2015-03-17 Why are HK's post boxes green?
Before Hong Hong returned to China, HK's post boxes were red, like post boxes in so many countries that used to belong to Britain. But in 1997 our post boxes became green, like those in China, (with a touch of purple to distinguish HK from the Mainland).
This raises the question: why are China's post boxes green? Shouldn't they also be red, since red is the favourite colour of Chinese people?
My
theory: China
's first postal service was set up in 1896 by a famous Irishman, Robert Hart,
and green
is the favorite color of
In
fact, today you might notice some people especially wearing green, or a green
ribbon, because today is Saint Patrick's Day, Patrick being the patron saint of
Ireland!
( a photo history of HK post boxes
see: http://gwulo.com/node/4523)