Image-HK LeiChengUkHanTombMuseum Outside

Tonkin Street () is a street between

Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po () is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui ...

and

Cheung Sha Wan Cheung Sha Wan () is an area between Lai Chi Kok and Sham Shui Po in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is mainly residential to the north and south, with an industrial area in between. Administratively it is part of Sham Shui Po District, which al ...

New Kowloon New Kowloon is an area in Hong Kong, bounded to the south by Boundary Street, and to the north by the ranges of the Eagle's Nest, Beacon Hill, Lion Rock, Tate's Cairn and Kowloon Peak. It covers the present-day Kwun Tong District and Wong ...

in Hong Kong. It runs northeast to southwest and crosses many major roads in the Cheung Sha Wan area. After extensive reclamation in West Kowloon during the 1990s, an extension Tonkin Street West () was built.

Name

Its Chinese name ''Tung King'' () means eastern capital, which is a very common name in historical China and neighbour countries. Although the name in

Chinese character Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only on ...

is currently only used by

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, eastern capital of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, a hint from its English name suggests that the name is associated with the eastern capital of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, including both the ...

, namely modern-day

Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...

. British named roads and streets in the area by the trading cities in the surrounding of Hong Kong.

Tonkin Street

Tonkin Street starts north from the junction with Kwong Lee Road near

Lei Cheng Uk Estate Lei Cheng Uk Estate () is a public housing estate and Tenants Purchase Scheme estate in Lei Cheng Uk, downhill from Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong, located near the So Uk Estate. Since the redevelopment in 1980s, the estate consists of 10 r ...

and runs south across Po On Road,

Shun Ning Road Shun may refer to one of the following: *To shun, which means avoiding association with an individual or group *Shun (given name), a masculine Japanese given name *Seasonality in Japanese cuisine (''shun'', 旬) Emperor Shun * Emperor Shun (舜; ...

Castle Peak Road Castle Peak Road ( Chinese: 青山公路) is the longest road in Hong Kong. Completed in 1920, it has the approximate shape of an arc of a semi-circle. It runs west from Tai Po Road in Sham Shui Po, New Kowloon, to Tuen Mun, then north to Y ...

Un Chau Street The United Nations (UN) is the global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among sta ...

Fuk Wa Street Fuk Wa Street () is a street in Cheung Sha Wan and Sham Shui Po, New Kowloon, Hong Kong. Name Unlike other streets in the area, Fuk Wa Street is not named after a place in China. Its name means blessing (fuk, 福) and prosperous (wa, 華) while ...

Cheung Sha Wan Road Cheung Sha Wan Road () is a main thoroughfare in Kowloon, Hong Kong going in a south-north direction from Mong Kok in the south to Lai Chi Kok in the north. Description It starts in Mong Kok near Boundary Street and at the northern terminus of N ...

Lai Chi Kok Road Lai Chi Kok Road () is a road in western Kowloon, Hong Kong. It links Lai Chi Kok to Mong Kok, via Tai Kok Tsui, Sham Shui Po and Cheung Sha Wan. It starts from a junction with Nathan Road near Pioneer Centre in the south and ends near Mei Foo ...

and ends at

Tung Chau Street Tung may refer to: People * Madison Tung, a U.S. Air Force Officer, wrestler, and Rhodes Scholar * Ho-Pin Tung, a dutch race car driver of Chinese descent. * Lola Tung, an actress known for her acting debut on drama series ''The Summer I Turned ...

. Part of the street maintains a

nullah A nullah or nala (Hindustani language, Hindustani or "nallah" in Punjabi language, Punjabi) is an 'arm of the sea', stream, or watercourse, a steep narrow valley. Like the wadi of the Arabs, the nullah is characteristic of mountainous or hilly co ...

in the middle. Some notable landmarks can be found along the street.

is one of the early

public housing estate Public housing, also known as social housing, refers to Subsidized housing, subsidized or affordable housing provided in buildings that are usually owned and managed by local government, central government, nonprofit organizations or a ...

s in Hong Kong.

Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum () is a museum in Hong Kong which houses an ancient Chinese tomb. It is believed to have been built during the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25–220) for a Chinese officer attached to the local garrison. The museum ...

embedded a tomb dating back to

Eastern Han Dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

(AD 25 - 220). The former

Cheung Sha Wan Factory Estate Cheung Sha Wan Factory Estate () was a factory estate in Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong, owned and managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority. It comprised up to six low-storey blocks without lift service, built between 1957 and 1965. Ch ...

marked the prosperity of Hong Kong industry from 1950s to the early 1980s. The estate was suggested to be workshops for fashionists. Other abandoned buildings like Cheung Sha Wan Police Quarters and Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir are the colonial marks in Hong Kong. Amidst the city, an enclosed

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

court can be found at the junction with Lai Chi Kok Road. In 2016, a red-light camera was installed at Tonkin and Cheung Sha Wan Road.

Unearth of World War II explosive

On 8 April 2006, the workers unearthed 588 pieces of explosive articles including cannon shells,

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constru ...

s and

grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...

s, in a drainage project in the street near Fuk Wing Street. The explosive was buried 1 to 3 metres beneath the surface. It belonged to former

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

around the period of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Streets and

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), ...

exits of surrounding area were closed to let the ammunition experts from

Hong Kong Police Force The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. Pursuant to the one c ...

to detonated these explosive. More pieces were unearthed at the same site on 27 April 2006.

Tonkin Street West

Tonkin Street West () continues Tonkin Street from Tung Chau Street to

Lin Cheung Road LIN or LIN may refer to: People *Lin (surname) (normally ), a Chinese surname * Lin (''The King of Fighters''), Chinese assassin character *Lin Chow Bang, character in Fat Pizza *Lin (NouerA) (Chinese name Lin Hanzhong Korean name Lim Hanjung), a ...

near the interchange station of

West Rail line The West Rail line () was a commuter rail / rapid transit line that formed part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong until 27 June 2021. Coloured magenta on the MTR map, the line ran from Tuen Mun to Hung Hom, with a to ...

Nam Cheong station and

Nam Cheong station, via Ying Wa Street and Sham Mong Road.

References

{{Coord, 22.33743, 114.15987, display=title Cheung Sha Wan Sham Shui Po Roads in New Kowloon

Name

Tonkin Street

Unearth of World War II explosive

Tonkin Street West

See also

References