HK Sheung Wan evening Tai Ping Shan Street back lane wall graffiti July-2015 DSC 001

Sheung Wan (Chinese: 上環) is an

area Area is the measure of a region's size on a surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

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 ...

, located in the north-west of

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...

, between Central and

Sai Ying Pun Sai Ying Pun is an area in Sai Wan, on Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. It is administratively part of the Central and Western District. Etymology In Cantonese, ''Sai'' ( zh, t=西, labels=no) means "west" and ''Ying Pun'' ( zh, t=營盤, l ...

. Administratively, it is part of the

Central and Western District The Central and Western District (, ) located on northwestern part of Hong Kong Island is one of the districts of Hong Kong, 18 administrative districts of Hong Kong. It had a population of 243,266 in 2016. The district has the most educated ...

. The name can be variously interpreted as ''Upper District'' (occupying relatively high ground compared to Central and

Wan Chai Wan Chai (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 灣仔) is located in the western part of Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is bounded by Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal St ...

), or ''Gateway District'' (perhaps a reference to the location where the British first entered and occupied Hong Kong).

History

Sheung Wan was one of the earliest settled places by the British, and belonged to the historical Victoria City. The site of the original occupation of Hong Kong Island by British forces in 1842 was at Possession Street, between Queen's Road Central and Hollywood Road. A plaque to this effect can be found in Hollywood Road Park at the top of Possession Street. The foot of Possession Street, Possession Point, was at that time on the shoreline, but is now several hundred yards inland due to reclamation.

Geography

Sheung Wan is surrounded by

in the west, Central in the east,

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbor, harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. It acts as both a major trading hub and tourist attraction of Hong Kong in general. Lying in ...

in the north and

Victoria Peak Victoria Peak ( zh, t=太平山, j=taai3 ping4 saan1) is a hill on the western half of Hong Kong Island. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak only generally. With an elevation of , it is the tallest hill on Hong Kong Isla ...

in the south. Part of the

Mid-Levels Mid-Levels () is an affluent residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located between Victoria Peak and Central. Residents are predominantly more affluent Hong Kong locals and expatriate professionals. It has a population ...

is located within Sheung Wan. The border between Central and Sheung Wan consists of the entire Castle Lane, the entire Aberdeen Street, the entire Wing Kut Street, the section of

Des Voeux Road Central Des Voeux Road Central (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 德輔道中) and Des Voeux Road West (Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: 德輔道西) are two roads on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. They were named af ...

between Wing Kut Street and Wing Wo Street, the section of Wing Wo Street north of Des Voeux Road Central, the section of

Connaught Road Central Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

between Wing Wo Street and Rumsey Street, and the section of Rumsey Street from Connaught Road Central to the waterside. Garfield Mansion is in Sheung Wan while Green Field Court is in Central. The border's location south of Seymour Road in the Mid-Levels is unknown.

Features

* Asia Art Archive * Blake Garden * Hollywood Road Park * Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences * Man Mo Temple * Pak Tsz Lane Park * Sheung Wan Civic Centre * Sheung Wan Market * Shun Tak Centre * Soho, Hong Kong (also part of Central) * The Center * Tung Wah Hospital *

Western Market :''Western Market is also a former name for Plaza Miserere.'' Western Market is one of the oldest structures in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The current structure, built in 1906, was the North Block of the original Western Market ...

* YMCA of Hong Kong Bridges Street Centre

The Sheung Wan Route

The Sheung Wan Route is one part of Central and Western Heritage Trail designed by the

Antiquities and Monuments Office The Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) is a Hong Kong government organization established in 1976 under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance to protect and preserve historic monuments. Housed in the Former Kowloon British School, the AMO ...

and Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The route covers 35 historic buildings and sites in Sheung Wan.

Streets

Streets in Sheung Wan include: * Aberdeen Street, marking the border with Central * Bonham Strand and Bonham Strand West *

Bridges Street Bridges Street () is a 300-metre two-way street in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Location On the east, the street intersects Shing Wong Street and Staunton Street. On the west, it intersects Square Street. The west side of the street ends with a sta ...

* (). Named after Charles Saint George Cleverly, the 2nd Surveyor General of

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...

. *

and Des Voeux Road West * Gough Street * Hillier Street * Hollywood Road (also in Central) * Jervois Street * Ladder Street and other ladder streets * Man Wa Lane * Morrison Street () * Possession Street * Pound Lane, a ladder street * Queen's Road Central and Queen's Road West * Rumsey Street * Shing Wong Street, a ladder street * Tai Ping Shan Street, a popular shopping street * Upper and Lower Lascar Row * Wellington Street, Hong Kong (also in Central) * Wing Lee Street * () *

Wing Sing Street Wing Sing Street (), commonly known as Duck Egg Street (), was a street in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. The market was erased from the map by Land Development Corporation for the re-development of the area bounded by Wing Lok Street, Man Wa Lane, Bonh ...

Economy

The head office of Wing On is in () in Sheung Wan.

Education

Sheung Wan is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 11. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and the following government schools: Bonham Road Government Primary School and (李陞小學). Another school in the area is Discovery Montessori School, a

Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

-based school located at 3/F Mandarin Building, 43B Bonham Strand, Sheung Wan. Discovery Montessori School (DMS) is for children from 6 months to 6 years old, with programs including playgroup, nursery, and kindergarten. Due to the high French expatriate population, the

French International School of Hong Kong French International School "Victor Segalen" of Hong Kong (FIS, ) is a French international school in Hong Kong. It is the only accredited French school in Hong Kong (linked by an agreement with the Agency for French Teaching Abroad (AEFE). ...

previously operated a Kindergarten campus in Shops 2-4 on the ground floor of Tung Fai Gardens () in Sheung Wan.

Transport

Sheung Wan is served by the

Sheung Wan station Sheung Wan is a List of MTR stations, station on the of the Hong Kong MTR network. The station serves the neighbourhood of Sheung Wan and the western part of Central, Hong Kong, Central District. The livery colour of this station is khaki. Th ...

, formerly the western terminus of the Island line 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), ...

metro system. Kennedy Town became the new terminus of the Island on 28 December 2014.

Trams A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

also run through Sheung Wan, and one of the tram termini,

, is located at the junction of

and Morrison Street near its namesake. The Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Terminal in the Shun Tak Centre has

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

and

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s to

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

and to several destinations in

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 ...

. Numerous bus routes run through Sheung Wan.

Central (Macau Ferry) Bus Terminus The Central (Macau Ferry) Bus Terminus () is a major bus terminus located in Sheung Wan, Central and Western District, Hong Kong, next to the Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Terminal. It is one of the largest open-air bus terminus in Hong Kong and is home ...

, located next to the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal, is one of the largest bus termini on Hong Kong Island.

References

External links

* {{Coord, 22.28524, 114.15139, format=dms, display=title Central and Western District, Hong Kong