Mount Davis or Mo Sing Leng is an area surrounding and including the westernmost hill on

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

, Hong Kong. It is 269m tall. Home to mostly luxury residences, Mount Davis was originally settled after the construction of

Victoria Road, Hong Kong Victoria Road is a main road near the west shore of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong connecting Kennedy Town and Wah Fu and an alternative connection of Pok Fu Lam Road. It begins north with Belcher's Street in Kennedy Town and goes along ...

by prominent Hong Kong families who were unable to live on Peak due to the zoning restriction in Peak District Reservation Ordinance, 1904. Western District View 201308

It is named after Sir John Francis Davis, who was the 2nd

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kong. ...

, from 1844 to 1848. The summit is reached via Mount Davis Path, which comes off Mount Davis Road and Victoria Road.

History

It was an important

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

depot of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

forces since 1911 (proposed in 1900). Five (later three) 9.2-inch guns were installed. It was heavily bombed by Japanese planes during the

Battle of Hong Kong The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the ...

. The depot was later demolished by British defences towards the end of the battle.

Geology

The geology of Mount Davis comprises dominantly

pyroclastic Pyroclastic rocks (derived from the el, πῦρ, links=no, meaning fire; and , meaning broken) are clastic rocks composed of rock fragments produced and ejected by explosive volcanic eruptions. The individual rock fragments are known as pyroc ...

rocks of the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

Repulse Bay Volcanic Group. This same kind of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

is common in the south of Hong Kong Island and the east and north

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

. The rock type in Mount Davis is mainly coarse ash crystal

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock cont ...

Features

Hong Kong Jockey Club Mount Davis Youth Hostel, operated by Hong Kong Youth Hostel Association, is located at 123 Mount Davis Path and it offers a panoramic view of

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 i ...

. The hostel has undergone a HK$9.54 million renovation, funded by the

Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...

, and re-opened in 2012. The hostel offers beds in dormitories, as well as two, four and six bed rooms. Self-catering facilities are provided, but no restaurant is available. The hostel provides a free shuttle service to

Shun Tak Centre Shun Tak Centre () is a commercial and transport complex on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. It comprises a 4-storey podium containing a shopping centre and car park, two 38-storey office towers, and the Hong ...

Sheung Wan Sheung Wan is an area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Western District. The name can be variously interpreted as ''Upper Dist ...

. There is an ionospheric station housing an

ionosonde An ionosonde, or chirpsounder, is a special radar for the examination of the ionosphere. The basic ionosonde technology was invented in 1925 by Gregory Breit and Merle A. Tuve and further developed in the late 1920s by a number of prominent phys ...

. The ionosonde was set up in a refurbished bunkhouse by Oulton Walker and Tim Closs of the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fi ...

Physics department in 1969. There are also microwave towers. The eastern side of the hill holds the

Chiu Yuen Cemetery Chiu Yuen Cemetery is a private cemetery located on Mount Davis, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. History The cemetery was established in 1897 under the initiative of Sir Robert Ho Tung and Ho Kam Tong. It was the only cemetery in Hong Kon ...

, a cemetery for the Eurasian community where many members of the influential Hotung family are buried. While

Kennedy Town Kennedy Town is at the western end of Sai Wan on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It was named after Arthur Edward Kennedy, the 7th Governor of Hong Kong from 1872 to 1877. Administratively, it is part of Central and Western District. Due to its ...

is on the north side, the southern and western sides are mostly low-rise developments, primarily residential but also home to

West Island School West Island School (WIS; ) is a co-educational, private, international secondary school in Hong Kong which provides an English-language education to students of all abilities from age eleven to eighteen with a "modern liberal education" based on ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Davis, Hong Kong Mountains, peaks and hills of Hong Kong

History

Geology

Features

See also

References