Chai Wan

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Not to be confused with Wan Chai or Chai Wan Kok.
Chai Wan

A view of Chai Wan, Siu Sai Wan and the Cargo Handling Basin
Simplified Chinese 柴湾
Traditional Chinese 柴灣
Hanyu Pinyin Chaiwan
Literal meaning firewood bay

Chai Wan (/ˌtʃaɪ ˈwɑːn/; Chinese: 柴灣), formerly mistakenly known as Sai Wan (西灣), [citation needed] lies at the east end of the urban area of Hong Kong Island next to Shau Kei Wan. The area is administratively part of the Eastern District, and is a mosaic of industrial and residential areas. The population was 186,505 in 2001.

Geography

Skyline of Chai Wan, extending from Island Resort in Siu Sai Wan (left) to Heng Fa Chuen (right), viewed from Lei Yuen Mun (Kowloon) across the Lei Yue Mun channel.

Chai Wan is built on land reclaimed from the bay and extends west from Lei Yue Mun in Heng Fa Chuen and east to Siu Sai Wan. Mount Collinson and Pottinger Peak on the south and Mount Parker on the west, restrict further development. Shek O Country Park is at the south of Chai Wan.

Panorama

Panorama of Chai Wan

History

Chai Wan was formerly known as Sai Wan (西灣). At the beginning of the 18th century, the area consisted of six villages: Dai Ping Village, Law Uk, Luk Uk, Nam Uk, Sai Village, Sing Uk.

In 1845, the British military built a fort and a barrack in Siu Sai Wan until the 1980s. Sai Sau Wan become an area for new population.

In 1929, the Boy Scouts Association, Hong Kong Branch purchased land for the Chai Wan Campsite where Chai Wan Park is now situated. The land returned to Hong Kong Government for development in the early 1970s.

In 1952, the government built low-income housing, gradually replacing rural villages in the area.

Culture

The Law Uk Folk Museum was formerly a village and is now a museum, a branch of the Hong Kong Museum of History.

Housing

This area has about 200-300 high rise buildings, most of them being residential.

Public housing estates

Main article: Public housing estates in Chai Wan and Siu Sai Wan

Heng Fa Chuen

Heng Fa Chuen

A bird's eye view of Heng Fa Chuen
Simplified Chinese 杏花邨
Traditional Chinese 杏花邨
Cantonese Jyutping Hang6 Faa1 Cyun1
Literal meaning Almond Flower Village

Heng Fa Chuen (Chinese: 杏花邨) is a private residential estate in Chai Wan, jointly developed by MTR Corporation and Kerry Properties. Construction of the residential estate began on 13 August 1977, ended on 26 April 1982 and officially opened on 10 July 1982.

The area was reclaimed from Pak Sha Wan (白沙灣) and Lei Yue Mun Bay (鯉魚門灣). The current Promenade along the shoreline was once a beach, surrounded by barren hills and vegetation. Further west, there was once a quarry, near to the site of the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence. However, the quarry was decommissioned by the Hong Kong Government, after it was mined out. The miners dispersed, with some moving to Chai Wan and settling in wooden houses. There were still traces of it when the of the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defense was established.

In the early 1980s, when the Island Line of the MTR was being planned, the working name of the station was "Chai Wan Quay", according to the Freeman, Fox, Wilbur Smith & Associates Mass Transportation Study. It became Heng Fa Chuen when MTR became the rightful developer of the land for the station and depot. Not only was the name changed, but also it was relocated to its present place from the old location near Chai Wan pier/Ming Pao Industrial Centre.

There are 6,504 apartments in 48 residential blocks[1] managed by MTR Property Management, with Paradise Mall, a shopping center,[2] attached to it. The world's 11,000th McDonald's fast-food restaurant was opened at Heng Fa Chuen in 1989.[3] In 2000, a PARKnSHOP supermarket replaced the existing Carrefour giant chain supermarket. This Carrefour store, which had opened in December 1996, had been the first one opened in Hong Kong. It is an item of note that the area used to be under the flightpath of planes landing on the southern side of Kai Tak Airport's runway, and therefore some apartments had to be built lower than others.[4][5]

Siu Sai Wan

Main article: Siu Sai Wan

Siu Sai Wan is a newly developed residential area, located in the eastern part of Chai Wan. The population is about 80,000.

Chai Wan, viewed from Cape Collinson Buddhist Cemetery

Education

Schools in the area include:

  • Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College.[6]
  • Caritas Chai Wan Marden Foundation Secondary School
  • Chong Gene Hang College (張振興伉儷書院)
  • Cognito College (Hong Kong) (文理書院（香港）)
  • French International School (Hong Kong)

In Heng Fa Chuen:

  • Lingnan Secondary School (嶺南中學)
  • The Salvation Army Ann Wyllie Memorial Primary School (救世軍韋理夫人紀念學校)
  • The C. & M. A. Scholars' Kindergarten (上書房中英文幼稚園)
  • St. Dominic Kindergarten (聖道明幼稚園)
  • The Creative Kindergarten (啟思幼稚園)
  • The Ruth Kindergarten (路德會幼稚園)

Cemeteries

Mount Collinson has a range of cemeteries:

  • Cape Collinson Chinese Permanent Cemetery
  • Holy Cross Roman Catholic Cemetery
  • Sai Wan War Cemetery (where the dead from the Second World War are buried)
  • Cape Collinson Muslim Cemetery
  • Cape Collinson Buddhist Cemetery
  • Crematorium

Transportation

Half-height platform screen doors in Heng Fa Chuen Station.

MTR

Chai Wan is served by two stations of the MTR rapid transit railway:

The Chai Wan Depot is located under blocks 1 to 18 of Heng Fa Chuen Estate and beside Heng Fa Chuen Station. It houses trains serving on the Island Line, and inspections of trains are carried out here.

Expressways

Major roads

Bus routes

  • New World First Bus: 8, 8P, 81, 81A, 82, 84S, 84M, N8, N8P
  • Citybus: 8S, 85, 8X, 698R, 780, 780P, N8X, A12
  • Cross-harbour routes: 106, 118, 118P, 606, 682, 682P, 694, 802, N118

See also

  • List of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong
  • Chai Wan Kok (an area in Tsuen Wan with which it is easily confused)

References

  1. ↑ MTR Properties website - Heng Fa Chuen
  2. ↑ Paradise Mall official homepage Retrieved 2011-09-17
  3. ↑ McDonald's Hong Kong website Retrieved 2011-09-17
  4. ↑ Consumer Council - The Practice of Resale Price Maintenance in Hong Kong (September 2, 1997)
  5. ↑ "500 to lose jobs as Carrefour quits SAR", The Standard, August 30, 2000
  6. ↑ School profile, Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College, retrieved 2010-08-09 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chai Wan.
(Victoria Harbour)
Wan Chai District Tathong Channel
   Eastern District  
Southern District
 
Eastern District
Main borders and locations

Coordinates: 22°16′N 114°14′E / 22.27°N 114.24°E / 22.27; 114.24

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