Queen's Road
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- This article is about a road in Hong Kong. For other uses, see Queens Road.
Queen's Road is the first road in Hong Kong built by the British Empire between 1841 and 1843[1], spanning across Victoria City from Shek Tong Tsui to Wan Chai. At most points, it marks the original shoreline before land reclamation projects permanently extended the land into Victoria Harbour. The road is split into four: Queen's Road West (Chinese: 皇后大道西), Queen's Road Central (皇后大道中), Queensway (金鐘道), and Queen's Road East (皇后大道東), from west to east.
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[edit] History
The Road was originally 4 miles (6.5 km) long in 1841. The Royal Engineers built the first section to Sai Ying Pun with the help of 300 coolies from Kowloon. It ran parallel to the beach where Sir Henry Pottinger setup his tent in 1842[2].
Named after Queen Victoria of the British Empire, it was mistakenly translated into Chinese as 皇后 (Pronunciation in Cantonese: wòhng hauh? / wong4 hau6 ?; Pronunciation in Mandarin: huáng hòu ?) -- queen consort.
New arrivals to Hong Kong as late as the second half of the 19th century were surprised at the condition of the road. Instead of a proper road, as could only be expected of one named for the Queen in the largest British outpost east of Singapore, travellers found a pocked dirt road prone to dust clouds and puddles of mud[3].
When Hong Kong was founded as a Crown Colony, Queen's Road was the hub of activity. Its development was haphazard, and its path winding as it made its way through the newly-founded city including the Hong Kong Club for tai-pans. Between squatter huts, military encampments, and taverns, the first governors build their homes along Queen's Road. The first post office and Christian churches soon followed.
In 1878 a Christmas fire broke out destroying a large area of the slums. The eyewitness account was recorded by Constance Frederica Gordon Cumming in the book Wanderings in China. The fire raged for 17 hours burning down 400 houses covering 10 acres of area. It left thousands in the community homeless[4].
Queen's Road has shrugged its past and is now home to some of Hong Kong's most expensive land and famous buildings.
[edit] Queen's Road West
Queen's Road West (皇后大道西) runs from Sheung Wan to Shek Tong Tsui beginning at the Possession Street junction.
[edit] Queen's Road Central
Queen's Road Central (皇后大道中) runs from Central to Sheung Wan. It was one of the first roads to be built when the crown colony was founded (Hollywood Road is another of the early roads). It was a major infrastructure of Queen's Town, later renamed the City of Victoria.
Queen's Road Central intersects with the similarly named, and thus easily confused, Queen Victoria Street, a short street that ends a few blocks near One IFC.
Queen's Road Central merges with Des Voeux Road Central to become Queensway at Garden Road.
[edit] Queensway
A section of Queen's Road East in what is now Admiralty was re-routed and renamed as Queensway (金鐘道) in 1967. It merges with the Queen's Road Central and Des Voeux Road Central at its west end and connects with Hennessy Road and Queen's Road East to the east.
[edit] Queen's Road East
Queen's Road East (皇后大道東) runs between Happy Valley and Wan Chai. Queens Road East forks to the south from Queensway near Justice Drive, where Queensway turns into Hennessy Road. It runs along the old northern shoreline of Hong Kong Island.
[edit] In pop culture
Queen's Road is an icon of British Colonial Hong Kong. In the transition period before sovereignty transfer, there are rumours that all streets and roads related colonial figures like Queen's Road would be renamed to Chinese communist's. 羅大祐, a pop song writer, has written a song 皇后大道東 (Queen's Road East) to describe the change in this transition period.
[edit] References
- ^ Lim, Patricia. [2002] (2002). Discovering Hong Hong's Cultural Heritage. Central, Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. ISBN Volume One 0-19-592723-0
- ^ Lim, Patricia. [2002] (2002). Discovering Hong Hong's Cultural Heritage. Central, Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. ISBN Volume One 0-19-592723-0
- ^ Morris, Jan. [1987] (1997). Hong Kong. ISBN 978-0679776482
- ^ Wiltshire, Trea. [First published 1987] (republished & reduced2003). Old Hong Kong - Volume One. Central, Hong Kong: Text Form Asia books Ltd. Page 66. ISBN Volume One 962-7283-59-2
