g Location
Central (中環 Traditional Chinese), is located on the north shore of Hong Kong Island. It is the central business district of Hong Kong.
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中環 (pronounced Chong Wan in Cantonese, official named Central in English) was one of the districts (四環九約) in the Victoria City.
The English name Central became prevalent after the Island Line of the MTR metro system was built in early 1980s, and the connected stations of Pedder and Chater renamed as Central. Some older map named it and its west as Kwan Tai Lo (羣帶路) below the Victoria Peak. It formed a channel, Chung Mun (中門), with Tsim Sha Tsui, on the sea route along the coast of the southern China.
The eastern part of Central District has been known as Admiralty since the completion of Admiralty Station in the early 1980s.
g History
The British landed on Possession Point of Sheung Wan in 1841. They soon decided to build a city on the north coast of Hong Kong Island, and the present-day Central was chosen to house major military facilities and administrative centre. The area soon attracted both Westerners and Chinese to trade and live in the area, and a Canton Bazaar (precursor of Central Market) was built between Cochrane Street and Graham Street in 1842. The area was soon zoned for Westerners only, and the Chinese residents were resited to Sheung Wan. [It was zoned for "Western-style buildings," meaning buildings with minimum space and hygiene standards]. The area was largely dominated by the presence of Victoria City. The popularity of this area would also boost the population from 5,000 in 1841 to 24,000 in 1848.
Government House and other Hong Kong Government buildings were completed during this period on Government Hill. Various barracks, naval base and residence of Commander, Flagstaff House were built on the east end of the district. Between 1860 and 1880 the construction of City Hall, Theatre Royal and other financial structures made Central the heart of Hong Kong.
In 1904 the Praya Reclamation Scheme added 59 acres (240,000 m2) of land to Central's waterfront. Much of the proposals came from Sir Paul Chater and James Johnstone Keswick.
During the 1920s, Hong Kong was able to push far ahead economically, because of the cohesive collaboration between Central and all waterfront commerce.
The military structures survived until the 1980s. Only Flagstaff House remains as Museum of Tea Ware in Hong Kong Park. City Hall sat on the present premises of the HSBC Hong Kong headquarters. Hong Kong's first road, Queen's Road, passes through the area and the business centre continued to expand toward the shoreline as far as the reclaimed lands.