Wan Chai

Wan Chai District

synonym

Wan Chai generally refers to Wan Chai District

Wan Chai) is located in the central part of the North Bank of Hong Kong Island. It is a unique community with the coexistence of the old and the new. It combines the essence of the old tradition and the new development. It is also one of the areas with the longest history and the most traditional cultural characteristics in Hong Kong. Wanchai District is a small seaside village with a small population. Most of them are fishermen. They work in the area of Hongsheng ancient temple, because it overlooks the whole port and the villagers provide food for them The Hongsheng temple still stands in its original position on Queen's Road East. However, many years of reclamation projects have pushed the coastline forward. Dense residential and commercial buildings now surround the Hongsheng temple. In 1921, Wanchai carried out the first large-scale reclamation project, mainly to ease the long-term housing demand. During the nine-year reclamation project, 36.4 hectares of land have been reclaimed, extending from Causeway Bay in the east to Arsenal street in the West. Johnston Road, marsh Road, tonnochy Road, Szechwan road and Fleming road have become the main busy roads in Wan Chai.

In the 1950s, Wan Chai was a quiet residential area. In the 1970s, after the completion of the cross harbour tunnel from Causeway Bay to Hung Hom and the opening of Gloucester Road, Wan Chai became the main channel connecting Hong Kong and Kowloon. It was also an important traffic hub connecting the East and west of Hong Kong Island.

Wanchai has a number of world-class commercial buildings and skyscrapers, including the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, Central Plaza and Times Square. At the same time, it also preserves unique historical buildings, famous historical sites and cultural relics, including the oldest post office in Hong Kong - Wan Chai old post office (now listed as a statutory historic site), Hongsheng ancient temple, which witnessed the development of waterfront a century and a half ago, and Beidi temple, which worships the bronze statue of Beidi.

Historical evolution

The name Wan Chai means little harbour. However, with the development of the city and the continuous reclamation, the small harbor in the past has long disappeared. Before the arrival of the British, Wan Chai was already inhabited. Today, they live in the area near "Hong Sheng Temple" on Dawang East West Street, Queen's Road East. Before reclamation, the coastline of Wan Chai was also near Hong Sheng Temple.

After the arrival of the British, the area near spring garden soon began to develop. It is said that the area around Chunyuan street was the residence and wharf warehouse of a rich businessman at that time, "Chunyuan" was the residence of a rich businessman. The original meaning of the word "Spring Garden" is that there is a spring in the garden, which may be the mountain stream next to the hehe center in the east of today's Avenue. As for Lidong street, Shantou street and Xiamen street near Chunyuan street, they are used to store goods to be transported to different port cities.

Regionalization

Wan Chai District includes: Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Happy Valley, Tai Hang, Jardine hill and Wan Chai gorge.

geographical environment

Wan Chai is located in the center of the North Bank of Hong Kong Island. It is a unique community with the coexistence of the old and the new. It combines the essence of the old tradition and the new development. It is also one of the regions with the longest history and the richest traditional cultural characteristics in Hong Kong. Wanchai, originally meant as xiaowanpan, was a small Sandy Bay on the north coast of Hong Kong Island 150 years ago. Because it is in a lower position geographically, it is also called Xiahuan.

Population nationality

Today, Wan Chai covers an area of about 976 hectares and has a population of about 170000. According to the government's census, Wan Chai district is the place where most people of different ethnic groups live. In old Wan Chai, there are many Indians and Pakistanis. In Happy Valley, there are many Japanese.

Economic overview

From a small fishing village, Wan Chai has gradually become a prosperous commercial and residential center.

Causeway Bay is one of the three downtown outlets in Hong Kong. Skyscrapers row upon row, shops are full of goods, and the broad streets are full of people.

In Causeway Bay, the most suitable reference is Chongguang department store. The tram in front of Chongguang department store runs on the main road, with Hennessy Road near Wan Chai and Yee Wo Street near North Point. Taking this road as the boundary, the new street is in real contrast with the old street.

On the seaside side of the main road is new Causeway Bay, a dense area of department stores and cinemas. Especially from Chongguang department store in the center of the street to George Street in Keeley, there are department stores. From Chongguang to Jili George Street, from the original crossroads (the crossroads of Maru, Matsuzaka and cinema feicui) to Paterson Street on the side of the coastline, there are quite a lot of people on the weekend. From Paterson street to Gloucester Road, to the left is the Excelsior Hotel. Next to it is the world trade center. The 42 storey office building was refitted in 1996, and the g / F-4 / F shopping center has opened.

The streets in Wan Chai are also expanding. Lockhart road and Sheffield Road, which are parallel to Hennessy Road, and Canal Road East, which is in the west of Causeway Bay, are recognized as good restaurants. There is a huge shopping center "Times Square" between Percival Street on the east side of canal road. In 1995, Lee stage square opened, forming a new flow of people. The growing number of beautiful restaurants and shops makes this area full of vitality.

local customs and practices

The Chinese New Year is a grand festival in Chinese tradition, which I believe all Chinese people do not know. However, the custom and atmosphere of celebrating the lunar new year in Hong Kong are quite different from the tradition. Nowadays, people in Hong Kong rarely paste Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures at home according to the tradition during the lunar new year. Instead, they paste Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures like "prosperous business" and "safe access" in some shops or homes. Nevertheless, the original intention of pasting Spring Festival couplets is the same as that of pasting New Year pictures, which means it is auspicious. I hope everything goes smoothly and safely in the coming year.

In addition, lion dance and dragon dance will also appear in some villages and walled villages in the new territories, and it is difficult to see large-scale lion dance and dragon dance performances on the streets of the urban areas in the new year. As for firecrackers and firecrackers, they are all prohibited in Hong Kong. However, since 1982, every night on the second day of the lunar new year, a grand fireworks show has been held in Victoria Harbour, which has become a spring festival show in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is known as a "gourmet paradise", and there are many customs related to eating during the Spring Festival. Most families also eat "reunion dinner" during the Spring Festival. They usually hold a banquet at home, and on New Year's Eve, the whole family gather up and down, inside and outside, to enjoy dinner. During the lunar new year, there are many new year's fairs in Hong Kong and nine places. Among them, the flower market in Victoria Park is the largest and most lively. Hong Kong people are used to shopping in flower markets after dinner. On New Year's Eve, there are a lot of people, one after another.

In Hong Kong, the happiest time to celebrate the Lunar New Year is for the children who receive "Lishi". During the Spring Festival, the laughter of "asking for" Lishi can be heard everywhere. "Li Shi" was originally "Li Shi", which means "Li Shi". At the same time, it has become an indispensable custom with relatives during the Spring Festival.

Local specialties

camellia

There are two kinds of Camellia: black and white. Hong Kong's Baishan camellia is mostly potted, few wild, and few flowers. There are wild tea trees on the top of Tai Mo mountain in the new territories. They grow at a height of 3000 feet and have small and dense flowers. They are the famous Yunwu Tea.

Black Camellia in Hong Kong, in addition to the garden, there are wild. This is one of the wild flowers produced in Hong Kong. They are shrubs. They can be as high as two to four feet. The flowers are bright red. When they are in full bloom, each flower has a diameter of two inches and a yellow stamen in the middle. Although it is not as rich as the double petaled Camellia produced in Yunnan, it is already a kind of wild flowers and trees in Hong Kong. They bloom successively from the end of November to march of the next year.

Wild camellia has a long history in Hong Kong. Alice, who came to Hong Kong in 1849 to collect plant specimens, had noticed this beautiful red flower tree. At that time, he saw only three of them, which were located on today's gander road. The next year, the more famous botanist Zhang biweng came to Hong Kong and said that only two trees could be found. However, after more than a hundred years, wild camellia has become very common in Hong Kong today. It can be seen in the mountains of Happy Valley and on both sides of Pokfulam Road. On Luab Road near the cable station at the top of the mountain, there is also a very tall tree, which is full of red flowers these days. There are more at the top of old duck Badian Road, where nearly 50 or 60 trees grow together. This kind of flower is also protected by the wild flowers and trees protection act in Hong Kong, so it can grow longer and more. This kind of black camellia is commonly known as "Hong Kong Tea".

Black Camellia not only has beautiful flowers, but also lovely leaves. Camellia leaves are waxy. The new leaves of black camellia, like the leaves of bell flower, reflect the sunlight, and can flash many beautiful colors, from oil green, blue to deep purple.

Guanxiang

Although Hong Kong is a shopping paradise, with a collection of famous products in the world, there are not many local products. What can be called a special product is a kind of perfume produced here, which is made of local fragrant trees. The smoke emitted from this fragrant tree after being ignited is very fragrant and famous far and wide. Rich families and even ordinary people are willing to buy this kind of incense to worship their ancestors during the Spring Festival. Local people call it "Guanxiang".

It is said that even the place name of "Hong Kong" is related to this: in the early days, Yun

Chinese PinYin : Wan Zai