Written by | Ruiqiu
It is heavy to tell the origin of "who" in Hong Kong?
And if we travel through time and space to Central Hong Kong in the 19th century, we must be hard to believe that this narrow land with sparse population will become the core area of this Asian international metropolis in the future.
840, the first Opium War of started. On January 25, 1841, the British army landed and occupied Hong Kong. Subsequently, with the support of a group of British merchants, the British side decided to open a port in Hong Kong. This Hong Kong Island, which originally had only 20 villages and only more than 5,400 people, was forced to start the development of urban modernization.
At that time, there were only about 50 people living in it. It was called "Qunda Road". Because the location was too suitable for maritime development, it was backed by mountains and facing deep-water ports, and had offensive and defensive power, the British army decided to establish an military base here. As a result, Hong Kong's urban economy and real estate development, as well as its modern urban appearance, started in this place that will be called "Central".
open port (1841-1941)
From a military port to Victoria City △ Victoria Port in 1888 Picture source: Hong Kong History Museum
9th century Europe was already in the rapid development of the industrial revolution . Europeans have long understood how to scientifically plan and quickly build a town with systems and rules.
After the establishment of "Government Mountain" and several military camps on the north bank of Hong Kong Island, the British first built the first road of Hong Kong Island - Holy Life Road , in order to connect the military camps in the central and northwest of Hong Kong Island, which is also the first modern trunk road in Hong Kong history. Then, the British connected the East Point of Causeway Bay, Wan Chai and Xiying Pan to build Queen's Avenue along the coastline of Taiping Mountain Cape and open the road between the east and west banks, with a total length of 4 miles.
Under the planning and construction of the road, a new modern town has been reflected. On June 29, 1843, the Hong Kong government officially named this increasingly prosperous new area "Victoria City" (City of Victoria) .
△ Queen's Avenue in 1870
According to the characteristics of different mountainous situations, the Hong Kong government divides the city into three areas: coast, mid-mountain and top of the mountain. Among them, the coastal area is a commercial area, including the areas of upper ring , Central ring and Lower ring (Wan Chai) that we are familiar with today; in the following years, through several "reclamation projects", the urban expansion was gradually divided into "four rings": West Ring, Shanghuan, Central ring and Lower ring.
Hong Kong Island soon entered the process of urbanization. In 1846, the number of buildings in Victoria City had reached 1,874; by 1876, the population of Hong Kong reached 139,000, and the city had begun to take shape; in 1900, the population exceeded 260,000, and by 1920, it reached 625,000, an increase of nearly 1.4 times in just 20 years.
The early Hong Kong Island was based on the "Four Rings" and gradually emerged to the world.
△ Victoria City Map 1908 version
and the regional positioning of the four rings is different. Among them, the Central District, which is located at the intersection of Wellington Street and Queens Avenue to the Melisland Playground, naturally became the urban political and economic center planned by the Hong Kong government. Since then, it has gradually developed into a foreign residential area and a core commercial area in Hong Kong.
During this period, there were already many important buildings in Central, all of which contained the strong European style at that time. For example, the government headquarters in 1846, the Hong Kong club, the official residence of the commander of the army; the St. John's Church, the Central Police Station and other buildings built one after another in the 1840s; and the Supreme Court built in 1911. Central is like a small British city. While the buildings show the style of European cities, they also function according to the Western administrative management model.
At the end of the 19th century, "Weicheng" had begun to show its charm
. On the other side, the Shanghuan and West Ring Road of the Chinese are mainly concentrated in the upper ring and the West Ring Road. It is the densest area of Hong Kong Island. There are two-story tall and narrow " Tang Building " on both sides of the road, built along the mountain, as small as a snail house and as dense as a hive. The roads are mostly slanted roads and stone roads, with long gowns and jackets and suits and ties mixed together, and people are flowing day and night, and the flow is endless.
Therefore, today the Central Ring Road has a completely different appearance from the more lifelike Upper Ring Road and West Ring Road. When the city was first established, such a sense of contrast had already appeared.
- Modern real estate development
The economic development of Hong Kong in the 19th century is actually not as good as Shanghai, which already owned Bund at that time. The Bund architecture is far more magnificent than Central Hong Kong, but from the perspective of the secondary market of real estate, Hong Kong is far more active than Shanghai. Thanks to the real estate system modeled after the British land system, the flexible mechanism has enabled Hong Kong to complete more localized development.
843, Jardine Mahjong invested and established the HongKong Land Investment and Agency Company Limited, becoming the second real estate company registered in Hong Kong (the first one is federal real estate). In 1898, Land Land built its first commercial building on the newly reclaimed Chata Road, New Oriental, today's AIA Financial Center , which is also regarded as its first step in developing a commercial area in Central.
△ In 1910, along the Central Coast, the first generation of Prince's Building, as well as the Hong Kong Club, Queen's House, General Postal Bureau Building, etc.
906, Hong Kong Land established at least 7 buildings in the district, all of which were 4-5 stories high, and were the most magnificent buildings at that time. The development of Hong Kong Land marks the entry of a new period of development for Hong Kong's real estate industry. By 1930, the total value of its properties in Central Region alone exceeded HK$11 million, becoming the largest owner in Central District, Hong Kong.
Rise (1945-2000)
"New and Old Central" under the new urban pattern △ Vike Harbor in the 1980s
During World War II, Hong Kong experienced the Japanese occupation period, and all industry and commerce were shut down. After World War II , the British returned to Hong Kong. At this time, Hong Kong was in ruins and the post-war reconstruction work faced various challenges.
In 1948, the population of Hong Kong rose to about 1.5 million. The sharp increase in population has put huge pressure on urban housing, employment, transportation, health and public security. It is urgent for the Hong Kong government to make a longer-term urban development plan.
This year, Abercrombie, a British urban planner who proposed the "Greater London Plan" for London. He wrote a proposal for urban development in Hong Kong in the second half of the 20th century. In order to enhance Hong Kong's status in East Asia and deeply explore the future development potential of the city, he put forward three key points:
- improves internal and external transportation in cities, such as port facilities, road planning, tunnels, railways, etc.;
- opens up suburbs and expands the development space of cities, solves the problems of insufficient distribution of houses and public spaces caused by population growth, and rationalizes the population density;
- improves urban planning method , faces the innate problems of cities rationally, and leads the city forward. These three concepts of
have become the basic concept of Hong Kong's urban development in the future and have played an important role in Hong Kong's longer-term planning.
△ Abercrombie's planning map in Hong Kong in 1948, Kowloon and New Territories sectors have become an important development area to solve the problem of population diversion
On one side is the Hong Kong government's re-examination of urban planning superstructure, and on the other hand, the loosening of restrictions in the real estate industry. In 1955, the Hong Kong government revised the Building Ordinance to relax the restrictions on building heights, greatly promoting the reconstruction of old buildings and the construction of new buildings; the rapid rise of Hong Kong's real estate also drove the development of Hong Kong's industry and commerce.
By the 1960s, Hong Kong began to enter a new scene. By the mid-1960s, there were more than 2,000 real estate companies in Hong Kong and about 200 well-funded real estate companies.
△ Looking from the top of the mountain to the two sides of the Victoria Harbor In early 1973
has been around for 100 years. The demands of young people for consumption in the new era have made this long-standing but vibrant region think about "update" and develop a new business pattern with more imaginativeness.
In 1974, Hong Kong Land took the lead and spent 600 million yuan to carry out the 10-year reconstruction plan for the Central District of Hong Kong. In 1979, the Land Plaza was built, with an area of about 20,000 square feet and a total of five floors. It includes various boutique retail stores and restaurants with different flavors. It is surrounded by cafes and teahouses, and the unique building facade makes Yiju a high-end shopping place in the middle district.
At the same time, Hong Kong Land began to plan to build a "air pedestrian overpass" between its own properties. The overpass is not only connected to the property, but also connected to infrastructure such as the Star Ferry Terminal. This move has also opened up the air shuttle trail planning path of this high-density city.
△ Real scene of pedestrian overpass
△The first pedestrian overpass is under construction, after completion and after reconstruction
- New Central and Old Central
. While vigorously developing the real estate industry, many historical buildings on Hong Kong Island began to face the ending of "disappearance".
For example, the earliest batch of "Hong Kong Clubs" established during the Victoria City period, its demolition plan was opposed by many members and citizens, but in the unprecedentedly prosperous real estate market, it could not resist the fate of being demolished; instead it was replaced by a new Hong Kong Club Building with an artistic appearance, developed by Hong Kong Land, and its rights are still owned by the Hong Kong Club.
Of course, there are also some historical buildings that have been lucky enough to survive.
"Merry Building" in the same period as the Hong Kong club was planned to be demolished in 1982, and its land was sold to Bank of China for 120 million yuan. Due to its historical value, the Hong Kong government decided to preserve the building intact and relocate it to Stanley . The important task of this reconstruction was handed over to a new real estate development company, who needed to number and store more than 3,000 building materials from the original building and restore them all, which was a very challenging project at the time.
△ Left picture: The former Meli Building in Central; right picture: Today, Meli Building in Stanley
This startup is called "Ruian". Its founder Lu Kangrui cooperated with the Shanghai Luwan District Government more than 10 years later. By updating the Taipingqiao area, it created a "New World" business district, and has since become famous in the Asia-Pacific region; and the restoration of old buildings has also become one of the company's core strengths.
At the same time, a brand new building opened in 1990 on the original site of the Meli Building. Its famous " Bank of China Building " was designed by I.M. Pei . Its blade-like appearance also makes it the most shining star in Central from now on.
△ Bank of China Building
Just as Central China continues to innovate, time enters the eve of the return of the 1990s. With more than US$10,000 per capita GDP, Hong Kong has firmly ranked first among the " Four Little Dragons " in Asia; after China embarked on reform and opening up, Hong Kong, as a medium and bridge for Chinese and foreign investment, its economic development has entered an unprecedented prosperous period.
In 1995, another big event happened in the Central real estate industry.
The Hong Kong government decided to approve land to the subway company, build an airport railway between the Central Ring Station and the new airport, and develop upper-covered properties at each station along the route.In the end, a consortium composed of Hengji Real Estate , Sun Hung Kai Real Estate and Bank of China Group won the development rights of the Central Station. The
project covers an area of 4 hectares with a total investment of 40 billion yuan. It is also the largest single real estate project in Hong Kong's history. It has planned to include 3 high-end shopping malls, retail malls, two high-end hotels and serviced residential buildings, with a total construction area of 4.477 million square feet.
In 1998, the first phase of the "International Financial Center" (IFC) was put into use, and then the second phase of the IFC was completed again in 2003. Subsequently, the advantages of TOD were fully utilized, and IFC became a brand new Central Landmark after the Central Overpass built by Land 30 years ago.
△ Hong Kong IFC
It is worth mentioning that the "Sky Bridge" pioneered by Hong Kong Land in the 1970s did not stop developing in the future, but continued to connect with the Central Business with the development of Central China. Then, after the completion of the IFC International Financial Center, a "air pedestrian network" echoing the ground was formed, which reflects the fast-paced daily life in Central China, and is also an important case of the development of high-density cities in the Asia-Pacific region.
Chart source: UPI International Urban Planning 2018 Vol.33, No.1 Research on the elevated pedestrian system in Hong Kong under the influence of urban systems
Backtracking (2000-to-present)
Who am I?
△ Today’s Victoria Harbor
In 2003, China and Hong Kong launched free travel, which once again stimulated Hong Kong’s economic development and embarked on a period of 16 years of cyclical rise. At the same time, there are growing calls for the protection of ancient buildings in society. More and more people in society are beginning to worry about historical buildings that have gone through a century of ups and downs: without better policies, more buildings may be in danger of "disappearance".
At this time, Central has been around for more than 150 years. In addition to the high-rise buildings, it is also one of the areas in Hong Kong with the most ancient buildings.
In 2009, the Hong Kong government began to formally promote the "Cultivation of Central" plan, including 8 specific renovation projects, including the Central District Police Department Building Group, the Married Police Door on Holy Life Road, the Central Street Market, the Hong Kong Anglican Complex, the Merry Building, the New Central Beachfront and the Central District Government Office, and the former French Overseas Mission Building.
"Holly Huo Road Married Police Dormitory" is the first public project to be opened in the program. In 2014, the new renovation was completed and named "PMQ Yuanchuangfang", and immediately became an important gathering place for cultural and creative organizations in Hong Kong. It was also given the mission of promoting Hong Kong's cultural industry, with 100 studios planned and preferential rents provided to new designers.
△ PMQ Yuanchuangfang
Then the "Central District Police Station Building Group" was also renovated. It was positioned as a "big hall" with more public significance. The architectural form of the original building complex was retained, and it has more imagination space in the creation of diversified content. It is a new generation of cultural and artistic landmark in Central.
△ Daguan
Although these two projects have many problems in the later operation, due to the similar positioning and the straight-line distance between the two, both have retained the historical stories of the building in the park, it naturally has become an important destination for Chinese and foreign tourists to travel to Hong Kong and local young people to understand the stories of Hong Kong.
△ Central Rural Market
Last year, another conservation project, "Central Rural Market", was officially put into operation.
Because this building has played the role of a "street market" for a hundred years and contains rich collective memories of "old Hong Kong", its update progress has always attracted much attention.
The first generation of "Central Market" recorded in history can even be traced back to 1842 in the Victoria City era. It has been built at least 8 times in the following 100 years and stopped operating in 2003. After being included in the "Cultivation Central" program, in May last year, it opened its business again under the promotional slogan of "playground for all" and returned to the public's sight.
△ Central Market
"Cultivation of Central" plan was promulgated in 2009. After three chief executives, they finally gained more insights in "Central Market". Projects with larger scales like New Central Market are still being slowly promoted, which is enough to see that "conservation of old buildings" is much more difficult than "building new buildings". But behind it, we can also see the importance of Hong Kong's public participation in ancient building protection affairs. It plays a check and balance, allowing the government to think about how to position it more accurately, rather than simply throwing things to real estate companies and solving them.
Although these three projects and the entire "Cultivation Central" plan have received various positive and negative reviews, compared with those historical buildings that were eliminated in the times, these buildings have been updated in time in each period and can continue their lives. This is already a blessing for both the building itself and the city.
And the contemporary story of Zhonghuan also achieves a balance between economy and culture through this plan. The architectural imprints left by the British in the 19th century are preserved as an important carrier in contemporary cultural stories, helping the Hong Kong government continue to think about the connection between architecture and region and citizens.
Summary
Paul Graham said in his article "Cities and Ambition City Ambition" that every city has its own ambition and should listen carefully to its information.
And when answering the question "Who is Hong Kong and what is Hong Kong's ambitions", every Hong Kong government seems to have a set of self-examination standards. As individuals, we can cut the questions a little smaller, and seek our own answers in the planning documents of each period in buildings left by different eras. And I chose to focus this path to find answers on the Central Ring.
From Victoria City to today's Asian international city, Central has always played the role of that "heart". It is the convergence point of all walks of life. Looking back on its long 180 years, we see it complex and changeable, chaotic and ambiguous; there is a dark side and a bright side.
Of course, when faced with more complex Hong Kong issues, Central is just a section of this international city. And the short 5,000-word article cannot interpret the countless storms that Central has experienced in the past 180 years.
It is complex after all, and such complexity also gives it more charm.
Reference:
- Feng Bangyan, Hong Kong Real Estate History 1841-2020
- He Peiran, City Chuanli Xin: Hong Kong Urban Planning Development History 1841-2015
- Hong Kong Development Department, Hong Kong Conservation Planning Website
- Hu Yiran, etc., International Urban Planning 2018 Vol.33, No.1, Research on the Elevated Pedestrian System in Central Hong Kong under the influence of urban systems
