Victoria Harbor

Victoria Harbor

Victoria Harbour is a seaport between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the people's Republic of China. One of the three natural harbors in the world.

Due to its width and deep water depth, Hong Kong, China is also known as the "Pearl of the East" and "the three night sights of the world". The name of Victoria Harbour comes from Queen Victoria of England. Free access throughout the year. In his early years, he was regarded by the British as having the potential to become an excellent port in East Asia. Later, he seized Hong Kong from the hands of the Qing government and developed its maritime trade in the Far East. Victoria port has always influenced the history and culture of Hong Kong and led the economic and tourism development of Hong Kong, China. It is one of the key factors for Hong Kong to become an international metropolis.

At the same time, it can be used as an aircraft carrier docking site.

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Panorama

Brief introduction to the port

The name of Victoria Harbour comes from Queen Victoria of England.

The water is wide

The "Victoria Harbour" is built in memory of Queen Victoria. Victoria Harbour is also located in the north of Victoria City, the capital of Hong Kong. Before it was named Victoria Harbour, it was called harbour of Hong Kong or Hong Kong Harbour in English, which means "port of Hong Kong". In the early days, the western boundary of Victoria Harbour was not so far away. It only included the waters from the North Point of Hong Kong Island, Hung Hom, Kowloon to Stonecutters Island.

Victoria Harbour is a port and sea area between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula. Victoria Harbour has a wide water surface and charming scenery. In the northwest of the harbour, there is Kwai Chung container terminal, one of the world's largest container transport centers. Every day at sunrise and sunset, busy ferry shuttles between the north and the south, fishing boats, cruise ships, sightseeing ships, ten thousand ton ships and their sirens interweave a wonderful maritime scene.

The coastline is long

Victoria Harbour has a long coastline and numerous scenic spots on both sides. On one bank of Hong Kong Island, there are high-rise buildings full of modern sense, new wings of Hong Kong Convention and exhibition, the nostalgic Star Ferry Pier (demolished), and the Hong Kong Museum of art and Hong Kong Space Museum in Kowloon.

Victoria Harbour has blue sky, white clouds and clear water during the day. Small boats and 10000 ton ships enter and leave the harbour without interference. At night, the lights are more bright, creating a magnificent night scene of "Pearl of the East". There are many kinds of sightseeing boats in Hong Kong, among which star ferry is the most popular. Star Ferry mainly travels between central, Wan Chai, Tsim Sha Tsui and other urban tourist spots. It was once listed as one of the "50 must see spots in life" by National Geographic magazine.

For more than 100 years, the role of Victoria port has gone far beyond that of an ordinary port. Around Victoria Harbour, In terms of location and landform, it is the center of Hong Kong. It is not only an important natural resource of Hong Kong, but also a part of Hong Kong people's life. Millions of people cross the two sides of the Strait every day. Economically, it has the busiest container port in the world, witnessing the changes of Hong Kong's trade, economy and tourism. Culturally, Victoria port and the construction of both sides of Victoria port Development, sidelights, news, right and wrong and festive events affect the historical and cultural connotation of Hong Kong and constantly add luster and charm to this international metropolis.

Design feelings

Luo xiaoteng, the designer, lost his college entrance examination and missed his favorite design department. In order to stick to his interest, he joined the design industry after he went to school. He said that the work was designed from the perspective of Hong Kong people. The V-shape represents Victoria Harbour. It also expresses the waves of the sea. It makes people feel relaxed in Victoria Harbour.

One of the eight most beautiful coasts in China, the list of the most beautiful places in China was released in Beijing on October 23, 2005. Sponsored by National Geographic of China and co sponsored by 34 media across the country, the event lasted for 8 months and won three categories of awards, namely "experts association group", "media follower group" and "Internet mobile popularity group". "Media group" and "popularity group" produce 12 award-winning advantages respectively by means of media voting, netizens voting and mobile phone users voting.

The awards of "expert society group" launched by National Geographic magazine of China are unique, which are divided into 15 types: mountain, lake, forest, grassland, desert, Yadan landform, island, coast, waterfall, glacier, canyon, urban area, rural ancient town, tourist cave, swamp and wetland. Among them, the coast of Victoria Bay is rated as one of the eight most beautiful coasts in China.

geographical position

According to the data in 2004, Victoria Harbour covers an area of 41.88 square kilometers with an average water depth of 12 meters. The deepest channel is liyumen, about 43 meters deep, and the shallowest channel is youmadi, about 7 meters deep. It extends to Lei Yue Mun in the East, Qingzhou in the west, South Bay corner of Tsing Yi Island and Ting Kau in the West (also known as "West anchor bay"). The tidal range of Victoria Harbour is about 1m. The harbour includes islands such as Tsing Yi Island, Tsing Chau, Siu Tsing Chau and Kowloon rock, as well as waterways such as rambler channel, sulphur channel and Lei Yue Mun.

Victoria Harbour is a natural deep-water harbour. It was probably formed when the sea level was lower than it is today. At that time, Victoria Harbour was a valley between Taiping mountain and Kowloon. Later, as the sea level rose, the original valley was covered by sea water and became a harbor. Panoramic view of Victoria Harbour. The area from central to North Point of Hong Kong Island can be seen at the top, and Tsim Sha Tsui at the bottom. The highest water level in Victoria Harbour was 3.96 meters, which was recorded during typhoon windai's attack in 1962. Due to global climate warming, large-scale reclamation, fresh water and sediment from the Pearl River Estuary, and current in the South China Sea, the water level of Victoria Harbour rose by 12 cm during the 50 years from 1954 to 2004, with an average annual rise of 2.3 mm. From 1987 to 1999, the water level of Victoria Harbour rose at an average annual rate of 22 mm, which is 10 times faster than that of the world. However, after 1999, the water level of Victoria Harbour has dropped rapidly.

When Victoria port was opened in Hong Kong, it was quite broad, because both sides were natural coastlines at that time. In the east of North Point, it was a beach until the 1930s. In the 1970s, even at the Shau Kei Wan pier, there were still people swimming on the shore. However, with the development of the city, the sewage is continuously discharged into the harbour, causing great pollution to the harbour. In addition, the continuous reclamation on both sides of the Victoria Harbour makes the harbour become rough and turbulent. When the Hong Kong government drafted the Hong Kong Airport Core plan in the 1980s, it proposed to move the harbour from Victoria Harbour to rambler channel in Tsing Yi or boliao channel outside Lamma Island, but it failed. It has been a main waterway since ancient times. In ancient times, the Central Plains army was stationed at that time. However, before 1840, Hong Kong was only a small fishing village with 5000 people. There are few written records about the ancient Victoria Harbour. According to the historical records, the Song Dynasty had left its army behind to protect the salt merchants and the sea trafficking of salt at that time.

During the Qing Dynasty, the British saw Victoria Harbor as a great port in East Asia. They did not hesitate to win Hong Kong and its excellent port by the Opium War to develop its Far East maritime trade. In order not to let other powers at that time occupy this excellent deep-water harbor with important strategic significance, they opened up the history of Hong Kong becoming a British colony.

Name source

The name of Victoria Harbour comes from Queen Victoria of England. She is the longest monarch in British history. She has been in power for 64 years (1837-1901). During her reign, Britain was a powerful "sun never sets Empire". Britain's economy and culture were unprecedentedly prosperous.

Only three years after the queen ascended the throne, Britain launched the first Opium War in 1840. In the same year, it forced the Qing government to sign the unequal Sino British Treaty of Nanking. In 1841, Britain occupied Hong Kong Island. In 1860, after the second Opium War, the Qing government signed the unequal treaty "Treaty of Beijing" with Britain. In January 1861, British troops occupied the Kowloon Peninsula. In April of the same year, the harbor between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula was named Victoria harbor after the queen at that time. After the British occupied Victoria Harbour, beautiful buildings and streets were gradually built on the South Bank (Hong Kong Island). Victoria Harbour on the one side of Hong Kong Island was so beautiful that it was very different from other places in Hong Kong at that time. So much so that a hundred books published by western countries mistakenly called the land area on the Hong Kong side of Victoria Harbour the capital of Hong Kong until January In the 970s, there were still printed encyclopedias saying this, but there was no such reference.

In the Encyclopedia Britannica published in 1900, the description of Victoria Harbor is as follows: "Hong Kong or Victoria Harbor often gives people the impression of vitality. In one day, as many as 240 gun salutes were fired. Victoria, the capital city, has a population of more than 166000, of which 6000 are European or American. Opium is still the economic lifeline of Hong Kong, because there is no manufacturing industry in Hong Kong. 』

Today's Hong Kong and Victoria Harbour are not what they used to be

Chinese PinYin : Wei Duo Li Ya Gang