Kap Shui Mun () or Throat Gates (historically spelled Capsuimoon) is the channel between
Lantau Island
Lantau Island (also Lantao Island, Lan Tao) is the largest island in Hong Kong, located West of Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, and is part of the New Territories. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the Islands ...
and
Ma Wan in
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 city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
.
[Geology of North Lantau Island and Ma Wan, Chapter 1. 1995](_blank)
/ref> It is part of major sea route along the coast of South China, from Victoria Harbour
Victoria Harbour is a natural landform 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 instrumental i ...
to the Pearl River. It joins north with Urmston Road. Kap Shui Mun Bridge
The Kap Shui Mun Bridge (KSMB) in Hong Kong, part of Lantau Link of Route 8, is one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in the world that transports both road and railway traffic, with the upper deck used for motor vehicles and the lower deck ...
, part of Route 8, spans the channel.
Name
The original Chinese name of Kap Shui Mun is ''kap shui mun'' (), the gate of fast-moving water. This exactly describes the current of the channel. The name 'fast-moving water' was associated with accidents for ships and boats. To remove this malign influence, it was renamed to a title with similar sound, ''k'ap shui mun'' (), meaning 'water-fetching gate'. For Chinese, water represents fortune and wealth.
See also
* Tang Lung Chau
* Tsing Chau Tsai Peninsula
References
New Territories
Channels of Hong Kong
Ma Wan
Lantau Island
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