Nathan Road is the main thoroughfare 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 ...

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 ...

, aligned south–north from

Tsim Sha Tsui Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an 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 Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsi ...

to Sham Shui Po. It is lined with shops and restaurants and throngs with visitors, and was known in the post–

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

years as the Golden Mile, a name that is now rarely used. It starts on the southern part of Kowloon at its junction with

Salisbury Road Salisbury Road is a major road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Description It runs parallel to Victoria Harbour, starting from its western end at the Star Ferry Pier, passing by Blackhead Point, to Tsim Sha Tsui East. It intersects w ...

, a few metres north of

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbor, 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 instrume ...

, and ends at its intersection with Boundary Street in the north. Portions of the

Kwun Tong Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowl ...

and Tsuen Wan lines ( Prince Edward,

Mong Kok Mong Kok (also spelled Mongkok, often abbreviated as MK) is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Prince Edward subarea occupies the northern part of Mong Kok. Mong Kok is one of the major shopping areas in Hong Kong. The area is characterised ...

Yau Ma Tei Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Name ''Yau Ma Tei'' is a phonetic transliteration of the name (originally written as ) in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

and

) run underneath Nathan Road. The total length of Nathan Road is about .

History

The first section of the road was completed in 1861. It was the very first road built in Kowloon, after the land was ceded by the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

government to the United Kingdom and made part of the crown colony in 1860. The road was originally named Robinson Road, after Sir

Hercules Robinson Hercules George Robert Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, (19 December 1824 – 28 October 1897), was a British colonial administrator who became the 5th Governor of Hong Kong and subsequently, the 14th Governor of New South Wales, the first Gover ...

, the 5th

Governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the British Crown in Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council and commander-in-chief of the British Forces Overseas Hong Kon ...

. To avoid confusion with the

Robinson Road Robinson Road may refer to *Robinson Road, Hong Kong *Robinson Road (Mississippi), a historical road in the US state of Mississippi *Robinson Road, Singapore *Former name of Nathan Road Nathan Road is the main thoroughfare in Kowloon, Hong Ko ...

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 name was changed to Nathan Road in 1909, after

Sir Matthew Nathan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan (3 January 1862 – 18 April 1939) was a British soldier and colonial administrator, who variously served as the Governor of Sierra Leone, Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast, Hong Kong, Natal and Quee ...

, the 13th Governor who served between 1904 and 1907. The road started at Mody Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, ending northward at Austin Road. When Sha Tsui Wan was reclaimed in the late 1800s, Salisbury Road was extended east, and Nathan Road was extended south to meet it. Nathan was extended northward in the 1920s. The section of the road from Gascoigne Road to Argyle Street was originally named Coronation Road (加冕道), in honour of the

coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of o ...

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

in 1911. The road was renamed as part of Nathan Road in 1926, after works joining the road and Nathan Road was completed. The section of Tai Po Road south of Boundary Street was also renamed as part of the road. The early Nathan Road was largely residential, with colonial-style houses with arched verandahs and covered archways. It was home to the Whitfield Barracks, which later became Kowloon Park. Saint Andrew's Church, the oldest

Anglican church Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

in Kowloon, has been located there since its completion in 1906. In 1996, the

Garley Building fire The Garley Building fire took place on 20 November 1996 in the 16-storey Garley commercial building () located at 232–240 Nathan Road, Jordan, Hong Kong.Yonden Lhatoo and Yau Wai-ping (22 November 1996)Inferno toll 39 dead, 81 injuries", '' The ...

broke out, killing 41 people.RTHK.
RTHK gbcode
" ''Cornwall Court Fire Tragedy; Bill Gates in Hong Kong; Shopaholics .'' Retrieved on 28 September 2008. In 2008, the

Cornwall Court fire The Cornwall Court Fire () was a building fire incident in Hong Kong. It began in a nightclub and karaoke bar on the morning of Sunday 10 August 2008, taking the lives of four people, including two firefighters, and injuring a further 55 people. ...

broke out, involving more than 200 firefighters, killing 4 people, including 2 fire fighters.Yahoo.
Yahoo.com
" ''Four dead as HK nightclub fire spreads.'' Retrieved on 28 August 2008.

Landmarks

* The Peninsula Hotel (corner of

and the southern end of Nathan Road) * 26 Nathan Road (#26) *

Chungking Mansions Chungking Mansions is a building located at 36–44 Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Though the building was supposed to be residential, it is made up of many independent low-budget hotels, shops and other services. As we ...

(#36–44) * iSQUARE (#63) * Kowloon Park * Park Lane Shopper's Boulevard * The ONE, at the location of the former

Tung Ying Building Tung Ying Building () was a 17-storey office building and shopping centre at 100 Nathan Road, at the corner of Granville Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was built in the 1960s and its style of architecture had become rare in Hong ...

(#100) *

Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre The Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre or Kowloon Mosque is one of five main mosques in Hong Kong. Located in Kowloon, in the Tsim Sha Tsui area at the intersection of Nathan Road and Haiphong Road, beside Kowloon Park, this mosque is currently ...

(#105) *

The Mira Hong Kong The Mira Hong Kong is a hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. It has 492 rooms and suites, six restaurants and bars, and a spa centre. It was renovated in 2009 and became smoke-free in 2011. The hotel is owned by Miramar Hotel and Investment. It ...

(#118) * Miramar Shopping Centre (#132–134) *

Former Kowloon British School The Kowloon British School was a school established in Hong Kong for the education of the children of expatriates at the turn of the 20th century. History The school was built at 136 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon and is the oldest su ...

(#136). Now houses the Antiquities and Monuments Office *

St Andrew's Church, Kowloon St Andrew's Church () is located at 138 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is a church of the Anglican (Sheng Kung Hui) Province of Hong Kong and in the Diocese of Western Kowloon. It is the oldest English speaking Protestant church in Kow ...

(#138) * Po On Commercial Building (#198) * Fourseas Building (#208–212) * Yau Tsim District Police Headquarters and Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station (#213) * Shamrock Hotel (#223) * Garley Building (#233–239, destroyed by fire in 1996) * Manulife Provident Funds Place (also known as

Wing On Wing On () is a department store company in Hong Kong. The company is owned by a Hong Kong listed company Wing On Company International Limited (), incorporated in Bermuda. The holding company of the listed company itself is Wing On Internation ...

Kowloon Center, #345) * Novotel Nathan Road Kowloon Hong Kong (#348) * Hang Shing Building (#363–373) *

Eaton Hotel Hong Kong Eaton HK (), owned by the Great Eagle Group, is a four-star hotel located at 380 Nathan Road in Kowloon, between Jordan and Yau Ma Tei, near the Temple Street Night Market and the Jade Market. History The Eaton Hotel occupies the location ...

(#380) * Alhambra Building (#383–389) * Kowloon Central Post Office (#405) * Chak Fung House (#440–442A) * Yun Kai Building (#466–472) * Sunbeam Commercial Building (#469–471) * Oxford Commercial Building (#494–496) * Nathan Tower (#518–520) * Mongkok Building (#546) * Full Win Commercial Centre (#573) * Sino Centre (#582–592) * Hollywood Plaza Mongkok (#610) * Good Hope Building (#612–618) * Bank Centre Mall (#636) * Wu Sang House (#655) * HSBC Building Mongkok (#673) * Cornwall Court (#687–689). Site of the 2008

. * Belgian Bank Building (#721–725) * Golden Plaza (#745–747) * Newish Mansion (#763–767) * Union Park Centre (#771–775)

Public transport

Five

stations Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) are built directly underneath Nathan Road. These stations are, from north to south: *

Prince Edward station Prince Edward is a station of the MTR rapid transit system in Hong Kong. It is located in Mong Kok, Kowloon, under the intersection of Nathan Road and Prince Edward Road West. The station is named after this road. History As Prince Edward ...

, at the intersection between Nathan Road and Prince Edward Road West * Mong Kok station (or Argyle station) in

, at the intersection between Nathan Road and Argyle Street *

Yau Ma Tei station Yau Ma Tei, formerly named Waterloo after Waterloo Road, is an MTR station located in Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon. It is served by the and the . The station opened on 22 December 1979 and was renamed as Yau Ma Tei on 31 May 1985 along with Argyl ...

(or Waterloo station) in

, at the intersection between Nathan Road and Waterloo Road *

Jordan station Jordan is a station on the Hong Kong MTR . It has dark green and light green livery. It is named after Jordan Road. Location Jordan station is located in Jordan at the intersection of two main thoroughfares: Nathan Road and Jordan Road, t ...

, at the intersection between Nathan Road and

Jordan Road Jordan Road is a road in Jordan, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It spans from the West Kowloon Highway in West Kowloon, through Ferry Point to Gascoigne Road and is a major east-west road in southern Kowloon. History Jordan Road, formerly known as S ...

* Tsim Sha Tsui station in

, at the intersection between Nathan Road and

Carnarvon Road Carnarvon Road () is a street in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It forms the shape of an uppercase "J", linking Kimberley Road (near Knutsford Terrace) and Nathan Road. Name The street is named after Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, Se ...

The road is heavily trafficked by numerous bus routes.

Gallery

Image:Nathan Road south end (deep blue sky).jpg, The southern end section of Nathan Road Image:KMB-E500.JPG, KMB Enviro500 serving Route 1 on Nathan Road,

. File:Entrance and exit A1 of Tsim Sha Tsui Station after renovation.jpg, Exit A1 of Tsim Sha Tsui station on Nathan Road. File:HK Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre.jpg,

. File:HK Parklane Avenue.jpg, Park Lane Shopper's Boulevard. File:Tsim Sha Tsui - 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay in Hong Kong - 2008-05-02 10h38m10s SN207070.jpg, 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay in front of the

. File:HK Nathan Road Mong Kok Section.jpg, Nathan Road, near

. File:HK Prince Edward Nathan Road Ling Kee Mongkok Police Station.JPG, Nathan Road, in the Prince Edward area.

References

External links