Portland Street (Boston)
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Portland Street () is a popular street in
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 ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. The street is the location of the business and retailing skyscraper complex, Langham Place, numerous restaurants and its
red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex industry, sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light district ...
.


Geography

Running north–south and parallel to (and west of)
Nathan Road Nathan Road () is the main thoroughfare in Kowloon, Hong Kong, aligned south–north from Tsim Sha Tsui to Sham Shui Po. It is lined with shops and restaurants and throngs with visitors, and was known in the post–World War II years as the Gol ...
, a main thoroughfare up the Kowloon peninsula, Portland Street extends through the districts of
Yau Ma Tei Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Name ''Yau Ma Tei'' is a phonetic transliteration of the name (originally written as ) in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, Y ...
and
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 ...
in
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 ...
. Approximately three-quarters of a mile (one and a fifth kilometres) in length, it spans between
Boundary Street Boundary Street ( Chinese: 界限街) is a three-lane one-way street in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It runs in an easterly direction from its start at the intersection with Tung Chau Street in the west, and ends at its intersection with Princ ...
in the north and Man Ming Lane, at one block past Waterloo Road in the south. The street is directly accessible by the Prince Edward,
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
Yau Ma Tei station Yau Ma Tei, formerly named Waterloo after Waterloo Road, is an MTR station located in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon. It lays straightly like a long box under thoroughfare Nathan Road, ending north under Pitt Street and south near Man Ming Lane. It ...
s of the
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), ...
, Hong Kong's subway system. Except for a few small parks, the entire two-lane street is highly urbanised with dense pedestrian and motor traffic throughout most of the day. Like most north–south streets on the peninsula it is numbered south to north.


Character

A section of Portland Street, particularly between Argyle Street and
Dundas Street Dundas Street () is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western Greater Toronto Area, suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways—Ontario Highway 2 ...
, hosts arguably Hong Kong's most famous red light district (serving mostly local Chinese clientele) and a popular scene in
Hong Kong films The cinema of Hong Kong ( zh, t=香港電影) is one of the three major threads in the history of Chinese-language cinema, alongside the cinema of China and the cinema of Taiwan. As a former Crown colony, Hong Kong had a greater degree of ar ...
. There, underneath a dizzying and chaotic array of
neon sign In the signage industry, neon signs are electric signs lighted by long luminous gas-discharge tubes that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in Decem ...
s, one can find prostitutes from around the world (although mostly from
mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...
) serving in hundreds of massage parlours, night clubs,
karaoke is a type of interactive entertainment system usually offered in nightclubs and bars, where people sing along to pre-recorded accompaniment using a microphone. Its musical content is an instrumental rendition of a well-known popular song. I ...
/hostess bars and
brothels A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe t ...
. Although prostitution is legal in Hong Kong, law enforcement is often active in this area conducting raids for prostitutes who entered Hong Kong illegally or have overstayed their visas or to search for under-aged prostitutes, pimps,
human traffickers Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
and
triad Triad or triade may refer to: * a group of three Humanities * Trichotomy (philosophy), often called triads * Triad (sociology), a group of three people as a unit of study * Triad (relationship), or ''ménage à trois'' Music * Triad (music ...
activities. Langham Place, a 167,000-square metre (1.8 million-square foot) shopping centre, theatre, hotel and office tower complex opened on Portland Street near the Nelson Street intersection in July 2004. The complex has its own MTR station access (Mong Kok station exit C3). Outside one of the complex's east entrances is a large 'jumbotron' broadcasting news and entertainment shows for pedestrians below. Since its opening, Langham Place and surrounding areas has become a popular night-time destination for both locals and tourists. Some had predicted the massive upscale development would
gentrify Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has been us ...
the area and drive away the Portland Street sex trade. However, after several years of operation, Langham Place's impact on the nearby sex industry remains minimal. The Portland Street segment between Argyle Street and Bute Street is home to over 50 retailers selling home renovation materials and supplies such as toilet utensils, tiles, and wallpapers. Other establishments along Portland Street includes fast-food restaurants,
congee Congee ( , derived from Tamil language, Tamil ), is a form of savoury rice porridge made by boiling rice in a large amount of water until the rice softens. Depending on rice–water ratio, the thickness of congee varies from a Western oatmeal ...
/noodle shops, convenience stores and working class residential highrises. Near the
Soy Street Soy Street () is a street in Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It starts from Tak Cheong Street in the west, crosses several major streets including Nathan Road, and ends near Waterloo Road. The section between Nathan Road and Sai Yeung Choi S ...
intersection during the evenings, there are often unlicensed food stands and professional
Chinese Chess Xiangqi (; ), commonly known as Chinese chess or elephant chess, is a strategy board game for two players. It is the most popular board game in China. Xiangqi is in the same family of games as shogi, janggi, Western chess, chaturanga, and In ...
players plying their trades. Further south, there is a small public playground at the Changsha Street intersection.


History

Portland Street was named after
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland (14 April 173830 October 1809) was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig and then a Tories (British political party), Tory politician during the late Georgian era. He s ...
,
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...
in 1783 and between 1807 and 1809. It is unclear why the street was bestowed in his honour although, as a former
British colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by England, and then Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English and later British Empire. There was usually a governor to represent the Crown, appointed by the British monarch on ...
, many of Hong Kong's streets and institutions were named in memory of prominent English historic and political figures. Surrounding streets with similarly naming scheme include
Pitt Street Pitt Street is a major street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs through the entire city centre from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo, although today's street is in two disjointed sect ...
, Bute Street, Arran Street,
Hamilton Street Hamilton Street is a major thoroughfare and historic street in the Center City section of Allentown, Pennsylvania. The street dates back to 1762, when Allentown's founder, William Allen, included it as one of the first of several streets to be ...
,
Dundas Street Dundas Street () is a major historic arterial road in Ontario, Canada. The road connects the city of Toronto with its western Greater Toronto Area, suburbs and several cities in southwestern Ontario. Three provincial highways—Ontario Highway 2 ...
and Waterloo Road. There is a street in London named
Great Portland Street Great Portland Street is a commercial road in the West End of London which links Oxford Street with the A501 road, A501 Marylebone Road. A mixed-use street of residents and businesses, it divides Fitzrovia, to the east, from Marylebone to the ...
. There is also a street in Edinburgh named Portland Street which is not far from Pitt Street and Dundas Street (as mentioned above, Hong Kong's Portland Street is also nearby Pitt Street and Dundas Street). In both cases it is not clear if there is any relation or relevance to the Hong Kong Portland Street.


Photo gallery

Image:MK Portland Street 01.jpg Image:MK Portland Street 02.jpg Image:MK Portland Street cheap motel.jpg Image:MK Portland Street name.jpg Image:MK Portland Street SHMC.jpg Image:MK Portland Street spa.jpg


Transport

Mong Kok station Exit C2, C4, E1


See also

*
List of streets and roads in Hong Kong The following are incomplete lists of Controlled-access highway, expressways, tunnels, bridges, roads, Avenue (landscape), avenues, streets, crescents, Town square, squares and bazaars in Hong Kong. Many roads on the Hong Kong Island conform to ...
* ''
Portland Street Blues ''Portland Street Blues'' (古惑仔情義篇之洪興十三妹) is a 1998 Cinema of Hong Kong, Hong Kong film directed by Yip Wai Man. The film is a spin-off of the ''Young and Dangerous (series), Young and Dangerous'' series of films, with th ...
'', a 1998 Hong Kong film *
Prostitution in Hong Kong Prostitution in Hong Kong is itself legal, but organised prostitution is illegal, as there are laws against keeping a brothel, vice establishment, causing or procuring another to be a prostitute, living on the prostitution of others, or public s ...


References


External links


Map of Portland StreetAbout name (in Chinese)
{{Coord, 22.31815, 114.16898, display=title Mong Kok Yau Ma Tei Roads in Kowloon William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland