In a quiet corner of the bustling, trendy neighbourhood of Causeway Bay in Hong Kong on a weekday afternoon, Luk Chung-yan holds a steady hand as he glides a razor across his customer’s skin in calculated strokes before scraping the froth on the edge of a clay bowl.
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Behind him, shavers buzz while other barbers chatter in the Shanghai dialect, in the hair parlour home to vintage reclining barber chairs, 70-year-old hairdryers and old-school pomade.
For HK$200 (US$25.70), customers can enjoy a full experience that includes a haircut, wash and shave, along with a friendly “see you again” as Luk holds the door open for them to leave.
Housed in a 69-year-old building with a manual door lift, stepping into Ambassador Barber Parlour feels like one is transported back in time.
While other Shanghai-style salons in the city have shut down in the past decade, this barbershop, which has operated for nearly four decades, has stood the test of time.
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Luk, 78, came to Hong Kong with his family from Shanghai in 1957, at the height of the anti-rightist movement.