$4 trillion.

Hong Kong's cross-border wealth management scale increased by US$284 billion in 2025, a growth of 10.7%, while Switzerland's increased by US$207 billion, a growth of 7.6%.

The report by the Boston Consulting Group indicates that from 2025 to 2030, Hong Kong's cross-border wealth management scale will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9%, while Switzerland's will be 6%.

Singapore, ranking third, achieved cross-border wealth management scale of US$2.1 trillion in 2025, an increase of US$196 billion or 10.3%. The Boston Consulting Group estimates that by 2030, Singapore's cross-border wealth management scale will reach US$3.3 trillion.

The U.S. and the U.K. rank fourth and fifth, respectively, with cross-border wealth management scales of US$1.6 trillion and US$1 trillion in 2025. The Boston Consulting Group estimates that the scales will reach US$2.1 trillion and US$1.3 trillion respectively by 2030.

The top ten booking centers dominate cross-border flows shown in the report

Prof. Billy Mak, Associate Professor of Accountancy, Economics and Finance at Hong Kong Baptist University's School of Business, said in an interview with Bastille Post that, unless a black swan event occurs, Hong Kong is increasingly pulling away from Switzerland at its current pace. Switzerland also has a significant gap over the third-ranked country, he noted. For any lower-ranked competitor to rise to the top, its growth rate would need to outperform Hong Kong's, which is quite difficult. As a result, he is confident that Hong Kong can retain its crown in cross-border wealth management.

Russia-Ukraine War Drives Capital Flows from Switzerland to Asia

The Russia-Ukraine war and the Iraq war are objective factors behind the significant increase in Hong Kong's cross-border wealth management scale in recent years, Prof. Mak explained. He also noted that Switzerland has always been a wealth management centre in Europe, while Dubai in the UAE is the wealth management centre in the Middle East. Switzerland has long prided itself on strict neutrality, which helped it become a global wealth hub. However, after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, the EU imposed sanctions on Russia requiring Switzerland to freeze Russian assets, not just government assets, but also the private assets of wealthy individuals. Since then, funds have gradually withdrawn from Switzerland because it is no longer safe.

Furthermore, Europe's economic recession over the past two decades has limited investment channels for funds deposited in Switzerland, hindering significant capital appreciation.

The attack on Dubai, the Middle Eastern wealth management centre, by Iran during the Iraq war also led to some capital outflows from the Middle East, according to Prof. Mak.

Asia is a likely destination for capital flowing out of Switzerland and the Middle East. Asia's rapid economic growth in recent years is conducive to wealth accumulation. Both Hong Kong and Singapore, as Asian wealth management centres, have no foreign exchange controls, allowing free capital flows, and operate under the common law.

Prof. Mak noted that Hong Kong has international arbitration institutions, no capital gains tax, a simple tax system, and more than 80 of the world's top 100 banks maintain offices or branches in the city, which are all factors that appeal to cross-border wealth management and family offices.

Hong Kong, Photo source: reference image

Banking Professionals: Europe's Wealthy Population is Shrinking

Banking professionals point out that this is an irreversible trend, as the number of wealthy individuals in Europe is decreasing, while the number in the Asia-Pacific region will continue to rise alongside the economic development of ASEAN countries.

Moreover, the Hong Kong government's efforts to promote family offices in the city are accelerating this trend.

The report by the Boston Consulting Group cites a robust IPO market and a large influx of Mainland capital as reasons for Hong Kong's top ranking in 2025, while also suggesting other factors were at play.

Mr. Alex Mak, Head of Greater Bay Area Development of Our Hong Kong Foundation, said Hong Kong's leading position in cross-border wealth management is primarily driven by the rapid overall wealth growth in Asia. He mentioned that the number of high-net-worth individuals in Asia grew by 5 per cent in 2024, higher than in Switzerland. From an economic perspective, Asia is a growth region, while Switzerland is facing saturation. Nevertheless, he also indicated that Hong Kong is unlikely to be number one in IPO fundraising in 2026 due to several mega-IPOs in the U.S., including on SPACEEX, but added that this has not shaken Hong Kong's status as a wealth management centre.

Government Policies Bearing Fruits

Mr. Alex Mak noted that the HKSAR Government's efforts in recent years to build the city into a wealth management and family office centre have yielded results. A series of government policies and tax breaks have been implemented, and the results are now reaping the rewards. Last year, the number of single-family offices reached 3,384, a 20 per cent year-on-year increase, compared with 440 in Switzerland.

Singapore, ranked third, recorded 10.3 per cent growth in 2025. The Boston Consulting Group estimates a 9 per cent annual growth in its cross-border wealth management assets over the five years to 2030. While its base is lower than Hong Kong and Switzerland, market analysts suggest Singapore would need significantly higher growth in the coming years to overtake them.

Analysts also pointed out that Singapore's investment market offers fewer product options and is geographically distant from China. Investing in RMB-related products is less convenient in Singapore. Furthermore, Singapore's close ties with the U.S. make some investors hesitant.

To cement its position as the world's leading cross-border wealth management hub, Prof. Mak believed Hong Kong should increase the variety of investment products, such as expanding the supply of RMB assets, broadening risk diversification, and introducing Islamic financial products, which would not only attract foreign capital, but also draw high-end financial talent and create jobs.

Scholar believed Hong Kong should increase the variety of investment products, such as expanding the supply of RMB assets, broadening risk diversification, and introducing Islamic financial products. Photo source: AP News

Hong Kong: A Platform of Diverse Asset Choices

Mr. Sam Yu, Chairman of the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association (HKIFA), said in the interview that Hong Kong offers over 3,000 tradable funds. In recent years, the addition of alternative asset investment funds and private equity funds has enriched investment products for wealth management and family offices. The HKSAR Government's financial policies, including tax incentives, have contributed to the flourishing development of the sector.

Besides, initiatives such as Cross-boundary WMC, Mutual Market Access, and ETF Connect provide Mainland investors with channels to invest in Hong Kong, resulting in ample capital and a diverse range of investment products in Hong Kong's financial market.

To strengthen Hong Kong's position as a wealth management centre, Mr. Yu believed a short-term, medium-term, and long-term approach is needed. In the short term, strengthening communication with Mainland regulatory agencies and the People's Bank of China is crucial to ensure funds enter Hong Kong through legal channels. In the medium term, strengthening ties with Southeast Asia is essential. He noted that Thailand and Hong Kong have had a mutual recognition of funds mechanism for many years. In the long term, expanding into the Middle East and Central Asia is vital to enhance financial and wealth management exchanges between the regions.

Mr. Alex Mak believed the HKSAR Government needs to expand its financial talent pool, especially for multi-skilled individuals, such as those combining finance and technology, or ESG specialists. Furthermore, he suggested exploring the Central Asian market. Kazakhstan, for example, has strong economic power and boasts 40,000 to 50,000 high-net-worth individuals, a figure projected to reach 60,000 by 2028.

Mr. Yu expressed his surprise that Hong Kong has become the world's leading cross-border wealth management hub sooner than expected. He said that this is the result of past efforts, highlighting government policies, including significant work on taxation and the successful attraction of numerous investors and talent.

To solidify its position as the world's number one, Mr. Yu said Hong Kong can continue to attract diverse capital by strengthening ties with the Mainland, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, adding that Central Asian countries also hold considerable potential.