Mahjong tilesA famous Hong Kong Mahjong parlor is moving to make way for a neighborhood redevelopment project. But more interesting is this fact I learned from the article about the move in the South China Morning Post…

Mahjong establishments in Hong Kong are licensed as “Mahjong schools” because when the British colonial government in the 1950s agreed to allow them to remain open, it didn’t want to appear to be approving of gambling (at least not among the common class). And because of that name, when people lose money in such an establishment they call it “paying tuition”.