Wan Chai District
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| Wan Chai 灣仔區 |
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| District | ||
| Wan Chai District | ||
| Day view of Causeway Bay in the Wan Chai District
Day view of Causeway Bay in the Wan Chai District
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| Location of Wan Chai District灣仔區 within Hong Kong Location of Wan Chai District 灣仔區 within Hong Kong |
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| Country | China | |
| Special administrative region | Hong Kong | |
| Constituencies | 11 | |
| Government | ||
| • District Officer | Mr. William Yuen, JP | |
| • District Council Chairman | Suen Kai-cheong | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 9.8 km2 (3.8 sq mi) | |
| Population (2006) | ||
| • Total | 155,196 | |
| • Density | 16,000/km2 (41,000/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | Hong Kong Time (UTC+8) | |
| Website | Wan Chai District Council | |
The Wan Chai District (Chinese: 灣仔區, literally "Cove District") is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong, located in the north of Hong Kong Island. It had a population of 167,146 in 2001. The district has the second most educated residents with the highest income, the second lowest population and the third oldest residents, and is also the only district without any public housing estates. It is affluent, with one in five persons having liquid assets of more than HKD 1 million.[1]
Contents
Geography
The area known as "Wan Chai" often includes the area surrounding Tonnochy Road and the Wan Chai Station of the MTR, which is located between Admiralty on the west and Causeway Bay on the east. "Wan Chai North", where the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre is located, refers to the area north of Gloucester Road, reclaimed from the sea after the 1970s. It is a cluster of high rise office towers and hotels.
The broader administrative "Wan Chai District" includes the areas of Wan Chai, Wan Chai North, Causeway Bay, Happy Valley, Jardine's Lookout, Stubbs Road, Wong Nai Chung Gap and Tai Hang.
History
The ceremony of the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was performed in the then new wing of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai North.
In May 2009, 300 guests and staff members at the Metropark Hotel Wanchai in Wan Chai were quarantined, suspected of being infected or in contact with the H1N1 virus during the 2009 swine flu outbreak. A 25-year-old Mexican man who had stayed at the hotel was later found to have the viral infection. He had travelled to Hong Kong from Mexico via Shanghai.[2][3]
Politics
The district council of Wan Chai has 11 elected and 2 appointed members.
Diversity
Today Wan Chai is sometimes described as the heart of the city, representing the epitome of the Hong Kong lifestyle: there is a well-established arts centre, the large exhibition and conference complexes, luxury apartments, five-star and non-five-star hotels, shopping malls, metropolitan office towers and a large government building cluster – along with a multitude of home decoration shops, bars and Mahjong centres filled with gamblers. Wan Chai District houses a mosque, as well as cemeteries for several different faiths. Five minutes away from the noisy polluted streets is Bowen Drive, one of the more popular places for jogging. Top law-makers, movie stars, and government officials can be seen jogging there.
Entertainment and shopping
The numerous bars and strip joints in the red-light district part of Wan Chai are popular with tourists and visiting US sailors, who arrive on Fenwick Pier. Fenwick Pier was once the location of the only McDonald's that served alcohol in Hong Kong, but it was closed in 2004 and replaced by an up-market restaurant. Johnston Road and Queen's Road East are the two major streets in the area. Export clothing shops line the streets of Johnston and Luard Road and offer some of the best value in Hong Kong. Queen's Road East has many stores selling Chinese style wooden furniture whilst Spring Garden Lane and Tai Wo Street are also lined with stalls selling for vegetables, fruit and household items. Tai Yuen Street is famous for shops and stalls selling various kinds of toys.
Hotels
Hotels in Wan Chai District include:
- Grand Hyatt Hong Kong
- Renaissance Harbourview
- Novotel Century Hong Kong
- South Pacific Hotel
- Luk Kwok Hotel
- Wharney Hotel
- Empire Hotel
- The Fleming
Sights
Next to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre is the "Golden Bauhinia Square". There is a huge sculpture of a bauhinia, which is the representative flower of Hong Kong, in the square. This is a popular tourist spot in Hong Kong for mainland visitors and also the location of the flag-raising ceremony which occurs daily and in a special form on Chinese National Day and other occasions.
Skyscrapers include:
- Central Plaza, the third tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, located in Wan Chai North
- Hopewell Centre
The Old Wanchai Post Office is a declared monument. There is also a Police Museum near the junction of Stubbs Road and Peak Road.
At the Stubbs Road Lookout, scenery of the Victoria Harbour can be seen. The famous Lovers' Stone is located on Bowen Road, which is also a nice place for scenery.
Demographics
According to a household survey by the Census and Statistics Department, the median household income is the highest of Hong Kong.[citation needed]
Transportation
The first cross harbour tunnel in Hong Kong, the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, was built in Wan Chai, linking the former Kellett Island in the district with Hung Hom.
The Star Ferry operates two routes from the pier at Wan Chai:
- HKCEC, Wan Chai – Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Tsim Sha Tsui
- HKCEC, Wan Chai – Whampoa Garden, Hung Hom
Appearances in fiction
- The computer game Deus Ex features Wan Chai Market as the main district in the Hong Kong chapters of the game.
- Almost 1/3 of the game Shenmue II is spent in Wan Chai. A small portion of the city is divided into fictional quarters modelled after similar locations.
- The location of the 1957 novel and 1960 film The World of Suzie Wong is set in Wan Chai.
See also
- Wan Chai Pier
- List of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong
- Bottoms Up Club
- Exhibition (MTR)
- Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts
- Wanchai Ferry
References
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Cheng, Jonathan; Ye, Juliet; Stein, Peter, "Hong Kong Orders Quarantine of Hotel", The Wall Street Journal, 2 May 2009
- ↑ Dasgupta, Saibal, "Swine flu scare: China puts 460 in isolation", The Times of India, 3 May 2009.
External links
- Wan Chai District Council
- List and map of electoral constituencies (large PDF file)
- Rotary Club of Wanchai
- Introduction of Wan Chai District by Home Affairs Department, HKSAR Government
- Location map in Wan Chai – Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre
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