Tai Ping Shan Street is a street marking the early colonial history in Hong Kong. Located at the north slope of Victoria Peak in

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 ...

, the street starts east from a

ladder street Ladder Street is a street in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, consisting entirely of stone steps. One of the most visited temples in Hong Kong, the Man Mo Temple, is on Hollywood Road at the corner of Ladder Street. There is also the oldest western h ...

at the junction with

Bridges Street Bridges Street () is a 300-metre two-way street in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Location On the east, the street intersects Shing Wong Street and Staunton Street. On the west, it intersects Square Street. The west side of the street ends with a s ...

and end west in Po Yan Street near Tung Wah Hospital. The street runs parallel to Hollywood Road. Today, Tai Ping Shan Street is well known for its contemporary art, with plenty of pop-up galleries and other specialty retailers offering their wares to shoppers passing by.

History

''Tai Ping Shan'' () is an alternative name to Victoria Peak, and literally means "Peace Hill". After the cession 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 ...

from

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu people, Manchu-led Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin (1616–1636), La ...

to the British in the 1840s, British forces made garrison here and later the government relocated all Chinese residents in Choong Wan to the area surrounding Tai Ping Shan Street. The Chinese writer Wang Tao wrote in 1860 that the street was full of brothels: "gaudy houses, sporting brightly painted doors and windows with fancy curtains". In May 1894, the

bubonic plague Bubonic plague is one of three types of plague caused by the plague bacterium (''Yersinia pestis''). One to seven days after exposure to the bacteria, flu-like symptoms develop. These symptoms include fever, headaches, and vomiting, as well a ...

, which had been ravaging China, erupted and caused massive deaths in the area during the

1894 Hong Kong plague The 1894 Hong Kong plague, part of the third plague pandemic, was a major outbreak of the bubonic plague in Hong Kong. While the plague was harshest in 1894, it returned annually between 1895 and 1929, and killed over 20,000 in total, with a fata ...

. The

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government, refers to the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong Special administrative regions of China, ...

soon implemented a series of measures including cleaning of street, demolishing residences to build Blake Garden, and establishing the Bacteriological Institute. The street's population soared after the

Eight-Nation Alliance The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, then besieged by the popular Boxer militia, who were determined to remove fo ...

invasion of China in 1900.

References

External links

* * Sheung Wan Roads on Hong Kong Island {{HK-road-stub

History

See also

References

External links