Queen Victoria Street, Hong Kong

Queen Victoria Street (Chinese: 域多利皇后街; pinyin: Yùduōlì Huánghòu Jiē; Cantonese Yale: wik6 do1 lei6 wong4 hau6 gaai1) is a one-way street in Central, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Named after Queen Victoria, the street stretches from Connaught Road Central to Queen's Road Central. The street is noted for the many landmarks that it runs past, namely Central Market and the headquarters of the Hang Seng Bank.

Queen Victoria Street
Section of Queen Victoria Street, between Des Voeux Road Central and Queen's Road Central
Native name域多利皇后街
Length200 m[1] (700 ft)
LocationCentral, Hong Kong
Coordinates
North endConnaught Road Central
South endQueen's Road Central
Beginning of Queen Victoria Street: Intersection with Connaught Road

History

During the First Opium War, the British occupied Hong Kong in 1841 and one year later, the territory was ceded to them in the Treaty of Nanking. The street is named after Queen Victoria, who was the reigning British monarch at the time Hong Kong was colonised.[2] Although its Chinese name is a mistranslation of "Queen", meaning queen consort instead of queen regnant, it has never been changed to reflect its proper dedication.

At the time of the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, it was believed that Queen Victoria Street would be renamed along with other streets and places to erase memories of the colonial past.[3] This was in spite of a statement by the Urban Council declaring it generally had not intention of modifying the names of streets that bore colonial references.[4] However, the renaming did not come to fruition at the handover[5][6] and the street still retains its royal name to the present day.[3]

Description and features

From its northern end, Queen Victoria Street begins at Connaught Road Central, travelling down one-way past the headquarters of the Hang Seng Bank, located to the west of the street. It then reaches the intersection with Des Voeux Road Central; the next segment of the street ascends up a slope southwards. Here, it passes Central Market—also located on its west side—before ending on Queen's Road Central. The street is parallel to the adjacent Jubilee Street,[2] which runs west of Queen Victoria Street and follows the same route, albeit with the landmarks to its east.

Intersections

The entire route is in Central, Central and Western District.

km[1]miDestinationsNotes
0.0000.000 Route 4 (Connaught Road Central)Westbound entrance only
0.0840.052Des Voeux Road Central
0.2000.124Queen's Road CentralWestern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References
  1. OpenStreetMap contributors. Queen Victoria Street (Map). OpenStreetMap. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
  2. Signs of a Colonial Era. Hong Kong University Press. 2009. pp. 7–8, 10. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  3. McKirdy, Euan (12 May 2011). "Empire strikes back". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 March 2013. (subscription required)
  4. "Tea, cricket, other British legacies are likely to endure". South China Morning Post. 29 April 2006. p. 16. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
  5. Katz, Gregory (29 June 1997). "Cautious Welcome – Hong Kong awaiting transfer with pride, fear". The Dallas Morning News. p. 1A. Retrieved 4 October 2013. (subscription required)
  6. Lin, Jennifer (18 May 1997). "Shedding Images of Sovereignty". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. A03. Retrieved 4 October 2013. (subscription required)
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