The Sun Department Store in Guangzhou

The Sun Company Department Store was originally founded by Choy Hing and Choy Chong in 1912 in Hong Kong.

The Sun in Canton

Image Courtesy of: Denis Byrne

The Sun Company Department Store was originally founded by Choy Hing and Choy Chong in 1912 in Hong Kong. 

Following the success of the Sun Company in Kong Kong, the Choy brothers opened the first Sun Department Store in Canton in 1916. In 1918, Chong Choy opened the 12 storey Xidi Da Sun building on the Canton (Guangzhou) waterfront which housed a department store, hotel, Western-style restaurant and an amusement parlour. It was the first reinforced concrete high-rise building in the city. 

A fire destroyed the interior of the building during the Japanese invasion of Guangdong in 1938. After 1949, the building was restored, reopening in 1954 under the name Nanfang Mansion. Today, the building is well known for the dozens of electronics retailers and wholesalers who occupy small spaces there.

Da Sun canton_1949 01Mar1949  Life Magazine photo of empty-shell of Da Sun building

Image Courtesy of: Howard Wilson