Always only a stone’s throw away from one another, manhole covers in Hong Kong are as ubiquitous as convenience stores. For the past six years, this seemingly unremarkable yet indispensable part of public facilities has been a fascinating object of study for the 19-year-old visual arts student Monster Kwok. Her obsession goes beyond snapping thousands of photos and designing t-shirts with manhole covers printed on them, on her right arm is also a manhole cover-inspired monster tattoo.

The Central and Western District, one of the earliest developed areas in the colonial era, is home to the increasingly rare manhole covers manufactured by British foundries. Kwok is still amazed by the red manhole covers and fire hydrants outside Admiralty Centre. Lined up in a neat row, the hatches are so well-preserved that the paint job looks as good as new. “Red manhole covers indicate that the pipe carries potable water, yellow signals salt water and blue means the pipe is suspended for repair. All manhole covers near fire hydrants were engraved with ‘FH’ that stands for fire hydrant.”

The letter codes and symbols on a manhole cover reveal important information about its manufacturer and the government department they belong to. The back of one fire hydrant says “HKWW-Hong Kong Water Works,” the former name of the Water Supplies Department, while a cast-iron manhole cover on the opposite street bears the engraving “HKDW-Hong Kong Drainage Works.” Kwok explains, “The department had been called Hong Kong Drainage Works since 1969, until it was renamed as the Drainage Services Department in 1986.” Crude iron has eventually given way to stainless steel manhole covers on brick walkways, which allow guide paths for the visually impaired to be installed on top.

Nearby is a manhole cover engraved with “PWDHK” for the Public Works Department of Hong Kong which operated from 1883 to 1982. “There were several divisions under the Public Works Department. The contract number indicates the division that owns the manhole cover. For instance, 1/HO/82 refers to the first contract of the Highways Office in 1982, so it can mean the wires of streetlamps or traffic lights underneath.”

The alphabets at the corners of manhole covers signify their loading capacities – “H” refers to “heavy duty,” which means the cover can tolerate heavy vehicles driving on top; “M” refers to “medium duty” with tolerance for ordinary vehicles; “L” that represents “light duty” is often found on pavements and planters. The chicken foot-like arrows that lie between “H” and “K” as well as on the corners mean that the manhole cover is a property of the Royal warehouse, now the Government Logistics Department. The sourcing of materials for public facilities has been contracted out since the ’90s.

Kwok’s passion for manhole covers began to grow when she worked on a research assignment. Noticing that not much information about manhole covers was available online, her schoolwork has developed into a spellbinding pursuit. She gathered scraps of references from sources like old government yearbooks. “In spite of their undeniable historical significance, not many people pay attention to manhole covers.”

Made-in-Britain manhole covers can also be found at the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware in Hong Kong Park. “The letters on the manhole cover show that it was produced by John Jones, a foundry from Chelsea, London. The museum used to be part of the Victoria Barracks and the residence of the Commander of the British Forces in Hong Kong. John Jones was the foundry that made manhole covers especially for barracks,” says Kwok.

Manhole covers bear different shapes and patterns for easier identification. The small one that comes in a rare shape in the backyard, for instance, is likely to be meant for watering plants. But Kwok can tell from the screw holes that the London-manufactured hatch has not been opened for a long time. Similarly, many other manhole covers have also been left abandoned and become so old that the government don’t even know which department should be responsible for their maintenance.

In front of a staircase on Battery Path lies a trapezoid-shaped manhole cover. “The letters on the manhole cover indicate that it was made by Burn Brothers, and it was imported here in the ’60s or ’70s as shown on some old photos.” However, the shape is uncommon nowadays as workers needed to pull up the whole manhole cover for maintenance, so it was later redesigned into a square shape, formed by two triangles that can be opened separately.

Kwok also notes the rarity of the engraving of Chinese characters on manhole covers. Back when Hong Kong foundries produced manhole covers, they had to hand-craft the wooden moulds before iron casting. The complexity of characters made up of strokes is probably why Chinese words are not common on the covers. Kwok finally manages to find a couple of them at the hilltop of Choi Wan Estate. “They say salt water, potable water, fire service and, the most unique one, watering plants.”

Kwok is also intrigued by the underground world underneath manhole covers, despite her fear of cockroaches and rats. “The important thing is that I get to see what lies underneath,” she says, admitting her hands itch to open and inspect whenever she spots one.

Given the authorities’ efforts to wipe out the colonial past from the face of the city, Kwok confesses her mixed feelings for accepting the interview and drawing broader attention to manhole covers of the old days. “Decolonization has become a heated topic. Just like how the British royal insignia has been removed from post boxes, manhole covers are also being slowly replaced,” she notes. “On the one hand, I am worried that speaking about them would speed up their disappearance. On the other, if I don’t share my passion now, people may lose the chance to see them.”

Her mobile phone is packed with over 7,000 photos of manhole covers, and there are more in her computer at home. She always enjoys wandering around the city in search of manhole covers, once even walking without stopping from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on an empty stomach. All her findings have been pinned to a map. She has also organized several exhibitions and paid thousands from her own pocket for venue rental. Not to mention conducting free tours across the city to introduce manhole covers in different districts to the broader public.

Kwok even works as a part-time courier so that she can check out manhole covers in private residential estates. “I hope I won’t be sacked after this interview is published,” she says half-jokingly. “I plan to spend my whole life studying about manhole covers. My goal is to do a full tour of Hong Kong every five years to discover and document every single manhole cover in the city.”

Facebook page: Manhole Cover Gallery @manholecovergallery

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