Hong Kong's young 'neon nomads' keep dying trade flickering

Hong Kong was once world famous for its neon-light shop signs but many old masters took their secrets to the grave -- now a generation of tech-savvy, globally connected young artists are trying to keep the trade alive. 

Karen Chan describes herself as a "neon nomad". 

Better known by her professional artistic name Chankalun, she had long been fascinated by the kaleidoscopic neon lights that bathed Hong Kong streets in a warm glow.

But finding someone who might teach her was far from easy.

The trade has long been dominated by masters -- "si fu" in Cantonese -- who guarded their knowledge even as neon gave way to cheaper, more efficient LED lights and city officials began clamping down on unsafe hoardings. 

"The si fu will not pass on all the knowledge, especially if there are no guidelines or manuals, they will only pass on their skills to their own descendants," Chan said.

Few family members wanted to take up a skill that was becoming redundant so many masters died without passing on their knowledge.

"If you have very valuable skill or knowledge, you should be spreading it around so that it could live as well," the 33-year-old artist lamented. "Overprotection can be a cause for a lot of crafts to die."

Undeterred, Chan turned to the internet and traveled to places such as Amsterdam and New York to learn from artists there.

There she discovered a global community of neon fans and professionals willing to trade tips.

"There is an open sourcing culture appearing in the new generation of artists," she said. 

"Everyone is posting their experiments or their new finds on Instagram or Facebook, and everyone is very happy to share... this kind of knowledge," she explained.