Chai Wan
Encyclopedia
Chai Wan (ˌtʃaɪ ˈwɑːn; ), formerly mistakenly known as Sai Wan (西灣), lies at the east end of the urban area of Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island
Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...

 next to Shau Kei Wan
Shau Kei Wan
Shau Kei Wan or Shaukeiwan, Shaukiwan is a town in Eastern District, Hong Kong. Literally, Shau Kei means a pail, and Wan implies that the town is developed along the coast. Nowadays it is a relatively densely populated town compared with some developing areas.-Name:The name Shau Kei Wan comes...

. The area is administratively part of the Eastern District
Eastern District, Hong Kong
The Eastern District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It had a population of 587,690 in 2006. The district has the second highest population while its residents have the third highest median household income among 18 districts....

, and is a mosaic of industrial and residential areas. The population was 186,505 in 2001.

Geography

Chai Wan is built on land reclaimed
Land reclamation in Hong Kong
Land is in short supply in Hong Kong, and land reclamation has been conducted there since the mid-19th century.-Projects:One of the earliest and famous project was the Praya Reclamation Scheme, which added 50 to of land in 1890 during the second phase of construction...

 from the bay and extends west from Lei Yue Mun
Lei Yue Mun
Lei Yue Mun is a short channel in Hong Kong, between Junk Bay and Victoria Harbour, separating Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. The channel is an important passage in the South China Sea. It is the east gate of Victoria Harbour.The lands around the channel are also called Lei Yue Mun...

 in Heng Fa Chuen and east to Siu Sai Wan
Siu Sai Wan
Siu Sai Wan is a newly developed residential area in the northeastern part of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located in the eastern part of Chai Wan, and is administratively under the Eastern District. The population is about 80,000.-Location:...

. Mount Collinson and Pottinger Peak on the south and Mount Parker
Mount Parker, Hong Kong
Mount Parker is the highest peak on Hong Kong Island after Victoria Peak . It is the 40th highest peak of the territory of Hong Kong.-Ecology:...

 on the west, restrict further development. Shek O Country Park
Shek O Country Park
Shek O Country Park is a rural marine park located on Shek O, Southern District, Hong Kong and facing the South China Sea. The 701 hectare park opened in 1979.The park's attractions include:*Dragon's Back*D'Aguilar Peak*Hong Kong Trail*To Tei Wan Village...

 is at the south 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
The Scout Association of Hong Kong
The Scout Association of Hong Kong is the overall Scouting organization in Hong Kong. After the first Scouting initiatives in 1909, the Hong Kong branch of The Scout Association of the United Kingdom was started in 1914 by registering the St. Joseph's College Scout Group, and was formally...

 purchased land for the Chai Wan Campsite where Chai Wan Park
Chai Wan Park
Chai Wan Park was one of large park in Hong Kong. Located in Chai Wan of Hong Kong, it occupied 6.55 hectares. Completed by Urban Council in 21 April 1993, the park is now managed by Leisure and Cultural Services Department, a department of Hong Kong Government.-History:The park was the former...

 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
Law Uk Folk Museum
Law Uk Folk Museum is housed in Law Uk , which is located at 14 Kut Shing Street, Chai Wan, Hong Kong.-History of Law Uk:Law Uk is a simple Hakka village house for residence which was built over 200 years ago by the Law family...

 was formerly a village and is now a museum, a branch of the Hong Kong Museum of History
Hong Kong Museum of History
The Hong Kong Museum of History is a museum which preserves Hong Kong's historical and cultural heritage. It is located next to the Hong Kong Science Museum....

.

Heng Fa Chuen

Heng Fa Chuen is a private residential estate in Chai Wan, jointly developed by MTR Corporation
MTR Corporation
MTR Corporation Limited is a company listed on the Hong Kong Exchange and included in the Hang Seng Index. MTR owns and runs the Hong Kong MTR metro system, and is also a major property developer and landlord in Hong Kong...

 and Kerry Properties
Kerry Properties
Kerry Properties Limited is a listed company engaged in property development in Hong Kong, Mainland China and Asia Pacific region; third party logistics, freight services and warehouse operations ; infrastructure projects in Hong Kong and Mainland China; and hotel ownership and operations in...

. 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
Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence
The Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence is a museum in Hong Kong, located in a former coastal defence fort overlooking the Lei Yue Mun channel, near Shau Kei Wan on Hong Kong Island. The fort was built by the British in 1887, intended to defend the eastern approaches to Victoria Harbour.The total...

. 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
Island Line (MTR)
The Island Line is one of 10 lines of the MTR, the mass transit system in Hong Kong. It runs from Sheung Wan in the Central and Western District to Chai Wan in the Eastern District. The line first opened in 31 May 1985...

 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
Chai Wan Ferry Pier
Chai Wan Ferry Pier was a ferry pier in Chai Wan, Hong Kong, near the current Chai Wan Industrial City .- History :Chai Wan Ferry Pier started operation in 1965 and provided ferry services to Central and Kwun Tong respectively, but the services were cancelled soon because of insufficient...

/Ming Pao
Ming Pao
Ming Pao is a Chinese language newspaper published by Ming Pao Group in Hong Kong. In the 1990s, Ming Pao established four overseas branches in North America, each provides independent reporting on local news and collect local advertisements. Currently, only the two Canadian editions remain: Ming...

 Industrial Centre.

There are 6,504 apartments in 48 residential blocks managed by MTR Property Management
MTR Properties
MTR Properties and MTR Property Management of the MTR Corporation Limited are responsible for managing apartment buildings it developed, shopping malls at some of its stations, and collaborate with land developers in projects near its stations. It made over HKD $8,304 million in 2007 from property...

, with Paradise Mall, a shopping center, attached to it. The world's 11,000th McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...

 fast-food restaurant was opened at Heng Fa Chuen in 1989. In 2000, a PARKnSHOP
PARKnSHOP
PARKnSHOP is one of the two largest supermarket chains in Hong Kong, the other being Wellcome. PARKnSHOP operates more than 260 outlets in Hong Kong, Macau, and Mainland China....

 supermarket replaced the existing Carrefour
Carrefour
Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world...

 giant chain supermarket. This Carrefour store, which had opened in December 1996, had been the first one opened in Hong Kong.

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.

Education

Schools in the area include:
  • Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College
    Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College
    The Islamic Kasim Tuet Memorial College is a secondary school in Hong Kong, located in Chai Wan. It was formerly known as the Islamic English College. It is named for Kasim Tuet, a Hui Muslim who played a major role in the development of Chinese Muslim education in the city. Despite the name,...

    .

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
    Sai Wan War Cemetery
    Sai Wan War Cemetery is a military cemetery located in Chai Wan, Hong Kong. The cemetery contains the graves of the dead of the Second World War, mostly soldiers from the Commonwealth and Allied Forces who fell during the Battle of Hong Kong. The Sai Wan Bay Memorial includes the names of 228...

     (where the war dead of the Second World War buried),
  • Cape Collinson Muslim Cemetery,
  • Cape Collinson Buddhist Cemetery, and
  • crematorium.

Transportation

MTR

Chai Wan is served by two stations of the MTR
MTR
Mass Transit Railway is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 211.6 km of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops...

 rapid transit railway:
  • Chai Wan Station, the eastern terminus of Island Line
  • Heng Fa Chuen Station, at Heng Fa Chuen


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

  • Island Eastern Corridor
    Island Eastern Corridor
    Island Eastern Corridor is an expressway along the north shore of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It starts from Causeway Bay in the west and ends in Chai Wan in the east. It is part of Route 4...

     along the shore, from Chai Wan to Causeway Bay
    Causeway Bay
    Causeway Bay is a heavily built-up area of Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, located on the Hong Kong Island, and covering parts of Wan Chai and Eastern districts. The Chinese name is also romanized as Tung Lo Wan as in Tung Lo Wan Road...

    . Chai Wan is its eastern terminus, ending at a large roundabout near the MTR station.

Bus routes

  • New World First Bus
    New World First Bus
    New World First Bus Services Limited , abbreviated as First Bus and "NWFB", is the third largest public bus operator in Hong Kong.NWFB was established in 1998, taking over China Motor Bus's franchise on 1 September 1998 to provide bus services on Hong Kong Island together with Citybus...

    : 8, 8P, 81, 81A, 82, 84S, 84M, N8, N8P
  • Citybus
    Citybus (Hong Kong)
    Citybus Limited is one of the three major bus operators in Hong Kong. It provides both franchised and non-franchised bus service. The franchised route network serves mainly Hong Kong Island, cross-harbour routes , Ocean Park, North Lantau and Hong Kong International Airport...

    : 8S, 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
    Chai Wan Kok
    Chai Wan Kok is an area in Tsuen Wan of Hong Kong. It is located at the west end of Tsuen Wan Town. While its southeast is industrial area, its hilly northeast and coastal southwest are residential...

     (an area in Tsuen Wan
    Tsuen Wan
    Tsuen Wan is a bay in the Kowloon area of Hong Kong, opposite to Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged for the surrounding villages and fleets of fishing boats in the area. The town is around the present-day Tsuen Wan Station of the MTR...

    with which it is easily confused)

External links

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