Lan Kwai Fong

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Lan Kwai Fong
Traditional Chinese 蘭桂坊
Cantonese Jyutping laan4 gwai3 fong1
Lan Kwai Fong's bars spread to D'Aguilar Street
Lan Kwai Fong

Lan Kwai Fong is a small square of streets in Central, Hong Kong. The area was dedicated to hawkers before the Second World War, but underwent a renaissance in the mid 1980s. It is now a popular expatriate haunt in Hong Kong for drinking, clubbing and dining. The street Lan Kwai Fong is an L-shape with two ends joining with D'Aguilar Street.

Contents

[edit] History

Before the Second World War, Lan Kwai Fong was previously dedicated to hawkers.

In early days, the square housed many mui yan (媒人, lit. medium person), or marriage arrangers, a role exclusively held by females. Mui yan was a marriage medium between two families in the olden days. It was thus known as Mui Yan Hong (媒人巷, lit. medium person lane) or Hong Leung Hong (紅娘巷).

In 1975, German-Canadian businessman Allan Zeman, also known as the father of Lan Kwai Fong,[1] moved to Hong Kong. He felt it needed a western style restaurant, so he opened “California” in 1983 in Lan Kwai Fong which became his claim to fame. One year later, following this success, Zeman invested HK$32 million to buy a whole block and began a new career as an entertainer and property developer eventually founding the Lan Kwai Group and developing this location into one of Hong Kong’s most popular entertainment destinations for expatriates as well as tourists. Friday and Saturday nights are often jammed with people, leading to vehicle traffic being suspended at certain times, giving the streets over to pedestrians. The square, together with a gay club "Disco Disco" founded earlier in 1978 in D'Aguilar Street, made Lan Kwai Fong and its surroundings a famous spot for night life.

In 1992, more than 15,000 people were crammed into the area for the New Year countdown when a stampede caused the deaths of 21 people.[2]

[edit] Location

Lan Kwai Fong at night.
On a public holiday morning, Lan Kwai Fong
Lan Kwai Fong in the daytime.

Lan Kwai Fong as an area is defined by D'Aguilar Street and the smaller lane, Lan Kwai Fong, an L-shaped, cobble-stoned lane. Both streets turn 90 degrees to form a rectangle. From the west side of the rectangle, Wo On Lane and Wing Wah Lane extend to host several more spots for drinks and food. The area arguably extends to Wellington Street and Wyndham Street, through to the Hong Kong Fringe Club. It is also home to a small number of art galleries.

[edit] Features

Lan Kwai Fong is perhaps Hong Kong's most popular and well known area for a night out. Boasting numerous bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants, it is a popular choice for the well-off locals, expatriates and tourists. The high costs associated with the area makes this a relatively high class location, although the quality and reputation of this area is obvious virtually every night. Visiting on a Friday or Saturday night you may be overwhelmed by the enormous crowds that fill the streets (which are closed for several hours to vehicular traffic), with all bars having only standing room. In Lan Kwai Fong, a majority of the crowds are non-Cantonese speaking Hongkongers, expatriates, or foreigners[citation needed]. It is one of the places where English is the overwhelmingly predominant language, although many of the Cantonese-speaking Hongkongers are most likely bilingual.

[edit] Special occasions

The crowds during special occasions such as Halloween or New Year's Eve put the place at a literal standstill with the large numbers. Police control is guaranteed, to manage the crowds. On 1 January 1993, 21 people were killed and 48 injured in a large-scale human stampede whilst celebrating the New Year's Day in Lan Kwai Fong.[3] The location's narrow streets and a sloped gradient, poor police planning and bad weather all contributed to this disaster.

[edit] Transport

There are several ways to access Lan Kwai Fong other than taxi, which include:

Public transport

Car park, 2 nearest car parks around Lan Kwai Fong include:

  • Universal Trade Centre, 3 Arbuthnot Road

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ 盛智文 蘭桂坊之父
  2. ^ King of the hill looks to Hollywood's heights SCMP, 27 Mar 2006
  3. ^ ­蘭桂坊：廿四味與啤酒共存

[edit] External links

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lan Kwai Fong

Coordinates: 22°16′51.5″N 114°9′19.9″E / 22.280972°N 114.155528°E / 22.280972; 114.155528

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