Southorn Playground is a sports and recreational facility in the Wan Chai

Wan Chai

Wan Chai is a metropolitan area situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area north of Gloucester Road is often called...

 area of Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. It comprises a football field

Association football pitch

An association football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define...

, four basketball court

Basketball court

In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor with tiles at either end. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a wood, often maple, and highly polished...

s, and a children's playground.

Southorn Playground is surrounded by Hennessy Road

Hennessy Road

Hennessy Road is a thoroughfare on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It connects Yee Wo Street on the east in Causeway Bay, and Queensway on the western end in Wan Chai.The road is named after John Pope Hennessy, the Governor of Hong Kong between 1877 and 1882....

 in the North, Luard Road (West), Johnston Road

Johnston Road

Johnston Road is a major road in Wan Chai on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. It spans from the junction with Heard Street, Hennessy Road and Stewart Road are at its east towards another junction with Hennessy Road and Queensway at its west near Asian House...

 (South) and Southorn Centre (East). It has been Wan Chai's main recreation

Recreation

Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...

al area since the early 1970s. Formerly a thriving night market, it was named in 1934 after Sir Wilfrid Thomas Southorn

Wilfrid Thomas Southorn

Wilfrid Thomas Southorn , known as Tom, was a British colonial administrator, spending the large part of career in Ceylon . He was the Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1925–1936 and he became Acting Administrator of Hong Kong on various occasions...

 who was the Colonial Secretary

Chief Secretary for Administration

The Chief Secretary for Administration , commonly known as Chief Secretary and abbreviated as CS, is the second highest position of the Hong Kong Government...

 (second highest position of Hong Kong Government) in 1925-1936. Though the site is not big, it is often used for district functions such as fun fairs and sports matches.

Use of facilities

Southorn Playground was a major landmark to senior residents of Wan Chai

Wan Chai

Wan Chai is a metropolitan area situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area north of Gloucester Road is often called...

. Back in the 1950-60s, it was a place of both work and entertainment. Its character changed throughout the day.

In the morning, labourers (commonly known as "coolies") gathered in the playground to start their day. They gave each other Chinese herbal massage

Massage

Massage is the manipulation of superficial and deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue to enhance function, aid in the healing process, and promote relaxation and well-being. The word comes from the French massage "friction of kneading", or from Arabic massa meaning "to touch, feel or handle"...

s to alleviate fatigue and pain because it was costly to seek proper medical treatment. In the evening, the playground transformed into an open-air, working class night club where visitors enjoyed Chinese magic and kung fu performances, as well as street food.

Nowadays, Southorn Playground remains popular among Wan Chai dwellers: senior citizens kill time by playing Chinese chess

Xiangqi

Xiangqi is a two-player Chinese board game in the same family as Western chess, chaturanga, shogi, Indian chess and janggi. The present-day form of Xiangqi originated in China and is therefore commonly called Chinese chess in English. Xiangqi is one of the most popular board games in China...

 there, while young people regard it as one of their favorite spots for football and basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

. The annual Adidas

Adidas

Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...

 Streetball

Streetball

Streetball or street basketball is a variation of the sport of basketball, typically played on outdoor courts and featuring significantly less by way of formal structure and enforcement of the game's rules...

 Challenge is held in the playground which attracts flocks of Hong Kong basketball fanatics and young spectators. It has also one of the most well-known basketball courts in Hong Kong, and street legends story often start in Southorn Playground.

Southorn Playground is considered the Hong Kong equivalent of Hyde Park

Hyde Park, London

Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...

. Urban renewal specialist Fred Manson

Fred Manson

Fred Manson is an urban renewal specialist from the United Kingdom. He is the former Director of Regeneration at the London Borough of Southwark....

 and designer Thomas Heatherwick

Thomas Heatherwick

Thomas Heatherwick is an English designer known for innovative use of engineering and materials in public monuments and sculptures...

 have proposed retaining the present facilities of the playground but making the space more appealing to a wider group of people.

Redesign

The Wan Chai

Wan Chai District

The Wan Chai 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...

 District

Districts of Hong Kong

The Districts of Hong Kong are the 18 political areas by which Hong Kong is geographically divided. Each district has a district council, which was formerly known as a district board. The districts were established in the early 1980s, when Hong Kong was under British rule...

 Council

District Council of Hong Kong

The District Councils, formerly District Boards until 1999, are the local councils for the 18 Districts of Hong Kong. Under the supervision of Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong Government, they are consultative bodies on district administration and affairs.- History :In 1982, under the...

 and the British Council

British Council

The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...

 invited English designer Thomas Heatherwick

Thomas Heatherwick

Thomas Heatherwick is an English designer known for innovative use of engineering and materials in public monuments and sculptures...

 and urban renewal specialist Fred Manson

Fred Manson

Fred Manson is an urban renewal specialist from the United Kingdom. He is the former Director of Regeneration at the London Borough of Southwark....

 to improve the amenity, which is now a concrete rectangle with games courts painted on. The project is about augmenting public spaces via the use of art. Art in public spaces is about making art for the benefit of the citizens, the community who uses it. It is not about putting a sculpture in a public space for people to look at. Instead, it is about establishing relationship with the community and improving the quality of the environment. The project will endeavour to create a public art intervention in Southorn Playground, which will meet the community's needs and address the cultural complexities of Wan Chai. It is hoped that the project will serve as a model of community participatory approach in public art in Hong Kong. In summary, the project's objectives include:

• To create changes so people will take a fancy to it;
• To make it better so people will benefit from it;
• To bring it up-to-date so that it has new significance as Wan Chai's main square in the past, present and future, and
• To make the playground a public art in its own right.

2005 WTO Ministerial Conference

Southorn Playground was originally one of the designated protest areas for the WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005

WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005

The Sixth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, also known as the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference and abbreviated as MC6, was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai, Hong Kong from 13 to 18 December 2005...

 (MC6), which was held during 13–18 December 2005 in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre is one of the two major convention and exhibition venues in Hong Kong, along with AsiaWorld-Expo. It is located in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island. Built along the Victoria Harbour, it is linked by covered walkways to nearby hotels and commercial...

. However, the government decided it would not be used for demonstration purposes after taking into account the Wan Chai

Wan Chai

Wan Chai is a metropolitan area situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area north of Gloucester Road is often called...

District Council's views - the playground is too far from the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (0.4 km distance) and protesters may end up cramming in Wan Chai. The playground therefore was only reserved for MC6-related public activities such as public forums, bazaars and cultural performances.

External links

• Map of Southorn Playground by Centamap.com
• Satellite image of Southorn Playground by Google Maps
• Courts Of The World Court profile of Southorn Playground basketball court