Happy Valley () is an upper-income residential

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an op ...

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 List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

, located on

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an 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/km2, . The island had a population of a ...

. The area is bordered by Caroline Hill to the east, Jardine's Lookout to the south,

Morrison Hill Morrison Hill ( or ) is an area and the location of a former hill between Wan Chai and Happy Valley, on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. History The hill was at the seashore until the Praya East Reclamation Scheme in the 1920s, which used ...

to the west, and

Causeway Bay Causeway Bay is an area and a bay on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, straddling the border of the Eastern and the Wan Chai districts. It is a major shopping, leisure and cultural centre in Hong Kong, with a number of major shopping centres. Th ...

to the north. Administratively, it is part of

Wan Chai District Wan Chai District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. Of the four on Hong Kong Island, it is north-central, and had 152,608 residents in 2011, a fall from 167,146 residents in 2001. The district has the second-highest educationally quali ...

. Happy Valley is considered as an area surrounded by Caroline Hill Road to the east,

Tai Hang Road Tai Hang Road () is a major road on the north side of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. Starting low from Tai Hang at Tung Lo Wan Road, Causeway Bay, it winds up to So Kon Po and further up to the mid-levels of Jardine's Lookout and Mount Nicholson ...

and

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 thro ...

to the south,

Canal Road Flyover Canal Road East (), Canal Road West () and the Canal Road Flyover () are important roads in the Wan Chai District of Hong Kong Island, between the areas of East Point near Causeway Bay, and Morrison Hill near Wan Chai. History Before urban dev ...

and westbound section of Wong Nai Chung Road to the west, and Leighton Road to the north. The area is home to the

Happy Valley Racecourse The Happy Valley Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing and is a tourist attraction in Hong Kong. It is located in Happy Valley on Hong Kong Island, surrounded by Wong Nai Chung Road and Morrison Hill Road. The capacity ...

, Hong Kong Racing Museum, Hong Kong Jockey Club Happy Valley Clubhouse, Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital,

Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road () is one of two Seventh-day Adventist hospitals in Hong Kong, the other being Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Tsuen Wan. It is a private hospital, and is located on Stubbs Road, on Hong Kong Islan ...

, home to a number of sports clubs including

Valley RFC Valley RFC is a sports club based in Hong Kong with a rugby section ( known as Societe Generale Valley RFC for sponsorship reasons) as well as Netball and Hockey sections. It also has a junior rugby academy called Valley Fort. The club is histo ...

rugby club, Craigengower Cricket Club, Hong Kong FC football club, and a number of cemeteries including the Hong Kong Cemetery.

History

The area now known as Happy Valley was formerly known as Wong Nai Chung Valley, sometimes known as Wong Nai Chung Kuk () or Wong Nai Chung Valley because of the (, ''lit.'' yellow mud stream) that leads into the area, where the Wong Nai Chung referred to is a mud-filled river collecting waters from the Wong Nai Chung Gap and surrounding area. The river nourished the

rice paddies A paddy field is a flooded field of arable land used for growing semiaquatic crops, most notably rice and taro. It originates from the Neolithic rice-farming cultures of the Yangtze River basin in southern China, associated with pre-Au ...

until the construction of

in 1846. In early 1840, the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

set a military camp in the area. However, the camp was later closed due to the increasing number of soldiers succumbing to

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...

. The cause of malaria was unknown at the time and the soldiers apparently suffered a then-unknown fever. Early settlers had suggested the area to be used as a business centre, but the idea was shelved due to the valley's marshy environment, which was causing fatal diseases. The death rate in the area and

Victoria City Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychell ...

was high in the early colonial days, and the valley became a burial ground for the dead. As a result, the valley was renamed ''Happy Valley'', a common euphemism for cemeteries. In 1846, the British felt that the valley terrain was ideal for horse-racing, and thus cleared the paddy fields and developed the Happy Valley Racecourse. For this, the Wong Nai Chung river was redirected to the Bowrington Canal, known as Ngo Keng Kan () locally, concurrent with the reclamation of

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 to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area n ...

. The canal is now covered by Canal Road. On 26 February 1918, there was a fire in the racecourse that claimed at least 590 lives. By the next day, as many as 576 confirmed deaths were reported by the Hong Kong Telegraph. It was caused by the collapse of a temporary grandstand, which knocked over food stalls and set bamboo matting ablaze. Most of the dead bodies became unrecognisable and assumed to be "Chinese". They were buried in the nearby So Kon Po area (now the site of

Hong Kong Stadium Hong Kong Stadium is the main sports venue of Hong Kong. Redeveloped from the old Government Stadium, it reopened as Hong Kong Stadium in March 1994. It has a maximum seating capacity of 40,000, including 18,260 at the main level, 3,173 at exec ...

). A Chinese-styled memorial site known as "Race Course Fire Memorial" was built in the Chinese cemetery (now behind the east stand of the stadium). In 1922, the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital located in Happy Valley started operation. On 19 December 1941, the

Japanese Imperial Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor ...

entered the hill east of the valley and fought their way to Blue Pool Road. On (now

Blue Pool Road Blue Pool Road is a road linking Happy Valley and Wong Nai Chung Gap on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Location Blue Pool Road is divided into two sections. The first and longest section starts at Wong Nai Chung Road, opposite the southeas ...

) a number of large massacres occurred, most notably the Blue Pool Road Massacre, where civilians were bayoneted. Civilians and Soldiers captured were kept in the appalling conditions of 'the black hole of Hong Kong' (a house on Blue Pool Road). The Japanese later advanced up to Wong Nai Chung Gap, where the battle of Wong Nai Chung Gap occurred, resulting in Japanese control of the gap. Although the low-areas of Happy Valley were captured, areas surrounding

Leighton Hill Leighton Hill () is a hill between Causeway Bay and Happy Valley, and the south of Leighton Road, Hong Kong. There were several air-raid shelters at the downhill of Leighton Hill to protect Victoria City from Japanese occupation during the Bat ...

and Morrison Hill were still contested until later in

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 th ...

Characteristics

Happy Valley is made up of upper-income residential areas. Residents are relatively diverse as to Hong Kong natives and foreigners. Two of the territory's tallest residential buildings,

Highcliff Highcliff is a luxury apartment on a south slope of Happy Valley on the Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The 75-storey building's construction (70 floors of which are liveable space) began in 2000 and was completed in 2003 under a design by DL ...

and The Summit are specifically in

, facing

Mount Nicholson Mount Nicholson () is a tall mountain located in Wan Chai District, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The hill is believed to be named for Hong Kong Volunteer Corps Adjunct Lieutenant W.C.A. Nicholson. The western side of the mountain is flanked ...

. Happy Valley hosts six cemeteries, from south to north, the

Happy Valley Jewish Cemetery, Hong Kong Happy Valley Jewish Cemetery, Hong Kong is the main Jewish cemetery in Happy Valley, Hong Kong. The cemetery is located on Shan Kwong Road and is managed by Jones Lang Lasalle Management Services. History The burial ground was opened in 1855 by ...

, the Hindu Cemetery, the Parsee Cemetery, Hong Kong Cemetery,

St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery is a private cemetery located in Happy Valley, on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is managed by The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong together with Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Cape Collinson and St. Raphael's Ca ...

, and the Muslim Cemetery. The Hong Kong Racing Museum and the associated Happy Valley Racecourse, one of the two tracks of 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 ...

, is in Happy Valley. Whenever a race runs, surrounding traffic patterns have to be changed: cars have to enter Happy Valley and the racecourse via Wong Nai Chung Road in a clockwise fashion, and the road may be heavily congested. The stadium lights in the racecourse illuminate nearby buildings even when the buildings themselves are unlit. Many other sports are participated and competed in by

Hong Kong First Division The Hong Kong First Division League () is the second-highest division in the Hong Kong football league system. Established in 1908, it is the third oldest in Asia. The league was formerly the highest division in Hong Kong until the formation o ...

's Happy Valley Athletic Association.

Climate

Happy Valley is often a hot spot in Hong Kong. On 8 August 2015, Happy Valley recorded a temperature of .

Residential developments

Happy Valley is primarily an upscale residential area. *Blue Pool Lodge (No. 2, 6 & 10

) *Friendship Court (No. 12-22

) *23-39 Blue Pool Road (No. 23-39

) *Valley View Terrace (No. 68

) *The Leighton Hill (No. 2A Broadwood Road) *Broadville (No. 4 Broadwood Road) * Beverly Hill (No. 6 Broadwood Road) *Villa Rocha (No. 10 Broadwood Road) *Villa Lotto (No. 18 Broadwood Road) *Broadview Villa (No. 20 Broadwood Road) *Broadwood Park (No. 38 Broadwood Road) *Caroline Garden (No. 101 Caroline Hill Road) *Silverwood (No. 109 Caroline Hill Road) *Celeste Court (No. 10-12 Fung Fai Terrace) *Felix Villa (No. 10-12A Happy View Terrace) *Caroline Height (No. 1 Link Road) *Jade Terrace (No. 3 Link Road) *Greenway Terrace (No. 5-7 Link Road) *The Altitude (No. 20 Shan Kwong Road) *

(No. 41

) * The Summit (No. 41C

) *The Colonnade (No. 152

) *Winfield Building (No. 1-5 Ventris Road) *Pioneer Court (No. 17 Ventris Road) *Ventris Place (No. 19-23B Ventris Road) *San Francisco Towers (No. 29-35 Ventris Road) *Panny Court (No. 5 Village Road) *Village Terrace (No. 35-41 Village Terrace) *Splendour Court (No. 53 Wong Nai Chung Road) Several serviced apartments can be found here: *Eaton Residences (No. 4H Village Road) *Happy Valley 88 (42

) *The Ellipsis (No. 5-7

) *The Ventris (No. 20 Ventris Road) *Treasure View (No. 22 Sing Woo Road) *V Happy Valley (No. 68 Sing Wood Road) *Eight Kwai Fong (No. 8 Kwai Fong Street)

Education

Happy Valley is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 12. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and the following government schools: Hennessy Road Government Primary School and Sir Ellis Kadoorie (Sookunpo) Primary School. Happy Valley is home to a number of prestigious institutions, international schools, and special education. Located on

Marymount Secondary School Marymount Secondary School (Abbreviation: MSS; Chinese: 瑪利曼中學; Demonym: Marymountian) is an all-girls Roman Catholic secondary school located in Happy Valley, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The medium of instruction is English. It ...

is a prestigious all-girls Roman Catholic Secondary School. The school is academically rigorous and students are known for excellence in open examinations, especially for the English Language. Its affiliated primary school

Marymount Primary School Marymount Primary School () is a Catholic primary school currently located on Tai Hang Road, Happy Valley, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The secondary school arm is Marymount Secondary School. Address: 336 Tai Hang Road, Happy Valley, HK. Map T ...

is adjacent to the secondary school. Located on Ventris Road,

St. Paul's Secondary School St. Paul's Secondary School (SPSS, ) is a Catholic girls' secondary school situated on Ventris Road in Happy Valley, Hong Kong. It is a Catholic grant-in-aid Anglo-Chinese Secondary Grammar School for girls. History St. Paul's Secondary ...

is a prestigious Anglo-Chinese all-girls Roman Catholic secondary school. The school is renowned for its outstanding basketball team. Its affiliated primary school St. Paul's Primary Catholic School is adjacent to the secondary school. Located on

, the

Lycée Français International Victor Segalen French International School "Victor Segalen" of Hong Kong (FIS in English, french: Lycée français international Victor-Segalen; LFI; ) is a French international school in Hong Kong. It is the only accredited French school in Hong Kong (lin ...

, the French international school, maintains its Blue Pool Road campus, housing the administration and secondary school section, in Happy Valley. Located on

, the

Hong Kong Japanese School The Hong Kong Japanese School and Japanese International School (HKJS&JIS) is a Japanese international school in Hong Kong. It consists of a Japanese section and international section. The Hong Kong Japanese School Limited operates the school s ...

's Happy Valley Campus is in the community.About JISArchive
.

. Retrieved on 12 January 2015. The Happy Valley campus houses the primary education section, and in April 2018 the junior high school section moved there too. Located on

, offers special education for children with mild intellectual disability.

Transport

Hong Kong Tramways Hong Kong Tramways (HKT) is a narrow-gauge tram system in Hong Kong. Owned and operated by RATP Dev Transdev Asia, the tramway runs on Hong Kong Island between Kennedy Town and Shau Kei Wan, with a branch circulating through Happy Valley. ...

extended their network into Happy Valley in 1922,hktramways
/ref> and the community has been served by the trams ever since. The extension has one terminus. Residents can access 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 ...

station via minibuses or trams.

Aberdeen Tunnel Aberdeen Tunnel, part of Route 1, is a two-tube tunnel linking Happy Valley and Wong Chuk Hang near Aberdeen on the Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It shortens the travel time between Wong Chuk Hang and Causeway Bay of the Hong Kong Island. I ...

, Wong Nai Chung Road and

also serve as the major thoroughfares in Happy Valley. Happy Valley has three bus terminals, of which two are located above Happy Valley on

and

and one on Wong Nai Chung Road. The terminus furthest up the hill serves bus route No. 8X that goes to Island Resort,

Siu Sai Wan Siu Sai Wan () is a residential area in the northeastern part of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located in the eastern part of Chai Wan, and is administratively under the Eastern District. The population was 59,729 in June 2011. Loca ...

. The upper terminus (also on the hill) serves one of Hong Kong's oldest bus routes ( No. 1) which spans from Green Lane of Happy Valley to

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

; it now terminates at Felix Villas in

Mount Davis, Hong Kong Mount Davis or Mo Sing Leng is an area surrounding and including the westernmost hill on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is 269m tall. Home to mostly luxury residences, Mount Davis was originally settled after the construction of Victoria Road, ...

. The lower bus terminus serves bus route No. 117, going to

Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui ...

Major thoroughfares, roads and streets

HK HV Happy Valley Broadwood Rd Wong Nai Chung

Briar Avenue Briar, Briars, Brier, or Briers may refer to: * Briar, or brier, common name for a number of unrelated thorny plants that form thicket People * Brier (surname) * Briers, a surname * Briars (surname) Places * Briar, Missouri, U.S. * Briar ...

* Broadwood Road *

Broom Road A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...

Caroline Hill Road Caroline may refer to: People *Caroline (given name), a feminine given name * J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player * Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player Places Antarctica * ...

Fung Fai Terrace Fung may refer to: *Feng (surname) Feng may refer to: * Feng (surname), one of several Chinese surnames in Mandarin: ** Féng (surname) ( wikt:冯 féng 2nd tone "gallop"), very common Chinese surname ** Fèng (surname) ( wikt:鳳 fèng 4th tone " ...

* Green Lane *

Happy View Terrace Happiness, in the context of mental or emotional states, is positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishing and eudaimonia. Sinc ...

Hawthorn Road Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

Holly Road ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergree ...

* King Kwong Street * Link Road *

Shan Kwong Road Shan may refer to: People *Shan (surname), or 单 in Chinese, a Chinese surname *Shan, a variant of the Welsh given name usually spelled Siân *Occasionally used as a short form of Shannen/ Shannon Ethnic groups *Shan people, Southeast Asian et ...

* Sing Woo Crescent *

Sing Woo Road Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or ...

Sports Road Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

Ventris Road Ventris may refer to: * Ventris (crater), a lunar crater on the far side of the Moon * William Ventris Field, 1st Baron Field (1813–1907), English judge * Latin word for abdomen and related structures People with the surname Ventris: * Ch ...

* Village Road *

Village Terrace A village is a clustered human settlement or Residential community, community, larger than a hamlet (place), hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population t ...

* Wong Nai Chung Road * Yik Yam Street *

Yuk Sau Street Yuk may refer to: * Mr. Yuk, a trademarked cartoon graphic image, widely employed in the United States in labeling of substances that are poisonous if ingested * Yuk, a sophomore at the United States Military Academy *Yuk Yuk's, a national comedy c ...

References

External links

Happy Valley Community Home Page

Happy Valley Residents' Organisation
{{Authority control Wan Chai District