The Star Ferry

The Star Ferry

Star Ferry is a famous means of cross sea transportation with a long history in Victoria Harbour of Hong Kong. Star Ferry is as famous as Hong Kong tramcar and Taiping mountain peak cable car, which has a long history of more than 100 years.

The star ferry in Victoria Harbour is not only an important part of the cross sea transportation system between Hong Kong and Kowloon, but also one of the best and cheapest sightseeing tours in Hong Kong. It is also the first choice for visitors to visit Victoria Harbour. National Geographic travel magazine once praised the tour of Victoria Harbour by Star Ferry as one of the "50 must visit attractions in life".

Since the 1970s, despite the competition from Cross Harbour Tunnel buses and the MTR, star ferry has attracted more than 70000 passengers a day to travel between Hong Kong Island and the two sides of the Kowloon Peninsula due to its lower fares compared with Cross Harbour Tunnel buses and the cross harbour MTR, no need to be affected by traffic jams and enjoying the maritime scenery of Victoria Harbour. The star ferry, which seems to be a bit shabby and outdated, has become a means of transportation that Hong Kong people can hardly give up, creating considerable profits every year.

Arrival and departure

Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Terminal: from exit L6 of MTR Tsim Sha Tsui East Station, walk along Salisbury Road towards the clock tower, about 5 minutes. Star Ferry Pier in central: from MTR Hong Kong Station A2 or MTR central station exit a, walk along man Yiu street, about 10 to 15 minutes. Wanchai Star Ferry Pier: from exit A1 of MTR Wanchai station, walk along the footbridge towards Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, then turn to conference road after arriving at Harbour Road, about 15 minutes.

Types of scenic spots

seaside

admission ticket

The charges for Tsim Sha Tsui / Wan Chai routes to and from central are: on weekdays, the lower level is HK $2.00, the upper level is HK $2.50, and the charges for children aged 3-12 are HK $1.40 and HK $1.50 respectively; on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, the lower level is HK $2.40, the upper level is HK $3.00, and the charges for children aged 3-12 are HK $1.70 and HK $1.80 respectively. The route between Hung Hom and central and between Hung Hom and Wan Chai costs HK $6.30. (children's fee is $3.20) (suspended) people over 65 years old can take the boat free of charge if they show their senior citizen card or Hong Kong identity card. There are also monthly tickets and four-day travel tickets for sale. Bicycles can be carried on the Hung Hom route at a cost of HK $13 each. There will be a ticket vending machine at the gate

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Ticket price: central route between Tsim Sha Tsui and Wan Chai: on weekdays, the lower level is HK $2.00, the upper level is HK $2.50, and the charges for children aged 3-12 are HK $1.40 and HK $1.50 respectively; on Saturdays and public holidays, the lower level is HK $2.40, the upper level is HK $3.00, and the charges for children aged 3-12 are HK $1.70 and HK $1.80 respectively (Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui route is charged according to the upper level, without lower level) . The route between Hung Hom and central and between Hung Hom and Wan Chai costs HK $6.30. (children's fee is $3.20) (suspended) people over 65 years old can take the boat free of charge if they show their senior citizen card or Hong Kong identity card. There are also monthly tickets and four-day travel tickets for sale. Bicycles can be carried on the Hung Hom route at a cost of HK $13 each

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Opening Hours

The operation time between Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui is 7:20-23:00, with an interval of 8-10 minutes between Monday and Saturday, 10 minutes between the first and 20 minutes between the last. Generally, the interval between Sundays and public holidays is more than 10 minutes, with 20 minutes between the first and last flights; the operation time between central and Tsim Sha Tsui is 6:30-23:30, with 6-8 minutes between the first and last flights, with 10-12 minutes between the first and last flights.

history

Pre war development

The origin of star ferry can be traced back to 1880, when dorabujee naorojee mithaiwala, a Persian pagan, founded the predecessor of Star Ferry, Kowloon Ferry Company, to carry out its passenger ferry service. A steamer named "Xiaoxing" was used to travel between Tsim Sha Tsui and central.

By 1890, the Kowloon Ferry had four single deck coal-fired ferries. Soon after, the four ferries were equipped with upper cabins. At that time, the ferry service operated every 40 minutes to 1 hour between Pedder street in central and Kowloon corner in Tsim Sha Tsui.

In 1898, jiulongcang Group acquired "Jiulong ferry company" and formally established "Star Ferry Company" in May 1898. At that time, the ship names of the new company's fleet included the word "Star".

In 1904, the star ferry built a new star ferry terminal at the then Kowloon corner, which was completed in April 1906. On September 18, the star ferry terminal in Kowloon corner was damaged by typhoon and reopened in 1911. In 1916, the Tsim Sha Tsui railway station near the star ferry terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui was completed, which greatly increased the passenger volume.

In 1920s, small double decker ships were gradually added. In 1933, Star Ferry obtained the franchise of the route between Tsim Sha Tsui and central. In the same year, it introduced its first diesel engine ship (named "electric star").

In 1941, when Japan attacked Hong Kong, Star Ferry maintained ferry service under gunfire to evacuate refugees and troops from the Kowloon Peninsula. Subsequently, the service of Tianxing ferry was suspended for three years and eight months, the longest period since its establishment. Five starships were lost in the war. By 1949, six Tianxing ferries had resumed sailing.

Post-war development

In April 1966, the star ferry increased its fare by five cents, causing riots and riots in Kowloon. At that time, the service of honghom ferry was forced to be interrupted, and the incident ended on April 10, later known as the star ferry fare increase incident.

In 1998, Star Ferry celebrated its 100th anniversary.

On April 1, 1999, Star Ferry took over the route from hung hom to Wan Chai originally operated by Yau Ma Tei Ferry.

In 2003, the "star Victoria Harbour Tour" was launched in the upper reaches of the sea. Tourists can take the star ferry "Huixing" designed in the 1920s to visit Victoria Harbour.

Dock incident

In 2006, the Star Ferry Pier in Edinburgh square, which had served for 49 years, was taken back by the Hong Kong SAR government, which triggered a series of demonstrations, sit ins and other protests. In the end, the housing, planning and Lands Bureau insisted on the demolition, which led to a debate on the recess of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and a decline in the popularity of the chief executive of the SAR, Donald Tsang. On November 12, 2006, the ferry service in central was relocated from Edinburgh square pier to the new central star Pier (Central Pier 7 and Western berth of Central Pier 8) in the new reclamation area. New central star ferry terminal (2006) takes the appearance of star ferry terminal and its bell tower in 1912 as the blueprint, re presents the unique landmark and appearance of star ferry terminal in new central star ferry terminal, highlighting the historical and landmark significance of Star Ferry.

Operation

At present, star ferry is the only ferry service in Hong Kong that has been granted the right to operate a patented route. At present, the 12 internal combustion engine ferries in the Tianxing ferry fleet are all of traditional double head design. The color of the hull is half white and half green at the bottom. There are four stars on the chimney on the top of the ship for decoration. Their names all have the word "Star". The latest vessels that joined the service in 1989 carried 762 passengers, while the remaining vessels carried 552 passengers.

Star Ferry has docks in central, Wan Chai, Tsim Sha Tsui and hung Kam, and the charges are lower. Star Ferry operates two franchised routes from Tsim Sha Tsui to central and Wan Chai, and two licensed routes from hung hom to central and Wan Chai. Tianxing has installed air conditioning system in the upper cabin.

In July 2003, Star Ferry also added a harbour tourism licence route (Star harbour tour) to its ferry service, starting from Tsim Sha Tsui and returning to its starting point in a circular way within one hour after passing through central, Wan Chai and hung hom to facilitate visitors to enjoy the view of the harbour.

Existing routes

Tsim Sha Tsui ← → Central

Tsim Sha Tsui → Wan Chai

The charges for Tsim Sha Tsui / Wan Chai routes to and from central are: on weekdays, the lower level is HK $2.00, the upper level is HK $2.50, and the charges for children aged 3-12 are HK $1.40 and HK $1.50 respectively; on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, the lower level is HK $2.40, the upper level is HK $3.00, and the charges for children aged 3-12 are HK $1.70 and HK $1.80 respectively.

The route between Hung Hom and central and between Hung Hom and Wan Chai costs HK $6.30. (children's fee is $3.20) (suspended)

People over 65 years old can take the boat free of charge if they show their senior citizen card or Hong Kong identity card.

There are also monthly tickets and four-day tour tickets for sale. Bicycles can be carried on the Hung Hom route at a cost of HK $13 each.

matters needing attention

The flight between TSS and Tsim Sha Tsui will last until about 11 pm, while the flight between TSS and Hung Hom will only last until about 7 pm

In some special festivals, such as new year's Eve, the service is often all day long. In the event of a typhoon approaching Hong Kong, the vessel will also be suspended.

fleet

(the year of operation is in brackets)

East Star (1)

Chinese PinYin : Tian Xing Xiao Lun