Native name | 金鐘道 (Yue Chinese) |
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Length | 600 meters (2,000 ft) |
Location | Admiralty, Hong Kong |
Coordinates | 22°16′44″N114°09′52″E / 22.2789°N 114.1645°E |
Queensway | |||||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 金鐘道 | ||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 金钟道 | ||||||||||||||
Literal meaning | Golden Bell (Admiralty) Road | ||||||||||||||
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Queensway is a major road in the Admiralty area of Central,Hong Kong. It was originally a section of Queen's Road East and forms part of the continuum of Queen's Road that had been split into Queen's Road West,Queen's Road Central,Queensway,and Queen's Road East after World War II. At its western end it splits into Queen's Road Central and Des Voeux Road Central while at its eastern end it merges into Hennessy Road,at the junction with Queen's Road East.
Queensway was formally separated and given its own name when the extensive military and naval sites that dominated this area were redeveloped around the 1960s. [1] [2] Its Chinese name can be translated as Golden Bell Road,a reference to a notable bell once located in the adjacent Admiralty Dock,and does not include 'Queen'.
The road is one of only a handful in the territory to have a name consisting of a single word. Other examples are Glenealy (Central),Smithfield (Kennedy Town) and Broadway (Lai Chi Kok). As a result,the road is often mistakenly referred to as Queensway Road. [3]
The road is home to a large amount of landmarks,with its northbound lane housing landmarks such as the Cheung Kong Centre;Bank of China Tower;Hong Kong Park (including Flagstaff House and the Museum of Tea Ware);Queensway Government Offices;the High Court;and the Swire-owned Pacific Place,a shopping centre and office tower complex incorporating the Conrad,Island Shangri-La and Marriott hotels,while its southbound lane houses Chater Garden,site of Hong Kong's former main cricket ground;the Lippo Centre;Queensway Plaza – a one-storey shopping mall next to the United Centre office block,also linked to Pacific Place opposite by means of a fully enclosed skywalk;the small Harcourt Garden;and,at the Wan Chai end,the Hong Kong Police Headquarters.
Until the 1980s,both sides of the road were British military sites. To its south were Wellington Barracks,Murray Barracks and Victoria Barracks,while to the north lay the Admiralty Dock. Flagstaff House was the residence of the Commander British Forces of Hong Kong between 1842 and 1978. These were gradually replaced as Central district expanded.
The road was formerly not as straight as at present. Two close bends in the midsection (between Rodney Block and Naval Terrace,neither of which remains) formed an S-shape,known as the death bend of Queensway (金鐘道死亡彎角) as it was the site of frequent traffic accidents,especially between vehicles and trams. Straightening of the road was planned from as early as 1968 [4] and finally carried out in 1974 with the official completion taking place on 12 January 1975. [5]
Present-day Queensway is much wider than it used be. Its carriageways are separated by the lines of the famous Hong Kong trams. At no point along its length are pedestrians allowed to cross the road at ground level. Instead,there are a number of footbridges,which also provide access to the tramway stop islands.
Although it is a major road, Queensway is part of the route regularly taken by marches and protests including the annual July 1 marches. As part of the 2014 Hong Kong protests in Admiralty, protesters have occupied all traffic lanes of Queensway beginning 26 September 2014. The protesters have set up barricades to block vehicle access. The Hong Kong police have removed these barricades, and the road was re-opened to traffic in the afternoon of 14 October 2014.
Wan Chai is situated at the western part of Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area north of Gloucester Road is often referred to as Wan Chai North.
Central is the central business district of Hong Kong. It is located in the northeastern corner of the Central and Western District, on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, across Victoria Harbour from Tsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point of Kowloon Peninsula. The area was the heart of Victoria City, although that name is rarely used today.
Admiralty is the eastern extension of the central business district on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. It is located on the eastern end of the Central and Western District, bordered by Wan Chai to the east and Victoria Harbour to the north.
Harcourt Road is a major highway in Admiralty, Hong Kong, connecting Central and Wan Chai. It starts at Murray Road and ends at Arsenal Street. The road is 780 metres in length and has four lanes of traffic on either side. The section of Harcourt Road westbound between Rodney Street and Cotton Tree Drive features a frontage road.
British Forces Overseas Hong Kong comprised the elements of the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force stationed in British Hong Kong. The Governor of Hong Kong also assumed the position of the commander-in-chief of the forces and the Commander British Forces in Hong Kong took charge of the daily deployment of the troops. Much of the British military left prior to the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997. The present article focuses mainly on the British garrison in Hong Kong in the post Second World War era. For more information concerning the British garrison during the Second World War and earlier, see the Battle of Hong Kong.
Des Voeux Road Central and Des Voeux Road West are two roads on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. They were named after the 10th Governor of Hong Kong, Sir William Des Vœux. The name was sometimes spelt with the ligature œ in pre-war documents but is nowadays spelt officially as Des Voeux Road.
Queen's Road East is a street in Wan Chai, in the north of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, connecting Admiralty in the west to Happy Valley in the east. Queen's Road East is one of the four sections of Queen's Road, and historically included Queensway.
Hennessy Road is a thoroughfare on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.
The Victoria Barracks were a barracks in the Admiralty area of Central on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The barracks were constructed between the 1840s and 1874, and situated within the area bounded by Cotton Tree Drive, Kennedy Road and Queensway. Together with Murray Barracks, Wellington Barracks and Admiralty Dock, the barracks formed a British military zone in Central. The barracks was named for Queen Victoria, monarch at the time of construction.
Pacific Place is a complex of office towers and hotels and a shopping centre situated at 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong. The latest phase, Three Pacific Place, is located at 1 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai.
The Central Elevated Walkway is an extensive footbridge network spanning Admiralty, Central and parts of Sheung Wan, near Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong.
Kennedy Road is a road in the Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is named after Arthur Kennedy, the seventh governor of Hong Kong.
Wellington Barracks was a military barracks located to the east of Garden Road in Admiralty, Hong Kong. One of many military complexes constructed by the British Army in the area, the land was returned to the Hong Kong government in the 1970s and gradually reverted to civilian use. As a result, the barracks was closed at the end of that decade, demolished in the mid-1980s and replaced with Harcourt Garden.
Murray Barracks was a barracks for the British Army garrisoned in Admiralty, Central in Hong Kong. It was named after Sir George Murray, the Master-General of the Ordnance at the time of construction.
Cotton Tree Drive is a road running from Central to Mid-Levels, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The road is famous for the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry, a hotspot for marriage registration inside Hong Kong Park. It used to be known as Kapok Drive.
The Queensway Government Office Building is a skyscraper located in the Admiralty district of Hong Kong near Admiralty station. The tower rises 56 floors and 199 metres (653 ft) in height. The building was completed in 1985. It was designed by Mr K.M. Tseng of the Architectural Services Department. The Queensway Government Offices, which stands as the 54th-tallest building in Hong Kong, is a Hong Kong government office building. The roof of the Queensway Government Office Building is adorned with a dragon logo, the symbol of Hong Kong; the structure was added in 2002.
Rodney Street is a street in Admiralty East, Central and Western District, Hong Kong. It connects with Queensway in the south and Harcourt Road in the north.
The Central and Western District located on northwestern part of Hong Kong Island is one of the 18 administrative districts of Hong Kong. It had a population of 243,266 in 2016. The district has the most educated residents with the second highest income and the third lowest population due to its relatively small size.
The Legislative Council Complex is the headquarters of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. The complex plays a central role in the legislative process of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), and it has been a focal point for political events and public demonstrations.
A series of sit-in street protests, often called the Umbrella Revolution and sometimes used interchangeably with Umbrella Movement, or Occupy Movement, occurred in Hong Kong from 26 September to 15 December 2014.