Western Market | |
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西港城 | |
Former names | Sheung Wan Market |
General information | |
Architectural style | Queen Anne Revival style |
Location | Sheung Wan |
Address | 323 Des Voeux Road Central |
Country | Hong Kong |
Opened | 1858 1906 (North Block) | (South Block)
Renovated | 1991 |
Demolished | 1981 | (South Block)
Landlord | Urban Renewal Authority |
Website | |
Official website |
Western Market | |||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 西港城 | ||||||||
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Sheung Wan Market | |||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 上環街市 | ||||||||
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Western Market is one of the oldest structures in Sheung Wan,Hong Kong Island,Hong Kong. The current structure,built in 1906,was the North Block of the original Western Market. It is the oldest surviving market building in the city. [1] The former South Block was demolished in 1981 and its site is now occupied by the Sheung Wan Complex. [2]
Western Market is located at 323 Des Voeux Road Central. [3] The market occupies a whole city block and is surrounded by the following streets:Des Voeux Road Central (South),Morrison Street (East),Connaught Road Central (North) and On Tai Street (West).
Sheung Wan Complex,now called the Sheung Wan Municipal Services Building,the site of the former South Block,is located at 345 Queen's Road Central. It is surrounded by:Queen's Road Central (South),Morrison Street (East) and Bonham Strand (North).
Western Market came into business in September 1844. [2] Western Market later consisted of two separate blocks:South Block (demolished) and North Block (the current "Western Market").
The South Block at Queen's Road Central was built in 1906. [3] Vendors were evicted and moved to the Hollywood Road Temporary Market in August 1980. The Victorian period South Block was demolished thereafter and replaced by the Urban Council Sheung Wan Complex,opened in 1988. [2] The Edwardian period North Block and the Hollywood Road Temporary Market were closed at this time and vendors were relocated to the new complex. [4]
The North Block,smaller and more compact in design,was preserved and renovated by Land Development Corporation. This building,of the Queen Anne Revival style of the Edwardian period,was built in 1906 [3] as an extension of the then existing Western Market. It was the former site of Harbour Office that had been moved to a reclamation area in Central District for a larger space to cope with its increasing workload. The old building of the Harbour Office was pulled down to build the North Block of Western Market. [5]
It operated as a food market until 1988. The building was damaged during the construction of Sheung Wan station,and remediation works were undertaken afterward. [6] Half the site was rezoned to facilitate a proposed widening of Morrison Street,which would have necessitated the building's demolition. [6] In 1990,it was declared a historical monument and the renovated market building re-opened as "the Western Market" in 1991. [5] Further refurnishment work was conducted in 2003. [1]
The four-storey building is in Queen Anne Revival style that was popular in the British Empire during the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods. The brickwork on the four corner towers is "bandaged",giving a polychromatic effect. It was blue,but was later painted red to suit the architectural style. [1]
Current tenants include:
On the first floor there is a wide range of fabric merchants and cafés. The top floor is a restaurant with dancing and live music and a banquet hall used for weddings. [7] On the footbridge next to Western Market are a few old pictures with explanations from times long gone.
The Center is the fifth tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong,after International Commerce Centre,Two International Finance Centre,Central Plaza and Bank of China Tower. With a height of 346 m (1,135 ft),it comprises 73 storeys. The Center is one of the few skyscrapers in Hong Kong that is entirely steel-structured with no reinforced concrete core and is one of the tallest steel buildings in world. It is located on 99 Queen's Road Central in the Central,roughly halfway between the MTR Island line's Sheung Wan and Central stations.
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 16,390 per square kilometre (42,400/sq mi),as of 2023. It is the second largest island in Hong Kong,with the largest being Lantau Island. Hong Kong Island forms one of the three areas of Hong Kong,with the other two being Kowloon and the New Territories.
Central,also known as Central District,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.
The City of Victoria,often called Victoria City or simply Victoria,was the de facto capital of Hong Kong during its time as a British dependent territory. It was initially named Queenstown but was soon known as Victoria. It was one of the first urban settlements in Hong Kong and its boundaries are recorded in the Laws of Hong Kong. All government bureaux and many key departments still have their head offices located within its limit.
Sheung Wan is an area in Hong Kong,located in the north-west of Hong Kong Island,between Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively,it is part of the Central and Western District. The name can be variously interpreted as Upper District,or Gateway District.
Sheung Wan is a station on the Island line of the Hong Kong MTR network. The station serves the neighbourhood of Sheung Wan and the western part of Central District. The livery colour of this station is khaki.
Hollywood Road is a street in Central and Sheung Wan,on Hong Kong Island,Hong Kong. The street runs between Central and Sheung Wan,with Wyndham Street,Arbuthnot Road,Ladder Street,Upper Lascar Row,and Old Bailey Street in the vicinity.
Sai Ying Pun is an area in Sai Wan,on Hong Kong Island,in Hong Kong. It is administratively part of the Central and Western District.
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 œin pre-war documents but is nowadays spelt officially as Des Voeux Road.
Queen's Road is a collection of roads along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island,in Hong Kong,within the limit of Victoria City. It was the first road in Hong Kong,constructed by the British between 1841 and 1843,spanning across Victoria City from Shek Tong Tsui to Wan Chai.
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.
Pottinger Street is a street in Central,Hong Kong. It is also known as the Stone Slabs Street since the street is paved unevenly by granite stone steps. It was named in 1858 after Henry Pottinger,the first Governor of Hong Kong,serving from 1843 to 1844. It is a Grade I historic building.
Central Market is a fresh food market in Central,Hong Kong and the first wet market in the city. It is one of only two existing Bauhaus market buildings in Hong Kong,the other one being Wan Chai Market.
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.
Bonham Strand is a combination of two streets in Sheung Wan,Hong Kong:Bonham Strand (文咸東街) and Bonham Strand West (文咸西街).
Pedder Street is a major thoroughfare in the core of Hong Kong's Central District. It runs south–north from Queen's Road Central,continues through Des Voeux Road Central,and ends at its intersection with Connaught Road Central.
Centre Street is a street in the Sai Ying Pun area of Hong Kong. Centre Street is the central point of the most active traditional market in Western District of Hong Kong Island. The street is part of planned streets in the early development of the area.
Hillier Street,is a street in Sheung Wan of Hong Kong Island,Hong Kong,located between Connaught Road Central and Queen's Road Central.
Hollywood Road Park is an urban public park in Sheung Wan,Hong Kong Island,Hong Kong.
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.