Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park is a waterfront

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

in the

Sai Ying Pun Sai Ying Pun is an area in Western District, on Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. It is administratively part of the Central and Western District. Etymology In Cantonese, ''Sai'' () means "west" and ''Ying Pun'' () means "camp", especially a ...

area of

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 ...

, facing

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 park is named after

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

, and is the only one in

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 Delt ...

named for a Chinese historic figure.

History

Residents of

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

had long lamented the limited recreation and leisure options in the district. Two recreation projects on the Western reclamation near Sai Ying Pun were approved in the

Urban Council The Urban Council (UrbCo) was a municipal council in Hong Kong responsible for municipal services on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon (including New Kowloon). These services were provided by the council's executive arm, the Urban Servic ...

Capital Works Programme 1986/87–1990/91: an indoor games hall (now the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre) and the original Western Park. Only part of the site was originally released to the Urban Council since most of the land was required for the construction of the

Western Harbour Crossing The Western Harbour Crossing (WHC) is a dual 3-lane immersed tube tunnel in Hong Kong. It is the third road tunnel to cross Victoria Harbour, linking the newly reclaimed land in Yau Ma Tei on Kowloon West with Sai Ying Pun on Hong Kong Isl ...

in the 1990s. Western Park, comprising two hectares, opened in 1991. Construction of the Western Park Sports Centre commenced in May 1992, and the facility opened on 22 May 1995. It was renamed Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre on 1 June 2011. In 1999, the Provisional Urban Council approved the redevelopment of the park into a memorial park for

. This opened in 2003, but only as a temporary park and still only occupying part of the waterfront reclamation. The rest of the waterfront lands lay idle and fenced off, under the management of the

Lands Department The Lands Department is a government department under the Development Bureau responsible for all land matters in Hong Kong. Established in 1982, it comprises three functional offices: the Lands Administration Office, the Survey and Mapping Off ...

, following completion of the Western Harbour Crossing. The park was criticised for failing to live up to its name, containing little more than a plaque quoting Dr. Sun. Expansion of the park was planned, but delayed due to budgetary constraints. The expansion and redevelopment of the park was among 25 priority projects identified in the 2005 policy address. The park closed on 28 March 2008 for reconstruction. Phase one of the reconstructed park opened to the public on 26 June 2010. The Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Swimming Pool, which offers a 50-metre pool and a smaller teaching pool, opened on 30 November 2011.

Features

Sculptures at Promenade, Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park

* Basketball courts (2) * Children's playground * Fitness stations * Football pitch (7-a-side) * Jogging track * Memorial lawn * Reflecting pool * Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre ** Children's play room ** Dance room ** Fitness room ** Gymnasium ** Squash/table tennis rooms * Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Swimming Pool ** Competition pool (50 metres) ** Teaching pool ** Spectator stand ** Sunbathing area * Toilets * Waterfront promenade

References

External links

* {{coord, 22.29, N, 114.145, E, source:kolossus-zhwiki, display=title Sai Ying Pun Monuments and memorials to Sun Yat-sen Urban public parks and gardens in Hong Kong

History

Features

See also

References

External links