Wan Chai District is one of the 18 districts of

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 ...

. Of the four 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 ...

, it is north-central, and had 166,695 residents in 2021, an increase from 152,608 residents in 2011. The district has the second-highest educationally qualified residents with the highest-bracket incomes, the second-lowest population and the third-oldest quotient. It is a relatively affluent district, with one in five persons having liquid assets of more than

HKD The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong and ...

1 million.

Geography

The area known as ''

Wan Chai Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to th ...

'' is loosely that surrounding

Tonnochy Road Tonnochy Road () is a street in Wan Chai on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. It runs from Hennessy Road, across Lockhart Road, Jaffe Road, Gloucester Road, to Hung Hing Road near Victoria Harbour. The wide Gloucester Road divides Tonnochy Roa ...

and the

Wan Chai station Wan Chai () is a List of MTR stations, station on the of the Hong Kong MTR. The livery colour is lime green. It serves the Wan Chai locality within the district of the same name. The station platforms are located underneath Hennessy Road, a ma ...

of the

MTR The Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is a major public transport network serving :Hong Kong. Operated by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), it consists of heavy rail, light rail, and feeder bus service centred on a 10-line rapid transit network ...

, which is between

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral * Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Tr ...

on the west and

Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is list of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong, an area and Victoria Park, Hong Kong, a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern and the Wan Chai District, Wan Chai ...

on the east. ''Wan Chai North'', where major buildings such as the

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) is one of the two major convention and exhibition venues in Hong Kong, along with AsiaWorld–Expo. It is located in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Island. Built along the Victoria Harbou ...

and Central Plaza stand, refers to the zone north of Gloucester Road,

reclaimed Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lak ...

from the sea after the 1970s. The broader administrative "Wan Chai District" includes the areas of

Wan Chai North Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area nort ...

, Happy Valley,

Jardine's Lookout Jardine's Lookout () is a mountain in Wan Chai District, Hong Kong with a height of . It is located east of Happy Valley, south of Causeway Bay, and west of Braemar Hill and north of Tai Tam Country Park. A low-density residential area called ...

Stubbs Road Stubbs Road is a road located in Mid-Levels East, Central, Hong Kong, which connects Happy Valley to The Peak area on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, through an area near the Wong Nai Chung Gap. It runs uphill from Queen's Road East and goes thr ...

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 ...

and

Tai Hang Tai Hang () is an area southeast of Causeway Bay located in the mid-north of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is home to many luxurious private apartments. Residents are predominantly more affluent Hong Kong locals and expatriate profession ...

History

The ceremony of the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was performed in the then new wing of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai North. In May 2009, 300 guests and staff members at the Metropark Hotel Wanchai were quarantined, suspected of being infected or in contact with the

H1N1 virus In virology, influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (A/H1N1) is a subtype of influenza A virus. Major outbreaks of H1N1 strains in humans include the Spanish flu, the 1977 Russian flu pandemic and the 2009 swine flu pandemic. It is an orthomyxovirus ...

during the

2009 swine flu pandemic The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1 influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, is the third recent flu pandemic involving the H1N1 virus (the first being the 1918–1920 Span ...

. A 25-year-old Mexican man who had stayed at the hotel was later found to have the viral infection. He had travelled to Hong Kong from Mexico via Shanghai.

Politics

The district council of Wan Chai has 13 elected members.

Diversity

Today Wan Chai is sometimes described as the ''heart of the city'', representing the epitome of the Hong Kong lifestyle – it has a well-established arts centre, the large exhibition and conference complexes, luxury apartments, five-star and non-five-star hotels, shopping malls, metropolitan office towers and a large government building cluster. It has a multitude of home decoration shops, bars and

Mahjong Mahjong or mah-jongg (English pronunciation: ) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players (with some three-play ...

centres. Wan Chai District houses a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

, as well as

cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

for several different faiths. Five minutes away from the noisy polluted streets is Bowen Drive, popular for jogging and walking by politicians, movie stars, and government officials.

Entertainment and shopping

The numerous bars and

strip joints A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other Erotic dancing, erotic or exotic dances. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or Bar (establishment), bar style, and can also ...

in the

red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light districts are particu ...

part of Wan Chai are popular with tourists and visiting US sailors. Within this

Fenwick Pier Fenwick Pier () was located at 1 Lung King Street (), Wan Chai Northwest, Hong Kong Island. Managed by Servicemen's Guides Association (the SGA), a non-profit organization, Fenwick Pier had been in operation at the coastline of Wan Chai since 195 ...

hosted the only

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

that served alcohol in Hong Kong until 2004; its replacement is an up-market restaurant.

Johnston Road Johnston Road () is a major road in Wan Chai on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. Location Johnston Road spans from the junction with Heard Street, Hennessy Road and Stewart Road on its east, towards another junction with Hennessy Road and ...

and

Queen's Road East Queen's Road East is a street in Wan Chai, in the north of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, connecting Admiralty, Hong Kong, Admiralty in the west to Happy Valley, Hong Kong, Happy Valley in the east. Queen's Road East is one of the four ...

are the two major streets in the area. Export clothing shops line Johnston and Luard Roads predominantly. Queen's Road East has many stores selling Chinese style wooden furniture.

Spring Garden Lane Spring Garden Lane is a street in Wan Chai, Hong Kong, connecting Queen's Road East to its south, and Johnston Road to the north. It was one of the first focal areas developed by the British in Hong Kong during the 1840s. History During the ea ...

and Tai Wo Street are lined with stalls selling for vegetables, fruit and household items.

Tai Yuen Street Tai or TAI may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tai (comics) a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain *Tai Fraiser, a fictional character in the 1995 film ''Clueless'' *Tai Kamiya, a fictional character in ''Digimon'' Businesses and organisations ...

specialises in toys in stalls and shops.

Lee Tung Street Lee Tung Street (), known as the Wedding Card Street (; ) by locals, was a street in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. The street was famed in Hong Kong and abroad as a centre for publishing and for the manufacturing of wedding cards and other similar items ...

was in the 2010s converted into a Lee Tung Avenue zone of luxurious residential apartments, shopping, restaurants and bars.

Education

Notable places

Next to the

is the "

Golden Bauhinia Square The Golden Bauhinia Square () is an open area in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. The square was named after the giant statue of a golden ''Bauhinia blakeana'' at the centre of the area, situated outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, where ...

". There is a huge sculpture of a

bauhinia ''Bauhinia'' () is a large genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Cercidoideae and tribe Bauhinieae, in the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers Gaspard and Jo ...

, which is the representative flower of Hong Kong, in the square. This is a popular tourist spot in Hong Kong for mainland visitors and also the location of the flag-raising ceremony which occurs daily and in a special form on Chinese National Day and other occasions. Notable skyscrapers include: * Central Plaza, the third tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, located in Wan Chai North * Hopewell Centre The

Old Wan Chai Post Office The Old Wan Chai Post Office is the oldest surviving post office building in Hong Kong. It is situated at No. 221 Queen's Road East, at the junction with Wan Chai Gap Road. History The building was erected between 1912 and 1913, and opene ...

is a

declared monument Declared monuments of Hong Kong are places, structures or buildings legally declared to receive the highest level of protection. In Hong Kong, declaring a monument requires consulting the Antiquities Advisory Board, the approval of the Chief Exec ...

. There is also a Police Museum near the junction of

and Peak Road. The Stubbs Road Lookout is a viewing point of the

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 famous Lovers' Stone is on scenic

Bowen Road Bowen Road () is a road from the Mid-Levels to Wong Nai Chung Gap of Hong Kong Island, on the slope above Central, Wan Chai and Happy Valley in Hong Kong. Bowen Road starts from Magazine Gap Road near the rail of Peak Tram and ends at the jun ...

. The House of Trousers is a household belonging to one Mr Trousers who is beacon to all who refuse to leave the "Wan Chai Bubble".

is called 'Toy Street' as this street has a lot of toy shops.

Demographics

According to a household survey by the Census and Statistics Department, the median household income is the second highest of Hong Kong. As of 2021 , the district has a population of 166,695 people . It's one of the most diverse district in Hong Kong , with 75% of the population being Chinese. The ethnic minority groups include Filipinos (9.8%) and white (4.4%).

Cross-harbour transport

The first tunnel that crosses

, the

Cross-Harbour Tunnel The Cross-Harbour Tunnel (abbreviated ''CHT'' or ''XHT'') is the first tunnel in Hong Kong built underwater. It consists of two steel road tunnels each with two lanes constructed using the single shell immersed tube method. It is the earl ...

, links the former

Kellett Island Kellett Island is a former island of Victoria Harbour, off East Point, Hong Kong, East Point in Hong Kong. It is now connected to Hong Kong Island at Causeway Bay following Land reclamation in Hong Kong, land reclamation in 1969. It is lo ...

, now part of Wan Chai, with

Hung Hom Hung Hom () is an area in the southeast of Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Including the area of Whampoa, Tai Wan, Hok Yuen, Lo Lung Hang and No. 12 Hill are administratively part of the Kowloon City District, with a portion west of Hung Ho ...

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

. The

Star Ferry The Star Ferry is a passenger ferry service operator and tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Its principal routes carry passengers across Victoria Harbour, between Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon. The service is operated by the Star Ferry Com ...

operates a ferry route from

Wan Chai Pier The Wan Chai Pier (), or Wan Chai Ferry Pier (), is a pier at the coast of Wan Chai North on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. The pier is operated by Star Ferry, and provides ferry services to Tsim Sha Tsui. The pier is near the Hong Kong Con ...

near

Tsim Sha Tsui Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an list of areas of Hong Kong, urban area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hu ...

Appearances in popular culture

* The 2000 computer game ''

Deus Ex ''Deus Ex'' is a series of role-playing video games, set during the mid 21st century. Focusing on the conflict between secretive factions who wish to control the world by proxy, and the effects of transhumanistic attitudes and technologies in a ...

'' features Wan Chai Market as the main district in the Hong Kong chapters of the game. * Almost a third of the 2001 video game ''

Shenmue II ''Shenmue II'' is a 2001 action-adventure game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. It was directed, produced and written by Yu Suzuki. Like the original Shenmue (video game), ''Shenmue'' (1999), ''Shenmue II'' consists ...

'' is spent in Wan Chai. A small portion of the city is divided into fictional quarters modelled after similar locations. * The location of the 1957 novel and 1960 film ''

The World of Suzie Wong ''The World of Suzie Wong'' is a 1957 novel by British writer Richard Mason. The main characters are Robert Lomax, a young British artist living in Hong Kong, and Suzie Wong, the title character, a Chinese woman who works as a prostitute. ...

'' is set in Wan Chai. * The 2010 Hong Kong film ''

Crossing Hennessy ''Crossing Hennessy'' () is a 2010 Hong Kong film directed by Ivy Ho. It was filmed from March to May 2009, and stars Jacky Cheung and Tang Wei. It is a remake of ''Crossing Delancey'' (1988). It is a return to film both for Cheung, who has not ...

'' starring

Jacky Cheung Jacky Cheung Hok-yau (born 10 July 1961) is a Hong Kong singer and actor. Dubbed the "God of Songs", he is regarded as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong pop music. Cheung is known for his technically skilled vocals, lengthy tours, and m ...

and

Tang Wei use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , body_discovered = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates ...

is set in Wan Chai.

References

External links

Wan Chai District Council

List and map of electoral constituencies (large PDF file)

Rotary Club of Wanchai

* ttp://www.hkcec.com.hk/english/introduction/intro_locat_map.php Location map in Wan Chai– Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre {{Authority control Districts of Hong Kong Hong Kong Island