WAN CHAI is situated on the eastern side of Hong Kong's Central District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island. It is one of the busiest commercial areas in Hong Kong with offices of many small and medium-sized companies and a plethora of small shops. As one of the first areas to be developed in Hong Kong, the locale is densely populated yet with noticeable residential zones facing urban decay. The newer Wan Chai North features office towers, parks, hotels, various landmarks and skyscrapers.

EARLY HISTORY - Wan Chai was the first home to the many Chinese villagers living along the undisturbed coastlines in proximity to Hung Shing Temple. Most of them were fishermen, who worked around the area near the temple overlooking the entire harbor. Hung Shing Ye, the God of the Sea, was one of the deities worshiped by the locals.

BRITISH COLONY (from 1842) - With the growth of the British Hong Kong administration, centered in old Victoria (modern Central), Wan Chai attracted those on the fringes of society, such as "coolie" workers, who came to live on Queen's Road East. A focal point of development at that time was Spring Gardens, a red-light zone. By the 1850s, the area was already becoming a Chinese residential area. There were dockyards for building and repairing ships. The first power station in Hong Kong was located here, it began supplying power in 1890.

POST-WAR DEVELOPMENT (from 1945) and LAND RECLAMATION - Prostitution has been one of the oldest occupations in Wan Chai. In the 1960s, Wan Chai became legendary for its exotic night life, especially for the US servicemen resting there during the Vietnam War. Despite rapid changes of Wan Chai's demography from reclamation and redevelopment, the presence of sex workers operating among ordinary residential areas has continued to be a distinctive feature. The area is today one of Hong Kong island's two main bar districts, popular with visiting sailors and navy personnel (the other being the more upmarket Lan Kwai Fong in Central). Once considered primarily as a red light district, this area is now more diverse with bars, pubs, restaurants and discos. A few of the raunchier bars still remain, mainly populated with women from Thailand and the Philippines. The famous novel and film "The World of Suzie Wong" sets many scenes in this area.

Wan Chai's coastal line has been extended outward after a series of land reclamation schemes. Early in 1841, the coastline was located at Queen's Road East. Repeated, almost continuous land reclamation over the decades pushed the coastline further out, presently culminating at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) which juts out into the harbor, now about a dozen streets further north.

Commercial areas developed in the late 1970s and 1980s, when Hong Kong underwent economic development at full speed. At the same time, buildings like the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, HKCEC, and Central Plaza (78 floors) were constructed on the newly reclaimed land. - Many of Wan Chai's older buildings now face a serious problem of urban decay. To tackle the problem, the government has launched a series of urban renewal projects to bring new life into the area. Many local residents have relocation worries such as whether the Urban Renewal Authority can compensate enough to put them in a new space of equal size. Other concerns involve the loss of building character that make up part of that Hong Kong cultural identity.

My posts will cover Wan Chai in four parts: First a general glance at some buildings, parks and activities, then honing in on the colorful and important Wan Chai Market, which to this day provides a substantial part of the daily food supplies to the surrounding communities. - Today's post shows the contrast between modern and the old style buildings and methods and brings us to one of the local parks where we encounter a sweet local photographer.


Notes
TRIP INFO: Set # 1 provides a brief introduction to THIS SERIES on SOUTH & EAST ASIA. See it at
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-724330-1.html

HONG KONG COUNTRY INFO in set # 196: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-762698-1.html

EARLIER POSTS of this series: Access my topic list at UHH, the new posts are listed in reverse chronological order:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/user-topic-list?usernum=45105

Thanks for visiting, for improved clarity please view the downloads. I look forward to your comments and questions.

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Hi Ellen - thanks for the nice comment. That building in the second image was rather unusual for Hong Kong, the shape of the structure, and the color mix just screamed for a photo to be taken!

These bamboo poles have been used for construction scaffolding for ages, and I have been told ages ago that the Chinese workers prefer to work on these bamboo scaffoldings because they are easier on the feet. Here is an explanation I found when googling the subject: Bamboo scaffolding is being used in China and Hong Kong instead of steel for several reasons. Bamboo actually has a greater tensile strength than steel. It is also much cheaper to use, and completely environmentally friendly.

As to the little photographer: yes, that was her own - or possibly the parent's camera, but she obviously knew how to handle it, which I found very adorable.