Tai Hang () is an area southeast of

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 ...

located in the mid-north of

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 ...

in Hong Kong. It is home to many luxurious private apartments. Residents are predominantly more affluent Hong Kong locals and expatriate professionals.

Geography

Tai Hang is a valley with an opening to Causeway Bay in north and

So Kon Po So Kon Po or Sookunpo () is an area of Hong Kong Island located south of Causeway Bay and Victoria Park in Hong Kong. It neighbours Caroline Hill and Jardine's Lookout. It contains the Hong Kong Stadium, Olympic House, and the Tung Wah Eas ...

in west. To its south and east are hills. The former coastline is marked by

Tung Lo Wan Road Tung Lo Wan Road () is a road in Causeway Bay and Tai Hang on the north side of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The road joins east with King's Road, Tin Hau Temple Road, Causeway Road and west with Yee Wo Street, Irving Street, Leighton Road a ...

and the main road

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 ...

winds in the hills throughout the area. The area of Tai Hang is divided into upper and lower areas. The upper area includes a public housing estate Lai Tak Tsuen and some highrise residential blocks for affluents, such as Illumination Terrace (, 5-7 Tai Hang Road) or Ronsdale Garden (龍華花園, 25 Tai Hang Drive). The lower area has many old residential blocks, with a number of restaurants along the streets. It is named after a stream (or drainage) from nearby hills.

Features

One interesting recent development in the plain north is that many new and special restaurants were opened, making Tai Hang a hot spot for dining and leisure. Lai Tak Tsuen is located in the area. The famous

Tiger Balm Garden Tiger Balm Gardens are public gardens that existed or continue to exist in three East Asia locations. They are also known as Haw Par Villa gardens. All three Tiger Balm Garden locations were built by the Aw family (Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par). T ...

was also located in the area. The

Lin Fa Temple Lin Fa Temple or Lin Fa Kung is a temple located at the end of Lin Fa Kung Street, which is named after the temple, in the Tai Hang area in the southeastern part of Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island. It was originally built in 1863, during the Qi ...

is located at the end of Lin Fa Kung Street. It was originally built 1863, during 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 ...

, and was reconstructed in 1986 and 1999. The original use of the temple was a worship place for Kwan Yin, the goddess of mercy.

Tai Hang fire dragon dance

For the three nights straddling the

Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival ( Chinese: / ), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan (), Korea (), Vietnam (), and other countries in E ...

, the Tai Hang fire dragon dance is held in Tai Hang. The main attraction is a 67-metre-long 'fire dragon' that winds its way with much fanfare and smoke through a collection of streets located in Tai Hang, close to Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. Fire dragon dance started in 1880 when Tai Hang was a small

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

village of farmers and fishermen on the waterfront of Causeway Bay. This custom has been followed every year since 1880, with the exception of the Japanese Occupation and the 1967 disturbances. According to local legend, over a century ago, a few days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, a typhoon and then a plague wreaked havoc on the village. While the villagers were repairing the damage, a python entered the village and ate their livestock. According to some villagers, the python was the son of the Dragon King. A

soothsayer Soothsayer may refer to: * One practicing divination, including: ** Fortune-telling ** Haruspex ** Oracle ** Prophet ** Precognition Music * Soothsayers (band), a London-based Afrobeat and reggae group * ''The Soothsayer'', an album by Wayne ...

decreed the only way to stop the chaos was to stage a fire dance for three days and nights during the upcoming mid-autumn festival. The villagers made a huge dragon of straw and covered it with incense sticks, which they then lit. Accompanied by drummers and erupting firecrackers, they danced for three days and three nights – and the plague disappeared.

Housing

Most housing estates in the area are private with the exception of Lai Tak Tsuen (16 Lai Tak Tsuen Road,

): *Carnation Court (41-47

, Causeway Bay) *Cherry Court (12-14 Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay) *Coho (18 School Street, Causeway Bay) *Concord Villas (65-67 Wun Sha Street, Causeway Bay) *Dragon Centre (21-25 Wun Sha Street, Causeway Bay) *The First Mansion (78

, Causeway Bay) *Fontana Gardens (Ka Ning Path, Causeway Bay) *Fook Hing Court (63 Wun Sha Street, Causeway Bay) *Harvest Moon Villa (5 Fuk Kwan Avenue, Causeway Bay) *Illumination Terrance (5-7 Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay) *Intelligent Court (36-40A Tung Lo Wan Road, Causeway Bay) *Jolly Villa (8 Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay) *Jones Hives (8 Jones Street, Causeway Bay) *Little Tai Hang (98 Tung Lo Wan Road, Causeway Bay) *Rhenish Mansion (1-9 Lin Fa Kung Street East, Causeway Bay) *Ronsdale Garden (25 Tai Hang Drive, Causeway Bay) *

Serenade In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honor of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Itali ...

(11 Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay) *The Jolly Court (16 Lin Fa Kung Street West, Causeway Bay) *The Legend (23 Tai Hang Drive, Causeway Bay) *The Warren (9 Warren Street, Causeway Bay) *Trafalgar Court (70 Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay) *Warrenwoods (23 Warren Street, Causeway Bay) *Wun Sha Tower (33-45 Wun Sha Street, Causeway Bay) *Y.I (70 Tai Hang Road, Causeway Bay)

Education

Tai Hang 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.

References

External links

Squatter huts on the hill, 1969
* {{Coord, 22.27444, 114.19383, display=title Wan Chai District History of Hong Kong Former squats