iSee Man Yee Building

Man Yee Building was the first office building with an escalator. When it opened in 1957 it was a big hit, people flocked from all over town to give it a try and instantly made the Man Yee Arcade a top shopping destination. Luckily the escalator could carry 5,000 people every hour.

Ruby Restaurant at Man Yee was the place to go on Saturday nights in 1970s for tasteful record concerts and classical pieces to which customers couldn’t help but dance after delightful western cuisine and wine. Others also visited Man Yee for the milk tea and egg tarts at Lan Heung Sutt or premium leather shoes at Sanda. “It was a big deal wearing Sanda, every year I could only go once to get a pair,” local resident Uncle Hing recalls.

Man Yee Lane was originally known as ‘Chinese Street’ - a boundary to prevent Chinese from spreading to the East. The street was renamed Man Yee Lane around 1970, after the Man Yee building was constructed.