Siu Sai Wan () is a

residential area A residential area is a land used in which housing predominates, as opposed to industrial and commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include single-family housing, multi-family residen ...

in the northeastern part 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 ...

in Hong Kong. It is located in the eastern part of

Chai Wan Chai Wan (; ), formerly known as Sai Wan (西灣), lies at the east end of the urban area of Hong Kong Island next to Shau Kei Wan. The area is administratively part of the Eastern District, and is a mosaic of industrial and residential ar ...

, and is administratively under the Eastern District. The population was 59,729 in June 2011.

Location

The current perimeter of Siu Sai Wan includes the rest of Chai Wan east of Wing Tai Road. Prior to reclamation, Siu Sai Wan was a small bay east of Chai Wan. Chai Wan was once known as ''Sai Wan'' (; ''West Bay''), and the small bay as Siu Chai Wan (; ''Small Chai Wan'') or Chai Wan Tsai (; ''Little Chai Wan''), and over time the names combined into the current name Siu Sai Wan.

History

Siu Sai Wan was originally an intelligence gathering centre for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. In 1947,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

signed an agreement to jointly pursue the gathering of intelligence. The

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

then set up an intelligence gathering centre in Siu Sai Wan, one of the largest in the

Far East The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...

, to monitor wireless communications from

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(ROC) to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(PRC). In 1985, shortly after the

handover of Hong Kong The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841. Hong Kong was established as a specia ...

to China was agreed, the centre was dismantled. At the same time, along with the development of the

Mass Transit Railway 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), ...

, the resettlement estates in Chai Wan were to be demolished. To accommodate residents from these estates and from the expanding urban population, 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 ...

decided to develop Siu Sai Wan. At that time the name Siu Sai Wan was deemed "indecent" by the Government, who suggested to name the area "Siu Chai Wan" instead. This didn't sit well with local residents, and as a result when the Siu Sai Wan Estate was built a few years later, the name Siu Sai Wan was returned to the area. Nevertheless, taxi drivers are known to use a similar-sounding profane term when they refer to the area. Siu Sai Wan faces

Tathong Channel Tathong Channel (), also known as Nam Tong Hoi Hap (, originally ), refers to the eastern sea water area in Hong Kong leading into Victoria Harbour through Lei Yue Mun, bounded by Junk Island ( Fat Tong Chau) and Tung Lung Chau in the east, and ...

and Lei Yue Mun, an entrance to the

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 ...

. The government has built

Home Ownership Scheme The Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) is a subsidised-sale public housing in Hong Kong, public housing programme managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority. It was instituted in the late 1970s as part of the government policy for public housing wit ...

housing such as Harmony Garden.

Housing

* Private housing estates include: ** Island Resort * Public housing estates in Siu Sai Wan ** Siu Sai Wan Estate

Education

A number of schools including both primary and secondary schools can be found in Siu Sai Wan. * Secondary schools: ** Fukien Secondary School (Siu Sai Wan) ** Hon Wah College ** Lingnan Hang Yee Memorial Secondary School ** The Chinese Foundation Secondary School (CFSS) ** The Methodist Church Hong Kong Wesley College * Primary schools: ** Pui Kiu Primary School ** Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Lee Chi Hung Memorial Primary School (Chai Wan) (Closed down on 31 August 2011) * Kindergartens: ** Cannan Kindergarten (Siu Sai Wan) ** Gar Lam Anglo-Chinese Kindergarten (Siu Sai Wan) Siu Sai Wan is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 16. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and two government schools: Shau Kei Wan Government Primary School and Aldrich Bay Government Primary School.

Social amenities

Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground () is a multi-purpose stadium in Siu Sai Wan, Hong Kong. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It occupies about 43,000 square metres and its construction cost over HK $230 million. Opened in December 1996 ...

* Siu Sai Wan Promenade * Siu Sai Wan Complex

Transport

With the Island Resort now constructed, the population of Siu Sai Wan has been steadily increasing, so both First Bus and Citybus extended routes ending at Chai Wan (East) to Siu Sai Wan Estate and Island Resort. The government suggested to the

MTR Corporation MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hong K ...

(MTR) in 2001 that they should consider extending the Island line to

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 ...

from

. In June 2005, the MTR revealed that they had started planning for the extension. In 2014, the MTR withdrawn the plan of extension, due to the difficulties of extension.

Main roads

* Siu Sai Wan Road * Harmony Road

Public transportation

There is currently no direct MTR service to Siu Sai Wan. However, residents can walk or take Green Public Light Buses route 47M to reach

Chai Wan station Chai Wan () is the eastern terminus of the MTR on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is the only station on the Island line that is elevated. The station is located at the junction of Chai Wan Road and Island Eastern Corridor, and serves Siu S ...

, the terminus of the Island line. * Buses ** Citybus: 8H, 8P, 8S, 8X, 49X, 82, 82S, 82X, 85, 85P, 88X, 314, 788, 789, A12, N8P, N8X, NA12 ** Cross-harbour routes: 106, 106P, 118, 118P, 606, 606X, 608P, 682, 694, 976A, N118 *

Minibus A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is us ...

es ** Green Public Light Buses *** 44M, 47E, 47M, 47S, 61, 62, 62A

References

{{Coord, 22.2617, 114.2492, display=title Eastern District, Hong Kong Restricted areas of Hong Kong red public minibus