Tsuen Wan (formerly also spelled Tsun Wan) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

built on a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

in the western New Territories of

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 ...

, opposite Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged from the surrounding villages and fleets of fishing boats in the area. The modern city is centered the Tsuen Wan station 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), ...

. Its coastline was further extended through

land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...

History

HK Tsuen Wan Chai Wan Kok Industrial Area

According to the report of Hong Kong archaeological society, people settled in Tsuen Wan as early as 2,000 years ago. In earlier days, it was known as Tsin Wan (淺灣) which means shallow bay, and later renamed to Tsuen Wan. Another name ''Tsak Wan'' (賊灣, Hakka dialect pronunciation: tshet wan),

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

bay, indicates the presence of pirates nearby long ago. In fact, the area around Rambler Channel was known as Sam Pak Tsin (三百錢), literally meaning three hundred coins. There was a legend that pirates would collect three hundred coins should one pass through the area. In 1911, there were approximately 3,000 villagers living in Tsuen Wan. In the 20th century, factories moved in gradually due to its proximity to

Kowloon Kowloon () is one of the areas of Hong Kong, three areas of Hong Kong, along with Hong Kong Island and the New Territories. It is an urban area comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. It has a population of 2,019,533 and a populat ...

. With the construction of

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 ...

in 1917, motor vehicles could reach the town in addition to access on foot and by boat. Regular bus services did not begin until 1933. Early industries relied on the ample local water supply to make incense sticks, preserved fruit and farming, while post-war industries included metal wares and textiles. By 1950s, Tsuen Wan had become the centre of the

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. Industry process Cotton manufacturing Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In the year 2007, th ...

in Hong Kong.http://cd1.edb.hkedcity.net/cd/TC/Content_4025/Changes_in_Tsuen_Wan/frame.htm HK Ed City. Urban Development in Tsuen Wan. Retrieved 18 Sept 2012. In the 1950s, 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 ...

developed the area as a

satellite town A satellite city or satellite town is a smaller municipality or settlement that is part of (or on the edge of) a larger metropolitan area and serves as a regional population and employment center. It differs from mere suburbs, subdivisions a ...

, along with

Kwun Tong Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon P ...

satellite town in Eastern Kowloon. In 1961, Tsuen Wan Satellite Town was expanded to become

Tsuen Wan New Town Tsuen Wan New Town is a new town in Hong Kong. It spans Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and the eastern part of Tsing Yi Island. Traditionally, the administrative officials of Tsuen Wan managed the area of Tsuen Wan proper, Kwai Chung, Tsing Yi Is ...

, the first of such in Hong Kong. The new town covers not only Tsuen Wan, but also neighbouring

Kwai Chung Kwai Chung is an urban area within Tsuen Wan New Town in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Together with Tsing Yi Island, it is part of the Kwai Tsing District of Hong Kong. It is also part of Tsuen Wan New Town. In 2000, it had a popula ...

and

Tsing Yi Tsing Yi (), sometimes referred to as Tsing Yi Island, is an island in the New Territories of Hong Kong, to the northwest of Hong Kong Island and south of Tsuen Wan. With an area of , the island has been extended drastically by reclamation alo ...

, including housing estates like the Fuk Loi Estate, built in 1967. By 1971, the area housed 400,000 residents. It was one of the last areas in Hong Kong to be developed without the "Colony Outline Plan". A museum of a local settlement village is located in Tsuen Wan Town: Sam Tung Uk Museum. The museum consists of a 200-year-old walled village featuring exhibits designed to replicate traditional village life. It was donated in 1981 and after restoration during the construction of the

, it was opened for the public in 1987. Tsuen Wan has one of the highest concentrations of Shanghainese people in Hong Kong, particularly in the constituency Fuk Loi.

Geography

Before infilling in the 1960, Tsuen Wan was a shallow bay with three waterways or nullahs that flowed to it. The nullahs are now diverted into man made underground systems but these roads: * Tai Chung Road or "Big Stream Road" was the biggest stream remained as open nullah until it was covered by 1980 both north and south of Castle Peak Road * Tai Ho Road ("Big River Road") with nullah fully buried during reclamation in the 1960s south of Castle Peak Road * Kwan Mun Hau Street / Luen Yan Street mainly south of Castle Peak Road but section behind Shing Mun Swimming Pool are still visible

Landmarks

Discovery Park, one of Hong Kong's largest shopping centres, is located in the heart of Tsuen Wan Town. There is a goldsmith street there where jewels can be purchased. Other features include Tsuen Wan Plaza, Tsuen Wan City Landmark, Citywalk and L'Hotel, The Sam Tung Uk Museum, Tin Hau Temple and The Panda Hotel, one of the biggest hotels in Hong Kong. The Nina Towers, which include an 80-storey tower, rise over Tsuen Wan. Hong Kong's cable TV service company i-CABLE also has their headquarters located in Tsuen Wan at Wharf Cable Tower. Situated in the valley, floodplain and reclaimed land, Tsuen Wan is surrounded on two sides by hills and woodlands that make up the Shing Mun Country Park and the Tai Mo Shan Country Park. Located within these parks are the

Tai Mo Shan Tai Mo Shan is the highest peak in Hong Kong, with an elevation of above the , or around above mean sea level. It is located at approximately the geographical centre of the New Territories. The Tai Mo Shan Country Park covers an area of ...

peak, the highest point in Hong Kong at 957 metres (3,140 feet), and the Upper Shing Mun Reservoir. Route Twisk winds over and through the country parks linking Tsuen Wan with Pat Heung, via

Shek Kong Shek Kong is an area north of Tai Mo Shan, located near Kam Tin and Pat Heung, in Yuen Long District, New Territories, Hong Kong, hosting Shek Kong San Tsuen, Shek Kong Barracks and Shek Kong Airfield. The area named after an old walled village ...

. Originally built by the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

as a military road, it was opened to the public on 25 May 1961. An urban renewal project led to the shopping malls Citywalk and Citywalk 2, as well as the residential areas above it. The former Tsuen Wan Sports Ground, on Yeung Uk Road, was demolished and replaced by the Shing Mun Valley Sports Ground. The site, now known as Tsuen Wan Town Lot 393, remains abandoned, but was sold by the government for nearly HK$4 billion in 2014 to Vincord Limited.

Housing

Public housing estates

Private housing estates

Private housing estates in Tsuen Wan include: * Allway Gardens is the earliest and one of the largest private housing estates in Tsuen Wan. It was developed by Hopewell Holdings. It is located on Tsuen King Circuit, a hilltop at the west of Tsuen Wan. It comprises sixteen towers in four phases, completed between 1978 and 1981. * Belvedere Garden * The Cairnhill * The Cliveden * Discovery Park * The Dynasty * The Westminster Terrace * Luk Yeung Sun Chuen * Riviera Gardens * Serenade Cove * Skyline Plaza * Tsuen King Garden * Tsuen Wan Centre * Tsuen Wan City Landmark * Tsuen Wan Plaza

Economy

Chinachem has its head office in

Nina Tower Nina Tower is a twin tower of 80-storey and 42-storey high-rise buildings in Tsuen Wan, New Territories, Hong Kong near Tsuen Wan West station. The tower was designed to be the List of tallest towers, tallest tower in the world at . However, d ...

in Tsuen Wan.

Education

Tsuen Wan Government Secondary School Tsuen Wan Government Secondary School (TWGSS; or in short) is an EMI school, EMI co-education secondary school located at 70 Hoi Pa Street, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong. The school building consists of the hall, the laboratory wing, the classroom wi ...

*Hoi Pa Street Government Primary School * Tsuen Wan Government Primary School * St. Francis Xavier's School Tsuen Wan * Holy Cross Lutheran School * Mary Of Providence Primary School (W.D.) * Hong Kong Baptist Convention Primary School * Ho Fung College * Rosebud Primary School * Po On Commercial Association Wong Siu Ching Secondary School Tsuen Wan is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 62, which includes schools in Tsuen Wan and areas nearby. The net includes multiple aided schools and one government school, Hoi Pa Street Government Primary School.

Public transport

Trains

Tsuen Wan is served by three Mass Transit Railway (MTR) stations: Tsuen Wan station and Tai Wo Hau station on the

Tsuen Wan line The Tsuen Wan line () is one of the ten lines of the rapid transit, metro network in Hong Kong's MTR. It is indicated in on the MTR map. There are 16 stations on the line. The southern terminus is Central station (MTR), Central statio ...

, as well as Tsuen Wan West station on the Tuen Ma line.

Ferries

The Tsuen Wan Pier connects Tsuen Wan to Park Island, a private housing estate in Ma Wan.

Buses

The Tsuen Wan Transport Complex was once a major interchange point between ferries and buses. It was rendered obsolete when

moved the adjacent ferry pier, and when ferry services were scaled back following the opening of the MTR. Tsuen Wan is still well-served by many bus routes. There are major bus termini at Tsuen Wan and Tsuen Wan West railway stations, and at some private developments like Nina Tower and Allway Gardens. There are also many minibuses to major destinations around Hong Kong.