Green Island is an
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
off the northwest coast of
Kennedy Town,
Hong Kong Island, separated by the
Sulphur Channel
The Sulphur Channel is a narrow inshore passage between Green Island and the northwest tip of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The Sulphur Channel is mainly used by small craft and inter-island ferries passing between Victoria Harbour and the Eas ...
. A smaller island nearby to the east, uninhabited, is called Little Green Island (). Administratively, the two islands are part of
Central and Western District
The Central and Western District () located on northwestern part of Hong Kong Island is one of the 18 administrative districts of Hong Kong. It had a population of 243,266 in 2016. The district has the most educated residents with the secon ...
.
Buildings
Green Island is largely uninhabited and at the east coast is Green Island Reception Centre and Green Island Police Station. On the top of the hill is an office of the
Marine Department and a lighthouse southwest guides the ships in Sulphur Channel.
Lighthouse compound
The buildings of the Green Island Lighthouse Compound were
declared as monuments, In 2008. The historic buildings include the two lighthouses built in 1875 and 1905 and the European quarters of the lighthouse compound. These three buildings are individually
Grade II historic buildings.
The first lighthouse, tall and constructed of
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
, began operation on 1 July 1875. There are two cross-shaped openings on its wall for ventilation and lighting. The openings resemble gun-posts like those found in medieval European castles. These are of the same construction as those found on the
Cape Collinson Lighthouse at Siu Sai Wan, Hong Kong Island. It was later disused in 1905 because the building was too small to carry the lens from the
Cape D'Aguilar Lighthouse
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.
History
Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
.
Construction began on a second lighthouse in 1904, completed in 1905, which was originally intended to house the
Cape D’Aguilar light. Built of granite and concrete, sitting beside its predecessor, the newer lighthouse is tall, painted white, with a steel-caged lantern on top. A concrete spiral staircase with rails gives access to the lantern room. An upper floor was added to the keeper's house in 1923 and the lighthouse was automated in the 1970s. The two lighthouses, along with Cape D'Aguilar Lighthouse,
Waglan Island Lighthouse and
Tang Lung Chau Lighthouse
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) ...
(Kap Sing Lighthouse) are the only prewar lighthouses remaining.
Living quarters and house
The keeper's house has a flat roof and is designed in an 'L' shape. The house has arched windows and hanging eaves.
The quarters was converted to the Police Recreation Centre for an unknown time. It is currently leased to the Wu Oi Christian Centre as a youth drug treatment rehabilitation centre.
Green Island Reception Centre
The
Green Island Reception Centre () was historically used as a temporary reception centre for
Vietnamese refugees
Vietnamese boat people ( vi, Thuyền nhân Việt Nam), also known simply as boat people, refers to the refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its h ...
. As of 1997, it was used to accommodate Vietnamese illegal immigrants (VIIs) temporarily for quarantine purposes. The Centre was then managed by the
CSD.
Flora and fauna
The island is densely covered with
woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...
and tall scrub. A total of 150 plant species and a large variety of butterfly species has been found. One ant species not previously found elsewhere in Hong Kong was recorded on Green Island. The locally rare
reef egret and
white-bellied sea eagle
The white-bellied sea eagle (''Haliaeetus leucogaster''), also known as the white-breasted sea eagle, is a large diurnal bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Originally described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1788, it is closely related t ...
have been seen on the island.
Air traffic
Green Island is an important reporting point for location aviation in Hong Kong for entry to Victoria Harbour by air. All local traffic flying into or out of the harbour must report overhead Green Island. As the harbour is quite narrow and aviation traffic can be heavy at times due to the large number of helicopters and light aircraft, Green Island can also act as a holding point before permission to enter is granted by air traffic control.
Weather station
Shelved reclamation plan
In the 1990s, the
Hong Kong Government proposed reclaiming approximately of land from
Sulphur Channel
The Sulphur Channel is a narrow inshore passage between Green Island and the northwest tip of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The Sulphur Channel is mainly used by small craft and inter-island ferries passing between Victoria Harbour and the Eas ...
to provide accommodation for a population of 103,465 and more road infrastructure. This included a coastal highway from
Kennedy Town to
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
(then called Route 7) and
a fourth cross-harbour tunnel to a proposed container port at North
Lantau
Lantau Island (also Lantao Island, Lan Tao) is the largest island in Hong Kong, located West of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, and is part of the New Territories. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the Islands Dis ...
.
This proposal was shelved due to strong opposition from environmental concern groups.
See also
*
List of lighthouses in Hong Kong
*
Waglan Lighthouse
*
Cape D'Aguilar Lighthouse
A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck.
History
Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. Th ...
*
Tang Lung Chau Lighthouse
Tang or TANG most often refers to:
* Tang dynasty
* Tang (drink mix)
Tang or TANG may also refer to:
Chinese states and dynasties
* Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) ...
References
External links
Biodiversity of the island (WWF HK)"Review of Egretries in Hong Kong", in ''Hong Kong Biodiversity'', Issue No. 14 March 2007, pp. 1-6.Aerial image from Google Map*
*
{{Lighthouse identifiers , qid2=Q15920165
Victoria Harbour
Central and Western District, Hong Kong