Wellington_Street,_Hong_Kong

Wellington Street, Hong Kong

Wellington Street, Hong Kong

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Wellington Street (Chinese: 威靈頓街) is a one-way street located in Central and Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, it stretches from Wyndham Street to Queen's Road Central. The two sides of street is a mosaic of old and new buildings. Varieties of trades can be found on the street level. Street markets can be found in the adjacent lanes.

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The Central–Mid-Levels escalators crossing Wellington Street.

Location

The street is located at the bottom of Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island and next to Queen's Road Central which serves as one of the main roads through the central business district. Wellington Street ends westwards at the end of Central and the beginning of Sheung Wan (the border between Central and Sheung Wan is marked by Aberdeen Street).[1]

History

The old Roman Catholic cathedral—the first Catholic church in Hong Kong—was built in 1843 at the junction of Pottinger Street and Wellington Street[2] and was destroyed in a fire in 1859. It was rebuilt with iconic twin steeples at its facade. However, space constraints led to a different site being selected in the 1880s;[3] this was located above Caine Road by the Glenealy Ravine. When construction on the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was completed 1888, the old Wellington Street cathedral was demolished.[4]

Japanese prostitutes constituted the majority of Japanese residents of Hong Kong in the late 19th century, and there were 13 licensed Japanese brothels and 132 prostitutes in Hong Kong in 1901. These brothels were initially located in Central, mostly on Hollywood Road, Stanley Street and Wellington Street. They later moved to Wan Chai.[5]

In the afternoon of December 15, 1941, during the Battle of Hong Kong, a stick Japanese bombs hit the junction of Old Bailey Street and Caine Road, the junction of Pottinger Street and Hollywood Road, Wellington Street and the Central Police Station.[6] The bombing was part of a systematic bombardment of the Hong Kong Island's north shore that was launched on that day.[7]

Features

The street houses many shops on ground level and offices above with some housing. Notable businesses in Wellington Street include restaurants such as Mak's Noodle, Yung Kee,[8][9] Lin Heung Tea House[10][11][12] and Tsui Wah Restaurant.[13]

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. [1]
    Yanne, Andrew; Heller, Gillis (2009). Signs of a Colonial Era. Hong Kong University Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-962-209-944-9.
  2. [2]
    Wordie, Jason (2002). Streets: exploring Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong University Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-962-209-563-2.
  3. [3]
    Wiltshire, p. 189
  4. [4]
    Chan, Dora (12 September 1999). "Wellington Street". South China Morning Post. p. 32. Retrieved 15 April 2013. (subscription required)
  5. [5]
    Ng, Benjamin Wai-ming (7 October 2005). "Chapter 6 – Making of a Japanese Community in Prewar Period (1841–1941)". In Chu, Cindy Yik-yi (ed.). Foreign Communities in Hong Kong, 1840s–1950s. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 120. ISBN 9781403980557.
  6. [6]
    Banham, Tony (2004). Not the slightest chance: the defence of Hong Kong, 1941. University of British Columbia Press. p. 80. ISBN 978-0774810456.
  7. [7]
    L., Klemen (1999–2000). "Chronology of the Dutch East Indies, 12 December 1941 – 18 December 1941". Forgotten Campaign: The Dutch East Indies Campaign 1941–1942.
  8. [8]
    Jessica Lam, Food, South China Morning Post, 7 June 2007
  9. [9]
    "Yung Kee", Frommer's, 2010, retrieved 15 July 2010
  10. [10]
    Liam Fitzpatrick, "Hong Kong: 10 Things to Do. Lin Heung Tea House", Time Travel
  11. [11]
    Hong Kong Tourism Board: Lin Heung Tea House
  12. [12]
    "Lin Heung Tea House: Dim sum elder", CNN, 14 July 2009
  13. [13]
    "Branch information – Hong Kong Island". Tsui Wah Restaurant. Tsui Wah Group. Retrieved 15 April 2013.

Bibliography

  • Wiltshire, Trea (2012). A Stroll Through Colonial Hong Kong. FormAsia Books Ltd. ISBN 978-988-15562-3-3.
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