Jardine's Lookout

Jardine's Lookout (Chinese: 渣甸山) is a mountain and a residential area on the Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located on the south of Happy Valley, east of Causeway Bay, and west of Mid-levels East, at an altitude of approximately 433 metres.[1] Nearby hills include Mount Nicholson, Violet Hill and Mount Butler. Administratively, it is part of Wan Chai District.

Jardine's Lookout, Hong Kong
渣甸山
View of Jardine's Lookout from Victoria Harbour
Highest point
Elevation433 m (1,421 ft)
Coordinates22°18′43.48″N 114°14′44.36″E 
Geography
Jardine's Lookout, Hong Kong
Location of Jardine's Lookout in Hong Kong
Location Hong Kong

History

Jardine's Lookout is named after William Jardine, founder of Jardine Matheson. It was from here, in the days of the sailing ships, that a watch was kept for the first glimpse of the sails of the firm's clippers coming from India and London. As soon as a vessel was signaled, a fast whaleboat was sent out to collect Jardines' mails. The correspondence was rushed back to the office so that the directors could have the first possible information on the world's markets. (This practice saved the company on at least one occasion, in 1866, when it learned of the collapse of the discount house Overend, Gurney and Company, about one hour before others did, and quickly withdrew its balances at a local bank before anyone else had heard of the news.)

Jardine's Lookout was the sight of fierce conflict in the Battle of Hong Kong and particularly, the Battle of Wong Nai Chung Gap. The Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps and Middlesex Machine gunners manned two pillboxes and other areas defending the pass around Jardine's Catchwater, as well as Canadian Winnipeg Grenadiers defending the adjacent Mount Butler. Japanese forces, after landing on the North Shore of Hong Kong Island; used Sir Cecil's Ride and moved up to this pass midway up the lookout and were engaged by Commonwealth forces. The fighting was the preliminary conflict in the Battle of Wong Nai Chung Gap.

Residential area
Jardine's Lookout is the hill in the centre. Wong Nai Chung Reservoir is in the foreground.

Due to its scenic view and low population density, it has been considered an upper-class neighbourhood; residences situated there are amongst the most expensive of Hong Kong, and the population mainly consists of highly placed expatriates, government officials, and successful business people.

The area is a localised gated community with large detached houses in private lots and more moderate townhouses. Low-rise and high-rise apartments make up the rest of the community. In 2011, the area had a population of 15,533.[2]

This community is conveniently linked with public transportation and well-equipped with facilities. Jardine's Lookout is only a 10-minute drive to Central and 5-minute drive to Causeway Bay, (given good traffic) where the Cross Harbor Tunnel is located, making the travel to the Kowloon easy.

Jardine's Lookout has a grocery store, deli, florists, post office and many small provisions stores.

Famous residents

In June 2016 the Government of Canada sold the official residence of the Consul General located at 6 Goldsmith Road.[3]

Education

Located on Blue Pool Road, the Lycée Français International Victor Segalen, the French international school, maintains its Blue Pool Road campus, housing the administration and secondary school section, in Happy Valley.[4]

Located on Blue Pool Road, the Hong Kong Japanese School's Happy Valley Campus is in the community.[5] The Happy Valley campus houses the primary education section.

Located on Blue Pool Road, Hong Chi Lions Morninghill School offers special education for children with mild intellectual disability.

Transport

There are taxis and buses that can bring residents to main districts in Hong Kong.

Major Thoroughfares, Roads and Streets
  • Boyce Road
  • Clementi Road
  • Cooper Road
  • Creasy Road
  • Henderson Road
  • Moorsom Drive
  • Moorsom Road
  • Mount Butler Drive
  • Mount Butler Road
  • Perkins Road
  • Price Road
  • Sir Cecil’s Ride
  • Tai Hang Drive
  • Tai Hang Road
  • Wilson Road

See also
Names related to Jardine

References
  1. Bernie Owen; Raynor Shaw (2007). Hong Kong Landscapes: Shaping the Barren Rock. Hong Kong University Press. p. 189. ISBN 978-962-209-847-3.
  2. "2011 Population Census – Fact Sheet for Wan Chai District Council Jardine's Lookout (B06)". Census and Statistics Department. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  3. "Canadian consulate sells luxury Hong Kong home, but not to fugitive Joseph Lau". South China Morning Post. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  4. "Campuses - Blue Pool Road." Lycée Français International Victor Segalen. Retrieved on 25 January 2015. "165 Blue Pool Road, Happy Valley"
  5. "About JIS Archived 12 January 2015 at WebCite"(Archive). Hong Kong Japanese School. Retrieved on 12 January 2015.

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