Ladder streets

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Aberdeen Street, one of the ladder streets in Central. Aberdeen Street, Hong Kong (2005).jpg
Aberdeen Street, one of the ladder streets in Central.

Ladder streets are narrow streets in Hong Kong comprising steps. Most are found between Central and Sheung Wan and Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island, from Queen's Road Central, through Hollywood Road and a few other cross streets, to Caine Road at the Mid-Levels. Other ladder streets exist outside of the immediate Mid-Levels area, such as Sands Street in Kennedy Town.

Contents

Note that there is indeed a street named Ladder Street, composed entirely of stone steps, in Sheung Wan.

While some ladder streets are made only of traditional steps, some at a moderate incline have portions that could be traversed with a rickshaw or cart. These portions had raised stones perpendicular to the street at regular intervals acting like a ratchet so that carts and rickshaws could be easily stopped and parked. This kind of paving can be found on Pottinger Street.

The Duddell Street steps were declared a monument by the Antiquities and Monuments Office. [1]

History

Shortly after their arrival in Hong Kong, the British built administrative buildings on the northern shore of the island, in the area which came to be called Victoria and later called Central. The water met the island at what is now Queen's Road. There was no flat land, so during the brief tenure of Sir Henry Pottinger, the first governor of the colony, from 1841 to 1844, streets of steps were planned. The first recorded ladder street was built between Queen's Road and Gough Street in 1845. Remaining ladder streets steps are some of the very oldest structures in the territory. [2]

The streets were originally made with the local pink granite. Most have been replaced with concrete. [2]

Ladder streets

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberdeen Street</span>

Aberdeen Street is a border street dividing Sheung Wan and Central on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It ascends from Queen's Road Central to Caine Road in Mid-Levels. The street is named after George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Foreign Secretary at the time of the cession of Hong Kong Island to the United Kingdom in 1842.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shing Wong Street</span>

Shing Wong Street is a street on the hill slope of Sheung Wan and Mid-Levels, Hong Kong. The street extends from Gough Street at its lowest to Caine Road highest. The street is one of ladder streets in Hong Kong, made of stone steps, in the section between Hollywood Road and Caine Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tai Ping Shan Street</span> Street in Hong Kong

Tai Ping Shan Street is a street marking the early colonial history in Hong Kong. Located at the north slope of Victoria Peak in Sheung Wan, the street starts east from a ladder street at the junction with Bridges Street and end west in Po Yan Street near Tung Wah Hospital. The street runs parallel to Hollywood Road.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Po Hing Fong</span> Street in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong

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References

  1. ↑ Declared Monuments in Hong Kong. Antiquities & Monuments Office, Leisure & Cultural Services Department, Government. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-07.
  2. 1 2 DeWolf, Christopher (5 May 2016). "Stair Culture: Digging Into the Past and Present of Hong Kong's Ladder Streets". Zolima Citymag. Zolima Ltd. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
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