Ma Tau Chung
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Ma Tau Chung ( or ) is an area in
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 ...
, Hong Kong, It was named after a creek (hence , ''Chung'', in the name) which originated in Quarry Hill emptying into
Kowloon Bay Kowloon Bay is a body of water within Victoria Harbour and an area within Kowloon, Hong Kong. The bay is located at the east of the Kowloon Peninsula and north of Hong Kong Island. It is the eastern portion of Victoria Harbour, between ...
. The village of Ma Tau Chung stood on its banks near the river mouth near the
Sacred Hill Sacred Hill () is a disappeared hill in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is where a historical boulder called Sung Wong Toi was previously located. Sacred Hill is also known as Hill of the King of Sung in some old maps. The name "Sacred Hill" is widely bel ...
. Ma Tau Chung Road is named after the place name. It is the major surface road for traffic between Kowloon City and other areas to the east, onwards through
Prince Edward Road West Prince Edward Road East and Prince Edward Road West are roads in Kowloon, Hong Kong, going in an east-west direction and linking Tai Kok Tsui, Mong Kok, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon City and San Po Kong (outside the retired Kai Tak Airport). The roa ...
and
Prince Edward Road East Prince Edward Road East and Prince Edward Road West are roads in Kowloon, Hong Kong, going in an east-west direction and linking Tai Kok Tsui, Mong Kok, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon City and San Po Kong (outside the retired Kai Tak Airport). The ro ...
, and areas in southern Kowloon, through Ma Tau Wai Road.


History

During the
Japanese occupation of Hong Kong The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. The surr ...
in the Second World War between 1941 and 1945, most of the Indian POWs captured in Hong Kong were interned at a POW camp here. The Japanese 'encouraged' these men to join the
Indian National Army The Indian National Army (INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a collaborationist armed force formed by Indian collaborators and Imperial Japan on 1 September 1942 in Southeast Asia during World War II. Its aim was to secure In ...
of the
Indian Independence League The Indian Independence League (also known as IIL) was a political organisation operated from the 1920s to the 1940s to organise those living outside India into seeking the removal of British colonial rule over India. Founded by Indian national ...
, but met with little success. While hundreds of these POWs were not considered a threat by the Japanese, and were used as 'guards' at
Gun Club Hill Barracks Gun Club Hill Barracks are barracks in King's Park, or in Jordan, Hong Kong formerly used by British Army garrisons during British colonial rule. The military began using the area shortly after 1860 when the British acquired Kowloon. The barra ...
and other areas, 500-600 Indian soldiers considered anti-Japanese were held at Ma Tau Chung in very unpleasant circumstances. There were many deaths, and the men were buried just outside the camp near the vegetable gardens of the
Argyle Street Camp Argyle Street Camp was a Japanese World War II prisoner-of-war camp in Kowloon, Hong Kong, which primarily held officer prisoners. World War II Built by the Hong Kong government as a refugee camp before the war as North Point Camp and Ma Tau Chu ...
immediately on the other side of Argyle Street. Where
Chun Seen Mei Chuen The following is an overview of public housing estates in Hung Hom, To Kwa Wan and Ma Tau Wai, of Kowloon City District, Hong Kong, including Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS), and Tenant Purchase Scheme ...
now stands was the Ma Tau Chung Cottage Area, which existed since 1938 and taken over and expanded by the
Hong Kong Housing Society The Hong Kong Housing Society or Housing Society for short, is the second largest public housing provider in Hong Kong (the first being the Hong Kong Housing Authority). The Society housed around 130,000 residents as of 2020. The Housing Societ ...
in 1955, until demolition in 1962 to make way for the construction of Chun Seen Mei Chuen.


Geography

Ma Tau Chung was a creek. It was converted to an underground drainage . There was a village and land area that named after the stream. In modern-day the place name is not commonly used, or replaced with Ma Tau Wai, Ma Tau Kok or Kowloon City, the names of nearby neighbourhoods. For example, most news articles describe
Sung Wong Toi Garden Sung may refer to: *Sung, Cambodia, commune in Samlout District, Battambang Province *Singing (past participle of the verb "to sing") Chinese history *Song (state) (宋) (11th century BC – 286 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, a ...
is located in Kowloon City, while ''
Ta Kung Pao ''Ta Kung Pao'' (; formerly ''L'Impartial'') is the oldest active Chinese language newspaper in China. Founded in Tianjin in 1902, the paper is state-owned, controlled by the Liaison Office of the Central Government after the Chinese Civil War ...
'' once used Ma Tau Chung, Kowloon City district. The official address of Hong Kong Aviation Club is Sung Wong Toi Road, Kowloon City but secondary sources used Sung Wong Toi Road, Ma Tau Chung.
Chun Seen Mei Chuen The following is an overview of public housing estates in Hung Hom, To Kwa Wan and Ma Tau Wai, of Kowloon City District, Hong Kong, including Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS), and Tenant Purchase Scheme ...
, once credited as located in Ma Tau Chung, the current official address is Fu Ning Street, Kowloon City. Argyle Street Playground, corner Argyle Street and Ma Tau Chung Road, was also credited as located in Ma Tau Chung in 1958, but known as inside Kowloon City in recent years.


Politics

Most of the area is covered by the western end of the Sung Wong Toi constituency in the
Kowloon City District Council The Kowloon City District Council () is the district council of Hong Kong, district council for the Kowloon City District in Hong Kong. It is one of 18 such councils. The Kowloon City District Council currently consists of 25 members, of which th ...
. This constituency was previously named Kai Tak until 2015. The seat has been held by Yeung Chun Yu since 2012, who was first elected as an ADPL candidate but now sits as an independent. The rest of the area are represented by the
Ma Tau Wai Ma Tau Wai (, originally , historically ) is an area in the Kowloon City District, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was originally a walled village (Cantonese: ''Wai'') between present-day Argyle Street and Prince Edward Road West, east of present-d ...
and the Ma Hang Chung constituencies.


Transport

Apart from Ma Tau Chung Road, other major roads and streets in the area include Tam Kung Road.
Sung Wong Toi Road Sung may refer to: *Sung, Cambodia, commune in Samlout District, Battambang Province *Singing (past participle of the verb "to sing") Chinese history *Song (state) (宋) (11th century BC – 286 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, a ...
, Ma Tau Kok Road and Mok Cheong Street (Chinese: 木廠街) connects the area with
Ma Tau Kok Ma Tau Kok Road Old apartments Ma Tau Kok () is a place north of To Kwa Wan, south-east of modern-day Ma Tau Chung and south-west of the former Kai Tak Airport (now Kai Tak Development) in Hong Kong. It was a cape in Kowloon Bay in Victoria Harbo ...
.
Sung Wong Toi station Sung Wong Toi is an underground MTR rapid transit station in Hong Kong on the , located in Ma Tau Chung in Kowloon City District. The station also serves Kowloon City and Ma Tau Wai via a pedestrian tunnel. The station was built as part of t ...
on
Tuen Ma line The Tuen Ma line () is a rapid transit line that forms part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. Coloured brown on the map, the Tuen Ma line is in length, making it the longest line of the MTR network. It has a total of ...
of the MTR serves the area and will be connected through pedestrian subways to Kau Pui Shek (珓杯石), as well as nearby
Kowloon City Kowloon City is an neighbourhood, area in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is part of Kowloon City District. Compared with the council area of Kowloon City District, the Kowloon City area is History As early as in the Qin dynasty (221 BCE ...
across the
Boundary Street Boundary Street is a three-lane one-way street in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It runs in an easterly direction from its start at the intersection with Tung Chau Street in the west, and ends at its intersection with Prince Edward Road#Prince Edw ...
in
New Kowloon New Kowloon is an area in Hong Kong, bounded in the south by Boundary Street, and in the north by the ranges of the Eagle's Nest, Beacon Hill, Lion Rock, Tate's Cairn and Kowloon Peak. It covers the present-day Kwun Tong District and Wong Tai S ...
.


See also

*
List of places in Hong Kong The following is a list of areashttp://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/MusicOffice/download/imts18.pdf of Hong Kong. Hong Kong Island * Central and Western District ** Central District ***Admiralty **Mid-Levels ***Soho **Sai Wan ***Kennedy ...


References

{{Coord, 22.3248, 114.1893, display=title Kowloon City District Populated places in Hong Kong Rivers of Hong Kong