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Po Lam ( Chinese: 寶琳 or 寶林) is a
neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...
in northern
Tseung Kwan O Tseung Kwan O New Town, commonly known as Tseung Kwan O ( zh, t=將軍澳新市鎮, j=Zoeng1 gwan1 ou3 san1 si5 zan3), is one of the nine New towns of Hong Kong, new towns in Hong Kong, built mainly on Land reclamation in Hong Kong, reclaimed ...
,
Kowloon Kowloon () is one of the areas of Hong Kong, three areas of Hong Kong, along with Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. It is an urban area comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It has a population of 2,019,533 and a populat ...
. An
MTR The Mass Transit Railway system, known locally by the initialism MTR, is a rapid transit system in Hong Kong and the territory's principal mode of Rail transport in Hong Kong, railway transportation. Operated by the MTR Corporation (MTRCL), ...
station with the same name, Tseung Kwan O Village, Yau Yue Wan Village, King Lam Estate, and
Po Lam Estate Po Lam Estate () is a mixed Tenants Purchase Scheme, TPS and public housing estate in Tseung Kwan O, New Territories, Hong Kong, near Metro City (Hong Kong), Metro City and MTR Po Lam station. It is the first public housing estate in Tseung Kwan ...
are located there.


Name

Po Lam is named after one of the first roads in Tseung Kwan O, the Po Lam Road, whose name was taken from the Chinese translation of the first name of Barbara B. Whitener (寶琳), Rev. Sterling H. Whitener's wife. Rev. Whitener was a missionary based at the Haven of Hope Tuberculosis Sanatorium (now Haven of Hope Hospital) at the time. When
Po Lam Estate Po Lam Estate () is a mixed Tenants Purchase Scheme, TPS and public housing estate in Tseung Kwan O, New Territories, Hong Kong, near Metro City (Hong Kong), Metro City and MTR Po Lam station. It is the first public housing estate in Tseung Kwan ...
was under planning, it was named "寶林邨", with a different second character but pronounced in the same way. The Po Lam
MTR The Mass Transit Railway system, known locally by the initialism MTR, is a rapid transit system in Hong Kong and the territory's principal mode of Rail transport in Hong Kong, railway transportation. Operated by the MTR Corporation (MTRCL), ...
station, on the contrary, used "琳". Government documents have used both names, referring to the area as "寶琳" in a brochure issued by the Planning Department, but also using "林" for the Po Lam Sports Centre within Po Lam Estate. Residents generally use both name interchangeably.


History

Same as Hang Hau, Po Lam was developed as part of the first phase of the
Tseung Kwan O New Town Tseung Kwan O New Town, commonly known as Tseung Kwan O ( zh, t=將軍澳新市鎮, j=Zoeng1 gwan1 ou3 san1 si5 zan3), is one of the nine new towns in Hong Kong, built mainly on reclaimed land in the northern half of Junk Bay in southeaster ...
. Its first population intake came in 1988 with the opening of
Po Lam Estate Po Lam Estate () is a mixed Tenants Purchase Scheme, TPS and public housing estate in Tseung Kwan O, New Territories, Hong Kong, near Metro City (Hong Kong), Metro City and MTR Po Lam station. It is the first public housing estate in Tseung Kwan ...
. Before 2002, there was no railway access to or from Po Lam. The
Tseung Kwan O line The Tseung Kwan O line () is one of the ten lines of the MTR system in Hong Kong. It is currently long, taking 15 minutes to travel throughout the entire line. It is indicated in on the MTR map. The line runs from North Point on the ...
, including
Po Lam station Po Lam (; Cantonese Yale: Bóulàhm) is the northern terminus MTR station of the . It is located on Mau Yip Road, Po Lam, in the New Territories of Hong Kong, sandwiched by Phases 1 to 3 of Metro City. Built by Maeda Corporation, it opened ...
, opened in August 2002. In addition to the new town area, two villages, Tseung Kwan O Village and Yau Yue Wan Village, are also considered part of Po Lam, although their histories date back to long before the Tseung Kwan O New Town was conceived.


Demographics

Po Lam is designated Tertiary Planning Units 836 in the 2016 Population By-census. It is home to 88,272 people, where major ethnic groups are Chinese (95.2%), Indonesians (2.3%) and Filipino (1.5%). Most households live in subsidised home ownership housing (such as Home Ownership Scheme and Sandwich Class Housing Scheme projects) and private housing.


Housing


Public housing

*
Po Lam Estate Po Lam Estate () is a mixed Tenants Purchase Scheme, TPS and public housing estate in Tseung Kwan O, New Territories, Hong Kong, near Metro City (Hong Kong), Metro City and MTR Po Lam station. It is the first public housing estate in Tseung Kwan ...
(). The second character ("林", ''Lam'') is different from the one in the neighbourhood's name * King Lam Estate


Home Ownership Scheme housing

* Yan Ming Court * Ying Ming Court * Ho Ming Court


Others

* The Pinnacle (developed by the Hong Kong Housing Society under the Sandwich Class Housing Scheme) * Radiant Towers (developed by the Hong Kong Housing Society under the Sandwich Class Housing Scheme) * Verbena Heights (developed by the Hong Kong Housing Society under the Flat-for-Sale Scheme)


Private housing

* Well On Garden * Finery Park * Serenity Place * Metro City Phases 1 to 3


Education

Schools in Po Lam include:


Primary schools

* King Lam Catholic Primary School (subsidised) * Lok Sin Tong Lau Tak Primary School (subsidised) * Shun Tak Fraternal Association Leung Kit Wah Primary School (subsidised) * Po Leung Kuk Luk Hing Too Primary School (
Direct Subsidy Scheme The Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) is instituted by the Education Bureau of Hong Kong to enhance the quality of private schools at the primary and secondary levels. The Hong Kong government has been encouraging non-government secondary schools wh ...
) * Sheng Kung Hui Tseung Kwan O Kei Tak Primary School (subsidised) * Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Wong Yee Jar Jat Memorial Primary School (subsidised)


Secondary schools

* Carmel Divine Grace Foundation Secondary School (subsidised) * Ma Kam Ming Charitable Foundation Ma Chan Duen Hey Memorial College (subsidised) * Shun Tak Fraternal Association Cheng Yu Tung Secondary School (subsidised) * Tseung Kwan O Government Secondary School (government) * Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Lui Yun Choy Memorial College (subsidised) * Yan Chai Hospital Lan Chi Pat Memorial Secondary School (subsidised) * Wellington Educational Organisation Chang Pui Chung Memorial School (subsidised) * King Ling College (subsidised) * Po Leung Kuk Laws Foundation College (Direct Subsidy Scheme)


Recreation

Po Lam hosts a number of public amenities, including the Tseung Kwan O Sports Centre, the Tseung Kwan O Public Swimming Pool and the Tseung Kwan O Public Library, all of which are located close to each other. Also in close proximity to the trio is Po Hong Park, where the annual Lunar New Year Fair takes place. These facilities and the Po Tsui Park, situated next to
Po Lam Estate Po Lam Estate () is a mixed Tenants Purchase Scheme, TPS and public housing estate in Tseung Kwan O, New Territories, Hong Kong, near Metro City (Hong Kong), Metro City and MTR Po Lam station. It is the first public housing estate in Tseung Kwan ...
, are all managed by the
Leisure and Cultural Services Department The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), is a department in the Government of Hong Kong. It reports to the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. It provides leisure and cultural ...
. The neighbourhood is also home to the Metro City Plaza, claimed to be the largest shopping complex in East Kowloon and which, same as the private housing development of which it is a part, comprises three phases: MCP One (formerly Metro City Plaza Phase 1), MCP Central (formerly Metro City Plaza Phase 2) and MCP Discovery (formerly Metro City Plaza Phase 3).


Transport

Po Lam Road North and Po Hong Road are two major roadways in the neighbourhood, with most of the developments sandwiched between them. Po Lam Road North is the extension of Po Lam Road, where the area of Po Lam got its name. Po Lam Road opened in 1956 to connect the Haven of Hope Tuberculosis Sanatorium (now Haven of Hope Hospital) to
Tiu Keng Leng Tiu Keng Leng (), Rennie's Mill, is an area of Hong Kong in the Sai Kung District adjacent to Tseung Kwan O (Junk Bay). The area used to be a refugee village housing former Kuomintang officials and followers who escaped to Hong Kong from main ...
and
Ma Yau Tong Ma Yau Tong () is an area on a mountain pass between Po Lam of Tseung Kwan O New Town and Sau Mau Ping of New Kowloon in Hong Kong. It is named after the village of the same name. It is known as Lau Tong and Ma Lau Tong in early 20th Century m ...
. During the
Tseung Kwan O New Town Tseung Kwan O New Town, commonly known as Tseung Kwan O ( zh, t=將軍澳新市鎮, j=Zoeng1 gwan1 ou3 san1 si5 zan3), is one of the nine new towns in Hong Kong, built mainly on reclaimed land in the northern half of Junk Bay in southeaster ...
development, Po Lam Road was extended eastward, into the new town, and westward, to
Sau Mau Ping Sau Mau Ping () is an area part of Kwun Tong District, in eastern Kowloon, Hong Kong. Name Its Chinese name was formerly So Mau Ping (), but this was often mis-rendered So Mo Ping (), meaning a place to 'Ancestor worship, visit one's ancestor ...
. The extension within the new town, which starts from Mau Wu Tsai Village and leads into Po Lam, was named Po Lam Road North. The other extension was still called Po Lam Road. The old section from Tiu Keng Leng to Ma Yau Tong was renamed to Po Lam Road South.
Public transportation Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...
in Po Lam is served by the MTRC,
Kowloon Motor Bus The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating Bus services in Hong Kong, franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes, with over 4,000 buses ...
(KMB) (NWFB) and Citybus. Citybus operates cross-harbour routes to Central (690) and
Siu Sai Wan Siu Sai Wan () is a residential area in the northeastern part of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located in the eastern part of Chai Wan, and is administratively under the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern District. The population wa ...
(694). Citybus also operates routes to
Hong Kong International Airport Hong Kong International Airport is an international airport on the island of Chek Lap Kok in western Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or Chek Lap Kok Airport, to distinguish it from its predec ...
Tung Chung Tung Chung ( " eastern stream") is an area on the northwestern coast of Lantau Island, Hong Kong. One of the most recent new towns, it was formerly a rural fishing village beside Tung Chung Bay, and along the delta and lower courses of Tung C ...
, and Shatin. KMB runs routes to Mei Foo, Tsim Sha Tsui East,
Mong Kok Mong Kok (Chinese language, Chinese: 旺角), also spelled Mongkok, often abbreviated as MK, is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Prince Edward, Hong Kong, Prince Edward subarea occupies the northern part of Mong Kok. As one of the major sho ...
and
Tsuen Wan Tsuen Wan (formerly also spelled Tsun Wan) is a New towns of Hong Kong, town built on a bay in the New Territories West (constituency), western New Territories of Hong Kong, opposite Tsing Yi, Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market ...
, among others. The MTRC only runs
Tseung Kwan O line The Tseung Kwan O line () is one of the ten lines of the MTR system in Hong Kong. It is currently long, taking 15 minutes to travel throughout the entire line. It is indicated in on the MTR map. The line runs from North Point on the ...
, on which Po Lam
MTR The Mass Transit Railway system, known locally by the initialism MTR, is a rapid transit system in Hong Kong and the territory's principal mode of Rail transport in Hong Kong, railway transportation. Operated by the MTR Corporation (MTRCL), ...
station is the only rail and subway station in the neighbourhood. In the Railway Development Strategy 2014, the
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
proposed the East Kowloon line will connect Po Lam station to Diamond Hill station. It is expected to open in 2025.


Current District Councillors (2020-2023)


Notes


References

{{Reclaimed land in Hong Kong Sai Kung District Tseung Kwan O Places in Hong Kong