Cheung Sha Wan

Aerial view of Cheung Sha Wan

A junction near Fortune Estate in east Cheung Sha Wan.

Cheung Sha Wan (Chinese: 長沙灣) is an area between Lai Chi Kok and Sham Shui Po in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is mainly residential to the north and south, with an industrial area in between. Administratively it is part of Sham Shui Po District which includes Lai Chi Kok as well.

History

As its Chinese name suggests, it was formerly a bay with a long beach. It spans roughly from today's Butterfly Valley Road at the west to Yen Chow Street at the east. The beach was a gathering place for many Tanka fishermen before its development. The original shoreline approximates the present Castle Peak Road and Un Chau Street. Inland, villages of Om Yam, Ma Lung Hang, Pak Shu Lung, So Uk, Li Uk, Wong Uk and others sparsely occupied the whole bay of Cheung Sha Wan. Rivers from Beacon Hill, Crow's Nest and Piper's Hill formed a long plain behind the beach. Farmlands filled between villages. A larger river ran in Butterfly Valley separating Chueung Sha Wan and Lai Chi Kok. Sandbar was founded at its estuary.

The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb is located in Cheung Sha Wan, and dates from AD 25 - 220. It is the oldest known structure in Hong Kong, and demonstrates that early Chinese civilization had spread to Hong Kong by 2,000 years ago.

Before World War I, two ends, Lai Chi Kok and Sham Shui Po, of Cheung Sha Wan had been reclaimed. The former was for military use and the later emerged as a new town north of Tai Kok Tsui.

In April 2006, a total of 580 unused shells from the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong were found buried at Tonkin Street in Cheung Sha Wan. The residents were temporarily evacuated and the shells were detonated safely.

The bay of Cheung Sha Wan was reclaimed in several phases in the twentieth century. The last reclamation in 1990s extended the area close to Stonecutters Island. The shipbuilding and repair industries on the old shore were moved to near the island and the sites were replaced by some private housing estates constructed in the early 2000s.

Economy

Cheung Sha Wan was a manufacturing centre after the war, with a number of light industries, especially textile and clothing. After the PRC implemented its open door policy in the 1980s, many factories relocated to the mainland, vacating the area's industrial buildings (some of which have since been converted into offices and warehouses). There are several wholesale markets in Cheung Sha Wan. They include Cheung San Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market, Cheung Sha Wan Vegetable Wholesale Market and many wholesale clothes markets. The Vegetable Marketing Organisation's Premium Vegetable Packaging Centre also locates in central Cheung Sha Wan.

Housing

Private housing estates

Several of the private housing estates were built on a former site of a shipyard which was relocated owing to the commencement of the West Kowloon Reclamation, or reclaimed land adjacent to it.

Aqua Marine

• Aqua Marine (Chinese: 碧海藍天) is a private housing estate developed on the reclaimed land by Hang Lung Properties and Korean-based Hyundai Engineering and Construction.^[1] It comprises 5 residential towers and retail podium completed in 2003.^[2]
• Banyan Garden (Chinese: 泓景臺) consists of seven towers. Each of the tallest towers (tower 2, 6 and 7) has 57 floors and the roof height is 191 metres (627 feet). They are among the tallest buildings in Hong Kong and the 100 tallest residential buildings in the world since the complex was completed in 2003.^[3]
• Liberté consists of seven residential towers,^[4] five of which rank among the 100 tallest buildings in the territory. Towers 1, 2 and 3 each rise 181 metres (594 ft),^[5][6][7] towers 5 and 6 rise 180 metres (591 ft)^[8][9] The complex was completed in late 2003.^[10]
• The Pacifica (Chinese: 宇晴軒) complex consists of approximately 2,000 condominiums in six residential towers,^[11] each of which rank among the 70 tallest buildings in the city. The towers, numbered 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7, each rise 197 metres (646 ft) and 50-66 floors,^{[12][13][14][15]} Construction began in 2002 and the complex was completed in 2006.^[16]

Public housing estates

A new public housing estate named Hoi Lai Estate (formerly named Hoi Lai Court before the government turned it into a public housing estate) is located in the area and had the most expensive rental fees within the Sham Shui Po District.

Transport

MTR stations

The area is served by two stations on MTR Tsuen Wan Line:

• Cheung Sha Wan Station in the east and,
• Lai Chi Kok Station in the west.

Lai Chi Kok Station is actually located not in Lai Chi Kok, but in Cheung Sha Wan. The fact that references to Cheung Sha Wan can be found on many buildings and amenities near Lai Chi Kok Station continues to be a source of confusion for many.

Bus routes

These bus routes terminate in Cheung Sha Wan, but on Cheung Sha Wan Road, Lai Chi Kok Road and Castle Peak Road there are many more routes that are available.

To So Uk Estate:

• 2

Cheung Sha Wan Bus Terminus

To Chuk Yuen Estate:

• 2B

To Tsz Wan Shan North

• 2F

To Allway Gardens, Tsuen Wan

• 30

To Tai Wo

• 72

To Lee On Estate, Ma On Shan (via Lion Rock Tunnel):

• 86C

Kom Tsun Street bus terminus

To Sha Tin Wai (via Lion Rock Tunnel):

• 86A

Minibus routes

To Caritas Medical Centre:

• 45M

To Wonderland Villas:

• 97A

To Stonecutters Island:

• 44M (Public Holidays Only)

To Wonderland Villas:

• 97A

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cheung Sha Wan.