![Marymount Secondary School](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Marymount_Secondary_School.JPG)
Blue Pool Road is a road linking
Happy Valley and
Wong Nai Chung Gap
Wong Nai Chung Gap () is a geographic gap in the middle of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The gap is between Mount Nicholson and Jardine's Lookout behind Wong Nai Chung (Happy Valley). Five roads meet at the gap: Wong Nai Chung Gap Road, Tai T ...
on
Hong Kong Island,
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
.
Location
Blue Pool Road is divided into two sections. The first and longest section starts at
Wong Nai Chung Road
Wong Nai Chung Road ( Chinese: 黃泥涌道) is a major road in Happy Valley, Hong Kong. It is a U-shaped road that encircles the southern and eastern sides of the Happy Valley Racecourse.
Location
Wong Nai Chung Road starts northeast at the j ...
, opposite the southeastern part of
Happy Valley Racecourse
The Happy Valley Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing and is a tourist attraction in Hong Kong. It is located in Happy Valley, Hong Kong, Happy Valley on Hong Kong Island, surrounded by Wong Nai Chung Road and Morrison H ...
and continues uphill, until a roundabout at
Tai Hang Road
Tai Hang Road () is a major road on the north side of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. Starting low from Tai Hang at Tung Lo Wan Road, Causeway Bay, it winds up to So Kon Po and further up to the mid-levels of Jardine's Lookout and Mount Nicholso ...
. The second section starts Tai Hang Road and continues uphill and ends in a dead end.
History
The road was previously occupied by Wong Nai Chung Village (黃泥涌村), which was settled by the Ngs (吳) and Yips (葉), both
Hakkas
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan ...
from the Mainland,
before British Colonization on Hong Kong Island. It was located part-way up the slope that Blue Pool Road follows today and below today's Village Road.
Wong Nai Chung Village was replaced with residential buildings in the 1920s, as a consequence of urban development.
The street is named after the former "Blue Pool", a natural feature near the former Wong Nai Chung Village, in which people could bathe until around World War I. The Pool was fed by the Wong Nai Chung river, which then flowed into
Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental in ...
.
During the
Battle of Hong Kong, troops of the
Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps
The Royal Hong Kong Regiment (The Volunteers) (RHKR(V)) ()), formed in May 1854, was a local auxiliary militia force funded and administered by the colonial Government of Hong Kong. Its powers and duties were mandated by the Royal Hong Kong R ...
took part in the battle for
Wong Nai Chung Gap
Wong Nai Chung Gap () is a geographic gap in the middle of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The gap is between Mount Nicholson and Jardine's Lookout behind Wong Nai Chung (Happy Valley). Five roads meet at the gap: Wong Nai Chung Gap Road, Tai T ...
on 18–20 December 1941, and held several positions, including at Blue Pool Road.
On 22 December 1941, a massacre of Chinese civilians by Japanese troops occurred at Blue Pool Road.
About 30 civilians were killed at Blue Pool Road during the Battle of Hong Kong.
Features
Blue Pool Road has several steep slopes. It is mainly lined with residential apartments, although there are a number of shops and the odd boutique hotel along the road. Several schools are located in the upper part of the street.
;First section
*No. 9: a temple complex occupies a small hill at the intersection with Ventris Road. It is the site of a
Tam Kung Temple and a
Tin Hau Temple
Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong are dedicated to Tin Hau (Mazu). Over 100 temples are dedicated (at least partially) to Tin Hau in Hong Kong. A list of these temples can be found below.
Famous temples
Famous Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong include:
...
. The Tam Kung Temple was built in 1901 after the previous one located on a slope near the
Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital
Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, or HKSH, is a private hospital established in 1922 in Happy Valley, Hong Kong.
The hospital has more than 500 beds and various room types and facilities. It also has a 24 hours outpatient consultation service.
...
in Happy Valley, in the former Wong Nai Chung Village,
[Brief Information on No Grade Items](_blank)
. Items #1404 and #1413. was demolished during urban development. According to a story, Tam Kung appeared to a young boy in a dream and guided him to the present site, which was regarded as selected by the deity for the new location of the temple.
A Tin Hau Temple, also relocated in 1901, is situated at the back of this temple. The temples have been managed by the
Chinese Temples Committee
The Chinese Temples Committee () is a statutory body in Hong Kong established in 1928 under the Chinese Temples Ordinance () (Cap. 153). It is mainly responsible for the operation and management of twenty-four temples directly under its management ...
since 1929.
*No. 60: building housing the
UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
Hong Kong head office and the administrative office of the
Hong Kong Ballet
The Hong Kong Ballet () is a classical ballet company founded in 1979.
History
The company was created in 1979.
Since 1997, The Hong Kong Ballet has concluded more than 30 tours to 10 countries in North and South America, Europe and Asia.
I ...
.
*Nos.118 and 120: two semi-detached houses which form one building. The plot was acquired in 1937 by Eu Tong-sen (余東旋), the founder of
Eu Yan Sang
Eu Yan Sang () is a company that specialises in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It currently runs 170 retail outlets in Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Macau, plus four factories in Hong Kong and Malaysia. The group also operates 28 TCM ...
, who built a number of apartment houses along Blue Pool Road and Broom Road. The three-storey apartment block was built in the
International Modern style of the 1930s. The building was listed as a
Grade III historic building in January 2010.
*No. 123:
Marymount Secondary School
Marymount Secondary School (Abbreviation: MSS; Chinese: 瑪利曼中學; Demonym: Marymountian) is an all-girls Roman Catholic secondary school located in Happy Valley, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The medium of instruction is English. I ...
, a Catholic girls' school. The school moved to this location in October 1957.
;Second section
*No. 157:
Hong Kong Japanese School
The Hong Kong Japanese School and Japanese International School (HKJS&JIS) is a Japanese international school in Hong Kong. It consists of a Japanese section and international section. The Hong Kong Japanese School Limited operates the school sy ...
(primary section). Opened in 1976.
*No. 165:
Lycée Français International Victor Segalen
French International School "Victor Segalen" of Hong Kong (FIS in English, french: Lycée français international Victor-Segalen; LFI; ) is a French international school in Hong Kong. It is the only accredited French school in Hong Kong (lin ...
(French International School), secondary section
Lycée Français International de Hong Kong: Sites – Blue Pool Road
/ref>
Transport
The lower end of Blue Pool Road is located near the Hong Kong Tramways
Hong Kong Tramways (HKT) is a narrow-gauge tram system in Hong Kong. Owned and operated by RATP Dev Transdev Asia, the tramway runs on Hong Kong Island between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan, with a branch circulating through Happy Valley.
...
Happy Valley terminus. Bus routes 1, 1P and 19 also service on the upper end of Blue Pool Road.
See also
* List of streets and roads in Hong Kong
*Tathong Channel
Tathong Channel (), also known as Nam Tong Hoi Hap (, originally ), refers to the eastern sea waters in Hong Kong leading into Victoria Harbour through Lei Yue Mun
Lei Yue Mun is a short channel in Hong Kong. It lies between Junk Bay and Vi ...
References
External links
Google Maps of Blue Pool Road
Some details about Blue Pool Road air-raid shelter
{{coord, 22.268109, 114.187689, type:landmark_source:enwiki-googlemaplink, display=title
Happy Valley, Hong Kong
Wong Nai Chung Gap
Roads on Hong Kong Island