Quarry Bay
Traditional Chinese鰂魚涌
Simplified Chinese鲗鱼涌
Cantonese Yalejāk yùh chūng
Jyutpingzak1 jyu4 cung1
Literal meaning"crucian carp stream"
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese採石灣
Simplified Chinese采石湾
Cantonese Yalechói sehk wāan
Jyutpingcoi2 sek6 waan1
Literal meaningrock-extracting bay
Aerial view of Taikoo Shing in Quarry Bay, One Island East is the tallest building in the photo and Mount Parker is in the background.
A section of King's Road in Quarry Bay

Quarry Bay is an area beneath Mount Parker in the Eastern District of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Quarry Bay is bordered by Sai Wan Ho to the east, Mount Parker to the south, North Point to the west, and Victoria Harbour to the north.

Quarry Bay is a residential and business district in Hong Kong. One Island East, the seventh tallest building in Hong Kong, is located in Quarry Bay. Some government departments such as the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council have relocated their offices from Central and Wan Chai to Quarry Bay over the years, and some multinational companies have their offices located in the district, such as Ernst & Young, BNP Paribas, LVMH and Boston Consulting Group, etc. Cityplaza and Kornhill Plaza, being one of the largest shopping malls on Hong Kong Island is at Quarry Bay.

With dense population as well as developed economic and commercial activities in the district, Quarry Bay has a considerable traffic demand. It is one of the transportation hubs in Hong Kong. There are two MTR stations in the district, being Quarry Bay Station and Taikoo Station. Quarry Bay Station is the intersection of the Island line and Tseung Kwan O line. Other transportation means in the district include buses, minibuses, and trams.

History

The steps in Pan Hoi Street

The 1819 edition of the Gazetteer of Sun On County (嘉慶版新安縣志) did not mention today's Quarry Bay. Historians such as Anthony Kwok Kin Siu suggested Quarry Bay was a remote area before British colonial time.

During Colonial Hong Kong times, the Hakka stonemasons settled in the area after the British arrival.[3]

This area was a bay where rock from the hillsides were quarried and transported by ship for building construction or road building. The Chinese name Tsak Yue Chung (鰂魚涌) reveals that it was a small stream where crucian carp (鰂魚) could be found in the 19th century. The English name was Arrow Fish Creek.[3] The original bay has disappeared since land reclamation has taken place, and was about 700 m (770 yd) from the current coastline.

Taikoo

The eastern part of Quarry Bay, namely Quarry Point, was largely owned by Swire and therefore many places and facilities are named after the company's Chinese name, Taikoo. The river originally flowed into the bay, however it was shut off from the sea with the construction of the Tai Koo Reservoir to supply fresh water to the Taikoo Dockyard, the Taikoo Sugar factory at Tong Chong Street (糖廠街), and later the Swire Coca-Cola factory at Greig Road (基利路) and Yau Man Street (佑民街). The upper course of the river was converted into a cement-paved catchwater, and the lower course is the present-day Quarry Bay Street (鰂魚涌街), with the original estuary near the Quarry Bay Street - King's Road junction.

In the mid-1980s, the hillside was converted into Kornhill apartment buildings, the reservoir into Mount Parker Lodge (康景花園) apartment buildings, and the Dockyard into Taikoo Shing. The Coca-Cola factory is now apartment Kornville (康蕙花園), and Taikoo Sugar is now the Taikoo Place, a commercial hub.

Lai Chi

The western end of Quarry Bay was historically part of North Point; during the 1930s its beaches became one of the most popular places for holding swimming galas in Hong Kong. From this basis an upmarket entertainment complex, the Ritz Nightclub (麗池夜總會; lai6 chi4 ye6 jung2 wui2), was built in the area in 1947. The nightclub was demolished a few years later to make way for the construction of apartment buildings during the latter half of the 1950s. Nonetheless, for years afterwards, the western part of Quarry Bay continued to be known informally as Lai Chi (麗池), made more so by the name being homophone to Cantonese for "late as usual" (例遲) - a reference to King's Road, until 1984 the only thoroughfare in the area and thus infamous for traffic congestion.

To this day, some buildings in the western part of Quarry Bay are named as "North Point something building", although they are across the modern-day limit of North Point at Man Hong Street / Healthy Street West.

Location

Quarry Bay is considered as an area surrounded by Kornhill Road to the east, Hong Shing Street and Mount Parker Road to the south, junction of King's Road and Healthy Street West to the west, and Taikoo Wan Road to the north.

Commercial buildings

Entrance of Taikoo Place along Sugar House Street

Also, a few industrial buildings exist in the areas of Shipyard Lane.

Former

Residential buildings

The "Monster Building" consists of five connecting buildings of Fook Cheong Building, Montane Mansion, Oceanic Mansion, Yick Cheong Building and Yick Fat Building.
The Yick Cheong Building

Nan Fung Sun Chuen

Nan Fung Sun Chuen, a private housing estate in Quarry Bay

Nan Fung Sun Chuen (南豐新邨), built in 1978, is a private apartment estate. Consisting of 12 buildings distributed along Greig Road and Greig Crescent with a car park at the centre of the development, it was developed by Nan Fung Development. Because of the relatively large size of the development, it serves as the benchmark for premises developed in the late 1970s in the property market. The tower blocks range in height from 28 to 33 floors. Blocks 1 to 5 are at 32 to 40 (even numbers) Greig Road while blocks 6 to 12 are at 27 to 15 Greig Crescent.

Taikoo Shing

Taikoo Shing is a private residential development in Quarry Bay. Consisting of 61 mansions distributed along Taikoo Wan Road & Taikoo Shing Road, it was developed by Swire.

Tourism

The Alexander Grantham was a fireboat of Hong Kong's Fire Services Department. The fireboat was named after former Governor Sir Alexander Grantham. The boat has since retired from service and been replaced by other vessels.

On 10 March 2006, the fireboat was successfully hoisted into its new permanent home in the Central Concourse of Quarry Bay Park, Hong Kong, where it has been converted into the Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery and was opened to the public as a museum in 2007. In addition to the fireboat itself, the Gallery houses a number of multimedia exhibits on the vessel's history and on firefighting in Hong Kong.

"Monster Building" complex

"Monster Building" is a condominium complex of five interconnected buildings. The complex consists of Fook Cheong Building, Montane Mansion, Oceanic Mansion, Yick Cheong Building, and Yick Fat Building.

Woodside Biodiversity Education Centre

Woodside Biodiversity Education Centre situated at Mount Parker Road, Quarry Bay. The centre comprises three themed exhibition galleries introducing Hong Kong's precious natural resources and biodiversity. The centre aims to foster public awareness, knowledge and understanding the inherent value of Hong Kong's biodiversity assets and to marshal public support and action for nature conservation.

Government

The head office of the Securities and Futures Commission is in One Island East in Quarry Bay.[14]

Parks and recreational facilities

Education

Quarry Bay is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 14. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and North Point Government Primary School.[15]

Kindergartens & Nurseries

  • ABC Pathways International Kindergarten (Tai Koo Campus)
  • Creativity (Park Vale) Kindergarten
  • Epoch Anglo-Chinese Kindergarten
  • Hamilton Hill International Kindergarten
  • MAGART International Kindergarten
  • Saint Anna Anglo-Chinese Kindergarten
  • Victoria (Kornhill) Kindergarten
  • Victoria (Kornhill) Nursery

Primary schools

Secondary schools

Transport

Public transport

Major thoroughfares, roads and streets

The Eastern harbour tunnel takes people to Kowloon

Hiking

Quarry Bay is home to multiple hiking trails, including the Mount Parker Road Green Trail and the Hong Pak Country Trail, which connects further to nearby trails.

Facilities

The Woodside Biodiversity Education Center (also known as the Red House) is a biodiversity centre housing local animal species and displays of educational resources on Hong Kong wildlife. The centre is situated on Mount Parker Road, with benches available nearby for picnics.[16]

Wartime remains including the Wartime Stoves and Anti-Air-Raid Caves are preserved throughout Mount Parker Road Green Trail and the Hong Pak Country Trail.

Hikes throughout Quarry Bay are often packed with resting benches, washrooms, pavilions, mappings as well as trash bins.

Mountains

Mount Butler, Mount Parker and Siu Ma Shan are mountains available for hiking. These mountains are linked towards more hiking options such as the Jardine's Lookout or approach for Tai Tam Reservoirs.

Nearby areas

Stanley can be reached from Tai Tam Reservoirs via Violet Hill and The Twins. Shek O Country Park is also reachable from Tai Tam Reservoirs, which offer more hiking options.

Tai Tam Reservoirs is situated near the Wong Lai Chung Reservoir Park.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 现代汉语词典(第七版). [A Dictionary of Current Chinese (Seventh Edition).]. Beijing: The Commercial Press. 1 September 2016. p. 1637. ISBN 978-7-100-12450-8. 鲗（鰂 zéi 用于地名：~鱼涌（在香港）
  2. ↑ 现代汉语词典(第七版). [A Dictionary of Current Chinese (Seventh Edition).]. Beijing: The Commercial Press. 1 September 2016. p. 180. ISBN 978-7-100-12450-8. 涌 chōng 〈方〉{...}鲗鱼~（在香港）
  3. 1 2 Wordie, Jason (2002). Streets: Exploring Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 962-209-563-1.
  4. ↑ "Plans of the various floors of the elongated triangle-shaped commercial complex".
  5. ↑ "[轉載]太古城中心第1期建成時的平面圖".
  6. ↑ "Gala 1 and 2 (Cityplaza) / 嘉年戲院 嘉華戲院 [1982-1994] | Gwulo".
  7. ↑ "Tenants raise new queries on Swire plan for Mount Parker House". 19 August 1998.
  8. ↑ "Swire moots Mount Parker redevelopment". 4 March 1999.
  9. ↑ "History and Milestones".
  10. ↑ "swirepacific.com - Swire Pacific Limited 2008 Online Annual Report". www.swirepacific.com. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
  11. ↑ "Swire Pacific Online Annual Report 2000".
  12. ↑ https://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/SEHK/2001/0329/0019/F105a.pdf
  13. ↑ "歷史與里程碑".
  14. ↑ "Contact Us". Securities and Futures Commission. Retrieved 2021-02-04. Securities and Futures Commission 54/F, One Island East 18 Westlands Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong - Traditional Chinese: "香港鰂魚涌華蘭路18號 港島東中心54樓", Simplified Chinese: "香港鲗鱼涌华兰路18号 港岛东中心54楼"
  15. ↑ "POA School Net 14" (PDF). Education Bureau. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
  16. ↑ "Woodside Biodiversity Education Centre". www.afcd.gov.hk. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
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