Mount Davis ( zh, t=摩星嶺) or Mo Sing Leng is an area surrounding and including the westernmost hill on

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island () is an island in the southern part of Hong Kong. The island, known originally and on road signs simply as "Hong Kong", had a population of 1,289,500 and a population density of , . It is the second largest island in Hong Kon ...

, Hong Kong. It is 269m tall. Home to mostly luxury residences, Mount Davis was originally settled after the construction of Victoria Road by prominent Hong Kong families who were unable to live on Peak due to the zoning restriction in Peak District Reservation Ordinance, 1904. Western District View 201308

It is named after Sir John Francis Davis, who was the 2nd

governor of Hong Kong The governor of Hong Kong was the representative of the United Kingdom, British The Crown, Crown in British Hong Kong, Hong Kong from 1843 to 1997. In this capacity, the governor was president of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, Executiv ...

, from 1844 to 1848. The summit is reached via Mount Davis Path, which comes off Mount Davis Road and Victoria Road.

History

It was an important

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

depot of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

forces since 1911 (proposed in 1900). Five (later three) 9.2-inch guns were installed. It was heavily bombed by Japanese planes during the

Battle of Hong Kong The Battle of Hong Kong (8–25 December 1941), also known as the Defence of Hong Kong and the Fall of Hong Kong, was one of the first battles of the Pacific War in World War II. On the same morning as the attack on Pearl Harbor, forces of the ...

. The depot was later demolished by British defences towards the end of the battle.

Geology

The geology of Mount Davis comprises dominantly pyroclastic rocks of the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

Repulse Bay Volcanic Group. This same kind of

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

is common in the south of Hong Kong Island and the east and north

New Territories The New Territories (N.T., Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: ) is one of the three areas of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of H ...

. The rock type in Mount Davis is mainly coarse ash crystal

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock co ...

Features

Hong Kong Jockey Club Mount Davis Youth Hostel, operated by Hong Kong Youth Hostel Association, is located at 123 Mount Davis Path and it offers a panoramic view 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. It acts as both a major trading hub and tourist attraction of Hong Kong in general. Lying in ...

. The hostel underwent a HK$9.54 million renovation funded by the

Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) was founded in 1884 and is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong. In 1960, it was granted a royal charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name in 19 ...

, and re-opened in 2012. The hostel offers beds in dormitories, as well as two, four and six bed rooms. Self-catering facilities are provided, but no restaurant is available. The hostel provides a free shuttle service to

Shun Tak Centre Shun Tak Centre () is a commercial and transport complex on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. It comprises a 4-storey podium containing a shopping centre and car park, two 38-storey office towers, and the Hong ...

Sheung Wan Sheung Wan (Chinese: 上環) is an List of places in Hong Kong, area in Hong Kong, located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island, between Central, Hong Kong, Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Weste ...

. There is an ionospheric station housing an

ionosonde An ionosonde, or chirpsounder, is a special radar for the examination of the ionosphere. The basic ionosonde technology was invented in 1925 by Gregory Breit and Merle A. Tuve and further developed in the late 1920s by a number of prominent phys ...

. The ionosonde was set up in a refurbished bunkhouse by Oulton Walker and Tim Closs of the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

Physics department in 1969. There are also microwave towers. The eastern side of the hill holds the Chiu Yuen Cemetery, a cemetery for the Eurasian community where many members of the influential Hotung family are buried. While

Kennedy Town Kennedy Town is a town and neighbourhood at the western end of Sai Wan on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It was named after Arthur Kennedy (colonial administrator), Arthur Edward Kennedy, the 7th governor of Hong Kong from 1872 to 1877. Adminis ...

is on the north side, the southern and western sides are mostly low-rise developments, primarily residential but also home to West Island School.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Davis, Hong Kong Mountains, peaks and hills of Hong Kong

History

Geology

Features

See also

References