Mei Foo Sun Chuen
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- Mei Foo redirects here. For MTR and KCR stations in the area, see Mei Foo (MTR) and Mei Foo (KCR) respectively.
Mei Foo Sun Chuen (Chinese: 美孚新邨, Jyutping: mei5 fu1 san1 cyun1; Cantonese IPA: /meɪ13 fu55 sɐn55 tsʰyn55/ ; lit. "Mobil new estate") or simply Mei Foo (美孚) is a large private housing estate in Hong Kong. Located in Lai Chi Kok of Kowloon, it is built in stages from 1965 to 1978 on the reclamation formerly used for petroleum storage by Mobil (Now ExxonMobil) (Mobil's Chinese trading name in Hong Kong is 美孚/Mei Foo). Mei Foo Sun Chuen was the first private housing estate in Hong Kong and at the time of completion, the 99 tower complex was considered the largest private housing development in the world, accommodating up to 60,000 people in 13,500 apartments.
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[edit] Buildings
It was considered grand in the old days and every apartment includes a balcony, at least two rooms and one bathroom. The apartment sizes vary from 600 to 1800 square feet. Mei Foo Sun Chuen has several schools, kindergartens, medical clinics, salons, newspaper kiosks, supermarkets, shopping arcades, restaurants and food markets. The private secondary schools, in particular are formerly notable for academic poor students (The schools in Hong Kong are divided, based on academic achievements into previously 5, and now 3 categories. The aforementioned school are in the third category and is deemed to have less than satisfactory performance.) However, as education policy changes, some schools evolves into multicultural one.
The once largest owners' corporation with legal status in Hong Kong, The Incorporated Owners of Mei Foo Sun Chuen - Stage I, was formed in 1997. The promoter of the corporation, Yiu Chi-Wai, served as the Chairman of the Management Committee from 1997 to 2000. The other seven stages' owners' corporations were also formed during the period.
[edit] Transport
Mei Foo is on the crossroad between Kowloon and Tsuen Wan. It is also marked as west end of urban Kowloon before entering New Territories. Kwai Chung Road and Lai Chi Kok Bridge is the major road in the area. Beneath the Kwai Chung Road, a major bus terminus is built to host multiple bus routes. MTR reaches Mei Foo when Tsuen Wan Line was completed in 1982. Another rail West Rail has a station in Mei Foo in 2003. Other public transport like minibus and taxis also have services in the estate.
[edit] Events
[edit] Gallery
A collection of photos pertaining to Mei Foo Sun Chuen is shown below: