Chuk Yuen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chuk Yuen (竹園) or Chuk Un was a village and an area in New Kowloon of Hong Kong. The area is approximately present-day Wong Tai Sin. It is also referred to two public housing estates, Chuk Yuen North Estate and Chuk Yuen South Estate.
There is still a village in proper Chuk Yuen at the junction of Shatin Pass Road and Lung Cheung Road.
[edit] History
The village of Chuk Yuen was located approximately around Wong Tai Sin Fire Station, beside Shatin Pass Road. During early British rule of New Kowloon, Shatin Pass Road was a road from a point from Kai Tak to Shatin Pass in the north ridge via villages of Po Kong and Chuk Yuen.
Chuk Yuen in Cantonese language means bamboo garden. A forest of bamboo surrounded the village. A river from the range north ran by the village west emptying into Kowloon Bay via Po Kong.
In 1921, a Taoist priest built Wong Tai Sin Temple west of the village, and a Taoist group Sik Sik Yuen(嗇色園) is established to manage the temple at the same time.
After World War II and the years around Chinese Civil War, large influx of refugees rushed into Hong Kong and built their home on the hill sides. Hong Kong Government zoned the hilly area north of the temple as Chuk Yuen Resettlement Area, which covered present-day Chuk Yuen North Estate, Chuk Yuen South Estate and Upper Wong Tai Sin Estate.
In 1956, the government decided to relocate the residents of squatters and Chuk Yuen Village in the resettlement area to a high-rise residential blocks. Two estates, Upper Wong Tai Sin Estate and Lower Wong Tai Sin Estate, were built. A special block with better in-house facilities was constructed for indigenous villagers. Originally Wong Tai Sin temple was within the development project. Fortunately, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals successfully persuaded the government to preserve the temple.
The housing project of two Wong Tai Sin Estates were completed in early 1960s. The name of Wong Tai Sin gradually gains popularity over Chuk Yuen, though the temple continues to use the address of No. 2 Chuk Yuen Village.
Later, northern part of the settlement area were replaced with Chuk Yuen North Estate and Chuk Yuen South Estate. The Chuk Yuen Bus Terminus at Chuk Yuen Road, between two estates, hosts many bus routes to other areas of Hong Kong. Nowaday, Chuk Yuen commonly refers to the estates, the bus terminus, and surroundings.
[edit] Notable buildings
- Chuk Yuen Children's Reception Centre, at Fung Wong San Tsuen, a temporary home for children when their parents are not suitable to take care of them.
