Heng Fa Chuen
Heng Fa Chuen (杏花邨) is a residential estate in the northeast of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong, and a 'member-town' of the Eastern District.
Heng Fa Chuen was founded in 1979, when land reclamation projects created land adjacent to Chai Wan. The town officially opened on 10 July 1982.
History
According to history books, the area which is now called Heng Fa Chuen was actually part of Chai Wan West 20 years ago. In fact, there was a large mine and quarry right beneath today's residential blocks. However, after consuming all of the quarry's resources, the miners moved to Chai Wan and formed a permanent town with their own MTR station and shopping center. The rest of the quarry was abolished by the Hong Kong Government and sold to land developers. In the 1970s, since MTR (or initial system) wanted to expand its metro network into the far reaches of the Hong Kong Island, it bought the land in conjunction as the rightful developer of the land, which was no sooner declared a residential estate. Construction of the town began on August 13, 1977 and ended on April 26, 1982.
On May 5, 1982, the MTR station officially opened its doors to citizens, albeit the town's population was only 57. The name of the station was initially Chai Wan West, but after the town got more and more crowded, it was eventually renamed Heng Fa Chuen, in honor of the flower named heng fa (杏花) that used to flourish on the hillsides of the once-present quarry.
Features
There is a total of 48 residential blocks, of which each of them is assigned a number in ascending order (from 1 to 50), but numbers 14 and 44 are omitted, accordingly because of each of the numbers' association with bad luck when interpreted in Chinese. There is a metro depot for the MTR Island Line, used for housing MTR trains.
All of the town's 48 residential blocks are under the authority of MTR Corporation, who has control over the MTR depot, and on top of it are 20 blocks of residential complexes. There is a recreation center near block 32 and 33, with two swimming pools, a gym, and a restaurant. There is also a fairly large shopping center named "Paradise Mall". There is a big PARKnSHOP supermarket, which in 1999 replaced the existing Carrefour (家樂福) giant chain supermarket. This Carrefour store, which had opened in 1997, had been the first one opened in Hong Kong.
Whenever you have the chance to go to Heng Fa Chuen via MTR or highway 8, you should take a stroll near the waterfront - not only is it beautiful and picturesque, but it is also a good place to escape from the busy metropolis of downtown Hong Kong.
Demographics
A total of 10,000 residents are currently inhabiting the town, with about half of them being 65 or older.
Education
There are 3 schools in Heng Fa Chuen:
- St. Dominic (聖道明) Kindergarten
- Salvation Army N. Y. Lee (救世軍) Primary School
- Lingnan (嶺南) Secondary School
Transportation
Heng Fa Chuen is served by the Heng Fa Chuen station of the MTR Hong Kong metro, on the Island_Line_%28MTR%29.
Miscellaneous
In middle 2002, in July, one of the town's famous resident, Iman Ng (吳子言), who lived in Block 2 and appeared on the Ming Pao newspaper for his achievements in the intense mathematics prepatory school Kumon, emigrated to the United States. He went to St. Joseph's College, Hong Kong (聖若瑟英文書院) in Central, Hong Kong. But his feats and legacies shall forever be remembered by all the townspeople.