Tai Hang () is an area southeast of

Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...

located in the mid-north 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 home to many luxurious private apartments. Residents are predominantly more affluent Hong Kong locals and expatriate professionals.

Geography

Tai Hang is a valley with an opening to Causeway Bay in north and So Kon Po in west. To its south and east are hills. The former coastline is marked by Tung Lo Wan Road and the main road Tai Hang Road winds in the hills throughout the area. The area of Tai Hang is divided into upper and lower areas. The upper area includes a public housing estate Lai Tak Tsuen and some highrise residential blocks for affluents, such as Illumination Terrace (, 5-7 Tai Hang Road) or Ronsdale Garden (, 25 Tai Hang Drive). The lower area has many old residential blocks, with a number of restaurants along the streets. It is named after a stream (or drainage) from nearby hills.

Features

One interesting recent development in the plain north is that many new and special restaurants were opened, making Tai Hang a hot spot for dining and leisure. Lai Tak Tsuen is located in the area. The famous Tiger Balm Garden was also located in the area. The Lin Fa Temple is located at the end of Lin Fa Kung Street. It was originally built 1863, during the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

, and was reconstructed in 1986 and 1999. The original use of the temple was a worship place for Kwan Yin, the goddess of mercy.

Landscape

Tai Hang fire dragon dance

For the three nights straddling the

Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival (for other names, see § Etymology) is a harvest festival celebrated in Chinese culture. It is held on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunisolar calendar with a full moon at night, corresponding to mid- ...

, the Tai Hang fire dragon dance is held in Tai Hang. The main attraction is a 67-metre-long 'fire dragon' that winds its way with much fanfare and smoke through a collection of streets located in Tai Hang, close to Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. Fire dragon dance started in 1880 when Tai Hang was a small

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

village of farmers and fishermen on the waterfront of Causeway Bay. This custom has been followed every year since 1880, with the exception of the period during the Japanese Occupation, the 1967 disturbances, and the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. According to local legend, over a century ago, a few days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, a typhoon and then a plague wreaked havoc on the village. While the villagers were repairing the damage, a python entered the village and ate their livestock. According to some villagers, the python was the son of the Dragon King. A soothsayer decreed the only way to stop the chaos was to stage a fire dance for three days and nights during the upcoming mid-autumn festival. The villagers made a huge dragon of straw and covered it with incense sticks, which they then lit. Accompanied by drummers and erupting firecrackers, they danced for three days and three nights – and the plague disappeared.

Housing

Most housing estates in the area are private with the exception of Lai Tak Tsuen (16 Lai Tak Tsuen Road,

): *Carnation Court (41-47 Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay) *Cherry Court (12-14 Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay) *Coho (18 School Street, Causeway Bay) *Concord Villas (65-67 Wun Sha Street, Causeway Bay) *Dragon Centre (21-25 Wun Sha Street, Causeway Bay) *The First Mansion (78 Tung Lo Wan Road, Causeway Bay) *Fontana Gardens (Ka Ning Path, Causeway Bay) *Fook Hing Court (63 Wun Sha Street, Causeway Bay) *Harvest Moon Villa (5 Fuk Kwan Avenue, Causeway Bay) *Gardenview Heights (19 Tai Hang Drive, Causeway Bay) *Illumination Terrance (5-7 Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay) *Intelligent Court (36-40A Tung Lo Wan Road, Causeway Bay) *Jolly Villa (8 Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay) *Jones Hives (8 Jones Street, Causeway Bay) *Little Tai Hang (98 Tung Lo Wan Road, Causeway Bay) *Rhenish Mansion (1-9 Lin Fa Kung Street East, Causeway Bay) *Ronsdale Garden (25 Tai Hang Drive, Causeway Bay) *

Serenade In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honour of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Ital ...

(11 Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay) *The Jolly Court (16 Lin Fa Kung Street West, Causeway Bay) *The Legend (23 Tai Hang Drive, Causeway Bay) *The Warren (9 Warren Street, Causeway Bay) *Trafalgar Court (70 Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay) *Warrenwoods (23 Warren Street, Causeway Bay) *Wun Sha Tower (33-45 Wun Sha Street, Causeway Bay) *Y.I (70 Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay)

Education

Tai Hang is under School Net 12 in the Primary One Admission (POA). Multiple government and aided schools are located in Tai Hang, which being the following: * True Light Middle School of Hong Kong * Hotung Secondary School

References

External links

Squatter huts on the hill, 1969
* {{Hong Kong Urban Areas Wan Chai District History of Hong Kong Former squats