Tai Tam or ''Tytam'' is an area in Southern District 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 ...

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 ...

. Tai Tam means a ''big pool'' in the

Chinese language Chinese (, especially when referring to written Chinese) is a group of languages spoken natively by the ethnic Han Chinese majority and many minority ethnic groups in Greater China. About 1.3 billion people (or approximately 16% of the ...

which illustrates a triangular bay, namely

Tai Tam Bay Tai Tam Bay () is a bay in the Tai Tam area, in the southeastern part of Hong Kong Island, in the Southern District of Hong Kong. Geography Tai Tam Bay cover a marine area of about 8 km². It comprises a narrow inlet to the inner bay area, named ...

between

Stanley Peninsula Stanley Peninsula (), formerly known as Tai Tam Peninsula (), is a peninsula of southern Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. Located between Tai Tam Bay and Stanley Bay, it joins north to Hong Kong Island at the town of Stanley Stanley may refer t ...

, D'Aguilar Peak and Tai Tam Tuk (, lit. innermost of Tai Tam, also known as ''Tytam Took''). The meaning of Tai Tam varies greatly between the early colonial days and the present day.

Current usage

The present-day Tai Tam is the area around Tai Tam Tuk, the location of Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir. It is covered by the Tai Tam Reservoirs, the

Tai Tam Country Park Tai Tam Country Park () is a country park in the Tai Tam area in the south end of Hong Kong Island. At , the park consists of one fifth of Hong Kong Island's land mass. During World War II, the Japanese encountered strong resistance from British ...

and

Tai Tam Country Park (Quarry Bay extension) Tai Tam (Quarry Bay Extension) Country ParkCountry Parks (Designation) (Consolidation) Order (Chapter 208B) ( Chinese: 大潭（鰂魚涌擴建部份）郊野公園), also known simply as Quarry Bay Country Park (鰂魚涌郊野公園), on the e ...

. Along

Tai Tam Road Tai Tam Road in Hong Kong links the districts of Chai Wan and Stanley on Hong Kong Island. This road connects Chai Wan Road, the northern end of Shek O Road, Turtle Cove, Tai Tam and Stanley. The Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir's dam constitutes a ...

are some luxurious apartment towers and houses, such as the Manhattan. The innermost of Tai Tam Bay is

Tai Tam Harbour Tai Tam Harbour () is a harbour in the innermost part of Tai Tam Bay in the southeastern part of Hong Kong Island, in the Southern District of Hong Kong. It is located at the estuary of Tai Tam Tuk. Geography Tai Tam Harbour is a narrow i ...

, close to Tai Tam Tuk. The Red Hill in the southern part of Tai Tam Tuk is an area primarily consisting of low-rise upmarket residences, including the Redhill Peninsula, Red Hill Park, Turtle Cove, Le Palais and Villa Rosa. Tai Tam Scout Centre is a Scout campsite of

The Scout Association of Hong Kong The Scout Association of Hong Kong is the largest scouting organisation in Hong Kong. Scout training was first introduced in Hong Kong in 1909 and 1910 by the Protestant based Boys' Brigade, Chums Scout Patrols and British Boy Scouts. The Catho ...

on the shore of Tai Tam Harbour. From the campsite to the foot of the dam of Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir is the Tai Tam Tuk Village. The shore outside the village is mudland with some

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

plants. The high school and middle school campuses of the

Hong Kong International School Hong Kong International School (HKIS) is an international private school with campuses in Tai Tam and Repulse Bay, Hong Kong. The school was founded in 1966. Today, HKIS spans from reception one to the twelfth grade. Its Lower and Upper Prim ...

are also in Tai Tam. The Tai Tam Tuk Eco Educational Centre is a visitors centre run by the Tai Tam Tuk Foundation with the aim to educate and inspire action for sustainable development in Hong Kong through hands on interaction with the outstanding nature and culture of Tai Tam. Organising a number of

Citizen Science Citizen science (CS) (similar to community science, crowd science, crowd-sourced science, civic science, participatory monitoring, or volunteer monitoring) is scientific research conducted with participation from the public (who are sometimes r ...

events to engage and involve the public, the site was one of the first BioBlitz events organised in Hong Kong.

Historical usage

In 1845, Tai Tam was a small habitat east of the market of Stanley, facing Tai Tam Bay. (It still uses the postal address of Tai Tam Village, Stanley). Later, the Stanley Peninsula was also known as Tai Tam Peninsula. The southeast cape of the peninsula is Tai Tam Head. Tai Tam Tuk, the site of Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir, was a

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ove ...

habitat with extensive cultivation. The village of Tai Tam Tuk was moved to Tai Tam Harbour due to the construction of the reservoir. The Tai Tam area was the scene of heavy fighting between Commonwealth and Japanese forces in December 1941.

Places in Tai Tam

* American Club Hong Kong has its main, larger location in Tai Tam *

* Hong Kong Parkview * Red Hill Plaza * Tai Tam Scout Centre * Pacific View *

Tai Tam Waterworks Heritage Trail The Tai Tam Waterworks Heritage Trail is a heritage trail in Hong Kong that comprises 22 waterworks structures with historical value near the Tai Tam group of reservoirs. The Trail is about 5 km long and takes about two hours to complete ...

References

{{Coord, 22.23789, 114.22368, format=dms, display=title Places in Hong Kong Southern District, Hong Kong