Tai Ping Shan Street
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Tai Ping Shan Street is a street marking the early colonial history in Hong Kong. Located at the north slope of
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
Sheung Wan Sheung Wan (Chinese: 上環) is an List of places in Hong Kong, area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central, Hong Kong, Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Weste ...
, the street starts east from a
ladder street Ladder Street ( zh, t=樓梯街) is a List of streets and roads in Hong Kong, street in the Central and Western District of Hong Kong, consisting entirely of steps and landings formed by granite slabs or concrete paving. It was so named beca ...
at the junction with
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 ...
and end west in Po Yan Street near
Tung Wah Hospital Tung Wah Hospital is a charitable hospital in Hong Kong under the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. Located above Possession Point at 12 Po Yan Street in Sheung Wan, it is the first hospital established in colonial Hong Kong for the general pub ...
. The street runs parallel to
Hollywood Road Hollywood Road ( Chinese: 荷李活道) is a street in Central and Sheung Wan, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The street runs between Central and Sheung Wan, with Wyndham Street, Arbuthnot Road, Ladder Street, Upper Lascar Row, and Old Bai ...
. Today, Tai Ping Shan Street is well known for its contemporary art, with plenty of pop-up galleries and other specialty retailers offering their wares to shoppers passing by.


History

''Tai Ping Shan'' () is an alternative name to
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 ...
, and literally means "Peace Hill". After the cession 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 ...
from
Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led 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 Ming dynasty ...
to the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
in the 1840s, British forces made garrison here and later the government relocated all Chinese residents in Choong Wan to the area surrounding Tai Ping Shan Street. The Chinese writer Wang Tao wrote in 1860 that the street was full of brothels: "gaudy houses, sporting brightly painted doors and windows with fancy curtains". In May 1894, the
bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of Plague (disease), plague caused by the Bacteria, bacterium ''Yersinia pestis''. One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and ...
, which had been ravaging China, erupted and caused massive deaths in the area during the
1894 Hong Kong plague The 1894 Hong Kong plague, part of the third plague pandemic, was a major outbreak of the bubonic plague in British Hong Kong, Hong Kong. While the plague was harshest in 1894, it returned annually between 1895 and 1929, and killed over 20,000 in ...
. The
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 ...
soon implemented a series of measures including cleaning of street, demolishing residences to build Blake Garden, and establishing the Bacteriological Institute. The street's population soared after the
Eight-Nation Alliance The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion, with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, which were being besieged by the popular Boxer ...
invasion of China in 1900.


See also

* Description on the plague outbreak in History of colonial Hong Kong *
Central and Western Heritage Trail The Central and Western Heritage Trail is a Heritage Trail in Hong Kong, that was designed by the Antiquities and Monuments Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. It covers the Central and Western District of Hong Kong and consist ...
*
First Opium War The First Opium War ( zh, t=第一次鴉片戰爭, p=Dìyīcì yāpiàn zhànzhēng), also known as the Anglo-Chinese War, was a series of military engagements fought between the British Empire and the Chinese Qing dynasty between 1839 and 1 ...
*
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 ...


References


External links

* * Sheung Wan Roads on Hong Kong Island {{HK-road-stub