Hong Kong’s Western District has long fascinated both residents and visitors to the city.
One of the first areas of Hong Kong to be developed under British colonial rule in 1842, the district incorporates both a rich colonial architectural heritage, as well as traditional Chinese architectural gems, including residential buildings and shops. As a rapidly developing area that has also miraculously managed to retain traces of bygone eras, future development must also preserve remaining district heritage for future posterity and as living example to future generations of Hong Kong residents as to the historic foundations of their now-world class city. In this first installment of a two part series, PRC magazine examines the history of the area and planned transport infrastructure developments aimed at promoting continued revitalisation of this previously neglected, yet constantly intriguing, district.
The name Western District or Sai Wan, originated from the Chinese name “Four Wan Nine Yeuk” used to describe the residential area of the City of Victoria, the early urbanised area of Hong Kong. Wan means “area” and Yeuk means “district”. After the territory’s first road, Queen’s Road, was completed on the north coast of Hong Kong Island, the area along the coast of Victoria Harbour was developed, and in the late 19th century the urbanised area that included present-day Sai Wan, Sheung Wan, Central and Wan Chai (formerly Ha Wan) was named City of Victoria.
Hence, Chinese residents of the City of Victoria referred to it as “Four Wan and Nine Yeuk”. Within Western District, Sai Wan was established first, followed by Sheung Wan and Central. For the “Nine Yeuk”, Kennedy Town, Shek Tong Tsui and Sai Ying Pun are the first three “Yeuk”.

Sai Ying Pun
Sai Ying Pun is bordered to the west by Sheung Wan, to the east by Shek Tong Tsui, and to the south by Bonham Road. In Chinese, “Sai” means “west” and “Ying Pun” means “military camp”. There are two stories regarding the original naming Sai Ying Pun. One recalls it as the land base of pirate, Zhang Bo-zai, while another states that in 1941 it was the location of British military camp in nearby Water Street. Sai Ying Pun was the western edge of Victorian City in the early colonial years. Sai Ying Pun was settled by mainland immigrants arriving in Hong Kong from Southern China, many of whom were of Chiu Chow origin, a fact still reflected today in the many local eateries still serving the region’s food and in the dialect that is still widely spoken. Here they also established dried seafood and traditional Chinese medicine shops still located there today.
Transport within and beyond the district has until now been restricted to tram, bus or mini-bus, however, Sai Ying Pun MTR station will be constructed as part of the new West Island Line with the station concourse proposed for the intersections of Centre Street and High Street and Second Street and Eastern Street; with proposed exits/entrances at Des Voeux Road West, Sai Woo Lan Playground, Centre Street Cooked Food Centre, Ki Ling Lane and David Trench Rehabilitation Centre.

Shek Tong Tsui
Shek Tong Tsui, original named Tong Sai, is bordered on the east by Sai Ying Pun and on the west by Kennedy Town. This area was famous for the mining of quality granite and in 1880 was the location of a major granite mine. When mining ceased, a long narrow gap was left extending towards to the sea, hence the name Shek Tong Tsui. Following a huge fire in Possession Street brothels in 1904, the then-Hong Kong Governor, Matthew Nathan, ordered all brothels be relocated to Sheung Wan. The area flourished as a red light district for the next 30 years, with gambling, prostitution and drugs resulting in an economic “golden era” for the area. During this period, over a hundred brothels, Cantonese restaurants and Cantonese opera theatres were to be found in this area and it become known locally as “tong sai fung yuet’ or “good times west of the quarry” area.
This golden period lasted until a ban on prostitution was introduced by Hong Kong Government in 1935, after which the “world’s oldest profession” was forced underground. Following the Japanese retreat from Hong Kong at the end of World War 11, the British once again assumed control, the ban on prostitution was once again implemented and all traces of Shek Tong Tsui’s amorous history was obliterated by decades of urban construction. Hong Kong first cinema, Tai Ping Theatre, was also located in the district. Nowadays, Shek Tong Tsui is a popular residential area. The tram depot at Whitty Street was constructed in1989. The future West Island Line University Station will be situated here, with the station concourse to be built under the southern end of Hill Road. University Station will have five exits/entrances: Queen’s Road West, Hill Road, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road and Belcher's Street.

Kennedy Town
Kennedy Town is located at the western end of Hong Kong Island, to the east by Shek Tong Tsui, and is bordered to the west by Sulphur Channel and to the south by Mount Davis. In 1886, it was named after Arthur Edward Kennedy, the seventh Governor of Hong Kong from 1872 to 1877. Nowadays, Kennedy Town is primarily a residential area. Due to its distance from Hong Kong’s central business district, incineration plants, cement plants, abattoirs, a mortuary and a waste interchange depot were originally established in the area. As
Hong Kong’s economy developed, Western district suffered from a shortage of land. The Kennedy Town abattoir and incineration plant were demolished in 2007 to make way for luxury residential developments. Kennedy Town will be the last MTR last station on the future West Island Line and the station concourse will be built under the existing Kennedy Town Swimming Pool. The future MTR station will have three exits/entrances at Rock Hill Street, Smithfield Road and Forbes Street.
Economic development has changed Western District, but despite the demolition of many old buildings, a unique local culture still exists. The new MTR West Island Line is expected to bring enormous changes to Western District, further activating its economy with the arrival of new residents, housing, commerce, and transport and
hopefully also conservation of what remains of the unique architectural heritage of the area.

Tranport
With much of Western District being built over a century ago, streets were small, narrow and steep and travel outside the district was primarily by tram and rickshaw. The tramline originally ran parallel to the harbour waterfront and today serves as an excellent indictor of the rampant harbour reclamation that has ensued in the decades since.

In recent times, buses, mini-buses and trams have been the primary modes of transport into and out of the district. Roads for vehicles and pedestrians are also narrow and old and are responsible for the
high number of accidents that occur there. Traffic congestion has been a problem for decades and a lack of roads and transport has greatly impeded development of this scenic area of Hong Kong. Fortunately, the Eastern District Corridor, in particular Route No. 4, linking to Routes Nos. 1; 2 and 3, connects Island West to the East of Hong Kong Island and has greatly improved the situation.

The long-awaited plan for the MTR West Island Line was finalised and approved by the HKSAR Government in June 2005 following 20 years of debate and discussion. Construction is scheduled to commence in 2009, with completion anticipated no later than 2014. The West Island Line will be the western extension of the original MTR Island Line to Sheung Wan with the addition of three new MTR stations -
Sai Ying Pun, University and Kennedy Town. By 2016, the West Island Line is expected to service 200,000 people daily and travelling time from Kennedy Town to Sheung Wan will be reduced to a mere 8 minutes, a saving of 15-25 minutes as currently experienced by road traffic. West Island Line construction costs are estimated to be
HK$8.9 billion.

Another future transport alternative is the proposed Central Street Escalator, which was finally approved and gazetted by the HKSAR Government in May 2008 to facilitate residents' future commute to Central Street Market and beyond. Construction will commence in 2009 and it is estimated it will take 26 months to complete. The Central Street Escalator will start at Central Street between The Third Street and Ying Wa Court.

Commerce
The Western District Praya was famous as a port in early 19th century. Western District has been greatly influenced by both Western and traditional Chinese cultures, which still prevails today. Western District is another place where early Hong Kong’s trading and wholesale businesses, like Chinese traditional medicine, dried seafood, tea, cloth, Chinese groceries, salted fish, paper crafts, wooden barrels and dried weeds are found to this day, as well as hundreds of restaurants offering traditional regional cuisines of Southern China, from
barbequed meats, noodles, dumplings and vegetarian options, as well as today’s ubiquitous and less healthy fast food restaurants.

In 1981, the Western District Public Cargo Working Area was set-up on Sai Ying Pun primarily served as a port to redistribute imported groceries, such as rice, oil and daily necessities to Macau and the outlying islands. Western Wholesale Food Market, next to the cargo area, came into operation since 1991. It is the sole wholesale market located on the Hong Kong side of the harbour and employs hundreds of locals to this day.
It is anticipated that the completion of the MTR West Island Line will reactivate the economy of Western District and will introduce many business opportunities. Western District and Mid-Levels have long been the top choice for residential housing by both investors and residents and it is expected that demand for industrial land use
will reduce sharply. Existing large-scale industrial land use may also be redeveloped into high-return residential projects. The future direction of urban planning will focus on integrating the local economy,
traditions and the district’s unique culture and eventually turn Western District into an historical tourism attraction further stimulating business and economic growth.