Possession Street
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Possession Street (Chinese: 水坑口街) is a street in Sheung Wan, from Queen's Road West to Hollywood Road, on the Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The street marks the boundary of Queen's Road West and Queen's Road Central.[1]
Name
The original Chinese name was 波些臣街 (Po Se Son Kai), based on the pronunciation of English name. It was later renamed to 水坑口街 (Sui Hang Hou Kai) after a nullah beside.
History
On 20 January 1841, Charles Elliot of Britain and Qishan of the Qing dynasty agreed to the Convention of Chuenpi. A navy official Edward Belcher led a fleet to land in Hong Kong. The surveyors of fleet found an elevated plain near the shore suitable for camping in the west side of the island. A road was built from the shore to the camp. The road became Possession Street later. The elevated plain is present-day Hollywood Road Garden, also known as Tai Tat Tei.
On 26 January 1841, the commander of Far East Fleet James John Gordon Bremer came to Hong Kong by HMS Calliope. A flag rise and gun ceremony marked the official possession of Hong Kong. And the landing venue was renamed as Possession Point.
At the end of the 19th century, the street was full of brothels, until 1903, when they were relocated to Shek Tong Tsui[2] and the premises was replaced with housing. It resulted in the golden period of Shek Tong Tsui, tong sai fung yuet (塘西風月), where wealthy Chinese merchants gathered.
See also
References
- ^ Possession Street on Google Maps
- ^ "Early Hong Kong Brothels", Exhibition at the University Museum and Art Gallery, 26 November 2003 to 29 February 2004
