Cheung Sha Wan

Residential buildings in Cheung Sha Wan.

Cheung Sha Wan (Chinese: 長沙灣; pinyin: Chángshāwān) 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. The Sham Shui Po District includes Mei Foo as well as Lai Chi Kok.

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.

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.

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 also many wholesale clothes markets in the area.

Events

In April 2006, a total of 580 unused shells left 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.

Reclamation of West Kowloon

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 ship-building 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.

Housing

Private housing estates

Several of the private housing estates were built on a former site of a shipyard which was relocated owning 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. It comprises 5 residential towers and retail podium completed in 2003.
• 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.
• Liberté consists of seven residential towers, five of which rank among the 100 tallest buildings in the city. Towers 1, 2 and 3 each rise 181 metres (594 ft), towers 5 and 6 rise 180 metres (591 ft) The complex was completed in 2003.
• The Pacifica (Chinese: 宇晴軒) complex consists of approximately 2,000 condominiums in six residential towers, 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, Construction began in 2002 and the complex was completed in 2006.

Private housing estates

Main article: Public housing estates in Cheung Sha Wan

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 was having the most expensive rental fees within the Sham Shui Po District.

Transport

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

• Cheung Sha Wan Station and,
• Lai Chi Kok Station.

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.