Wellington Street, Hong Kong

Wellington Street (Chinese: 威靈頓街) is a one-way street located in Central and Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, it stretches from Wyndham Street to Queen's Road Central. The two sides of street is a mosaic of old and new buildings. Varieties of trades can be found on the street level. Street markets can be found in the adjacent lanes.

Wellington Street
The eastern part of Wellington Street
Native name威靈頓街
LocationCentral, Hong Kong
Coordinates
East endWyndham Street
West endQueen's Road Central
Construction
Completionc. mid-1840s
Wellington Street, Hong Kong
Looking west in Wellington Street, near the junction with Lyndhurst Terrace.
Traditional Chinese威靈頓街
Simplified Chinese威灵顿街
The Central–Mid-levels escalators crossing Wellington Street.

Location

The street is located at the bottom of Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island and next to Queen's Road Central which serves as one of the main roads through the central business district. Wellington Street ends westwards at the end of Central and the beginning of Sheung Wan (the border between Central and Sheung Wan is marked by Aberdeen Street).[1]

History

The old Roman Catholic cathedral—the first Catholic church in Hong Kong—was built in 1843 at the junction of Pottinger Street and Wellington Street[2] and was destroyed in a fire in 1859. It was rebuilt with iconic twin steeples at its facade. However, space constraints led to a different site being selected in the 1880s;[3] this was located above Caine Road by the Glenealy Ravine. When construction on the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception was completed 1888, the old Wellington Street cathedral was demolished.[4]

Japanese prostitutes constituted the majority of Japanese residents of Hong Kong in the late 19th century, and there were 13 licensed Japanese brothels and 132 prostitutes in Hong Kong in 1901. These brothels were initially located in Central, mostly on Hollywood Road, Stanley Street and Wellington Street. They later moved to Wan Chai.[5]

Features

The street houses many shops on ground level and offices above with some housing. Notable businesses in Wellington Street include restaurants such as Mak's Noodle, Yung Kee,[6][7] Lin Heung Tea House[8][9][10] and Tsui Wah Restaurant.[11]

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. Yanne, Andrew; Heller, Gillis (2009). Signs of a Colonial Era. Hong Kong University Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-962-209-944-9.
  2. Wordie, Jason (2002). Streets: exploring Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong University Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-962-209-563-2.
  3. Wiltshire, p. 189
  4. Chan, Dora (12 September 1999). "Wellington Street". South China Morning Post. p. 32. Retrieved 15 April 2013. (subscription required)
  5. Ng, Benjamin Wai-ming (7 October 2005). "Chapter 6 – Making of a Japanese Community in Prewar Period (1841–1941)". In Chu, Cindy Yik-yi (ed.). Foreign Communities in Hong Kong, 1840s–1950s. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 120. ISBN 9781403980557.
  6. Jessica Lam, Food, South China Morning Post, 7 June 2007
  7. "Yung Kee", Frommer's, 2010, retrieved 15 July 2010
  8. Liam Fitzpatrick, "Hong Kong: 10 Things to Do. Lin Heung Tea House", Time Travel
  9. Hong Kong Tourism Board: Lin Heung Tea House
  10. "Lin Heung Tea House: Dim sum elder", CNN, 14 July 2009
  11. "Branch information – Hong Kong Island". Tsui Wah Restaurant. Tsui Wah Group. Retrieved 15 April 2013.

Bibliography

  • Wiltshire, Trea (2012). A Stroll Through Colonial Hong Kong. FormAsia Books Ltd. ISBN 978-988-15562-3-3.
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