Belilios was the major shareholder of HSBC, and in 1880 he opened the Beaconsfield Arcade in Central, the first multi-storey mall in Hong Kong.  He was definitely a superb neighbour to make friends with!

In 1934, the government had another mansion-like summer residence built in Fanling, the New Territories, for the Governor.  With it, Mountain Lodge was gradually abandoned.  It suffered heavy damage during the Japanese occupation, and when Hong Kong was liberated in 1934, the government settled on its demolition, leaving only a guardhouse several tens of meters away, plus the foundation and wall of the Lodge.  The area became the Victoria Peak Garden today.

For commoners, an excursion to the Peak Garden abutting Mountain Lodge has been a well-liked activity.  The Chinese are particularly enthusiastic to climb the mountain during the Double Ninth Festival (or the Chung Yeung Festival in Hong Kong).  If you were to live in Mountain Lodge, you would be the neighbour of Belilios, a Jewish merchant prince.  In 1890 Belilios put up his mansion, The Eyrie, next to Mountain Lodge.  It may sound amazing to you, but he actually used camels as his vehicle.  Later he built for the public a western-style stone pavilion on a hillock opposite the Peak Garden.