| Central | |||||||||||||||
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 Central as viewed fromTsim Sha Tsui, on the opposite side ofVictoria Harbour | |||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中環 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中环 | ||||||||||||||
| CantoneseYale | Jūng Wàahn | ||||||||||||||
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Central (Chinese:中環), also known asCentral District, is thecentral business district ofHong Kong. It is located in the northeastern corner of theCentral and Western District, on the north shore ofHong Kong Island, acrossVictoria Harbour fromTsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point ofKowloon Peninsula. The area was the heart ofVictoria City, although that name is rarely used anymore.[1]
As the central business district of Hong Kong, it is the area where many multinationalfinancial services corporations have their headquarters.Consulates of many countries are also located in this area, as isGovernment Hill, the site of thegovernment headquarters until 2011. The area, with its proximity to Victoria Harbour, has served as the centre of trade and financial activities from the earliest days of theBritish colonial era in 1841, and continues to flourish and serve as the place of administration since thehandover to China in 1997.
The area ofChung Wan (previously spelled "Choong Wan")[2][3][4] is a direct translation of "central" in English and was one of the districts (四環九約) in Victoria City. The English name, Central became prevalentafter theIsland line of theMTR metro system was built in the early 1980s,[citation needed] and the connectedstations of Pedder and Chater (named after major streets in the area) were renamed asCentral. On some older maps, Central and the area to its west are namedKwan Tai Lo (羣帶路) belowVictoria Peak. It formed a channel,Chung Mun (中門), withTsim Sha Tsui, on the sea route along the coast ofsouthern China. The eastern part of Central District has been known asAdmiraltysince the completion ofAdmiralty station in the early 1980s.[citation needed]
Despite the name Central being synonymous with the Central and Western District, and Central station, there are significant differences. Central and Western is a administrative district with strict boundaries, legislative representation, and elections for its legislators. Central station (more commonly referred to as Central) is a stop along the MTRIsland Line, but is not the only station within the Central and Western District. Other stops include Hong Kong, Admiralty, Sheung Wan and more. The Central area is a loosely defined area within the Central and Western district defined by the presence of major banks, sky scrapers, and multi-modal transportation nodes.
Central is located on the north shore ofHong Kong Island, acrossVictoria Harbour fromTsim Sha Tsui, the southernmost point ofKowloon Peninsula. It is bordered in the west bySheung Wan, with the border being alongAberdeen Street (also calledWing Kut Street). It is bordered in the east byAdmiralty, an eastern extension of the Central and Western District. As such, Admiralty is sometimes considered a part of Central. Central is bordered in the south byMid-Levels, an affluent residential area halfway upVictoria Peak. The boundary between Central and Mid-Levels is not clearly defined.
Fordistrict council elections purposes, the area, together with Admiralty, correspond roughly to the "Chung Wan" constituency.[5] The boundaries of such constituencies may be subject to modification.[6]
The British landed onPossession Point ofSheung 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 an administrative centre. Part of these military facilities include theRoyal Navy port known as Naval Dockyard, and then later Admiralty. Another area to the north of Admiralty would be namedTamar for theHMS Tamar shore station (named for HMS Tamar, a Royal Navy troopship that arrived and was used as a shore base during thesecond opium war). The area soon attracted bothWesterners and Chinese to trade and live in the area, and a Canton Bazaar (the precursor of theCentral Market) was built betweenCochrane Street andGraham Street in 1842. The area was soon zoned for Westerners only, and Chinese residents were restricted to Sheung Wan. It was zoned for "Western-style buildings," meaning buildings with space requirements and hygiene standards similar to European. The area was largely dominated by the presence of Victoria City. The popularity of this area would also boost thepopulation of Hong Kong from 5,000 in 1841 to 24,000 in 1848.[7]Government House and otherHong Kong Government buildings were completed during this period onGovernment Hill. Variousbarracks, naval bases and the residence of theCommander of British Forces in Hong Kong,Flagstaff House were built on the east end of the district. Between 1860 and 1880 the construction ofCity Hall, Theatre Royal and other financial structures made Central the heart of Hong Kong.[citation needed]
In 1904, thePraya Reclamation Scheme added 59 acres (24 ha) of land to Central's waterfront. Many of the proposals came fromSir Paul Chater andJames Johnstone Keswick, the founders ofHongkong Land, a modern property development group.[8] During the 1920s, Hong Kong was able to push far ahead economically, because of the cohesive collaboration between Central and all waterfront commerce.[citation needed]
The military structures survived until the 1980s. Only Flagstaff House remains as Museum of Tea Ware inHong Kong Park.City Hall sat on the present premises of theHSBCHong Kong headquarters. Hong Kong's first road,Queen's Road (subdivided intoQueen's Road East,Central, andWest), passes through the area and the business centre has continued to expand the Hong Kong shoreline into Victoria Harbour.[citation needed] TheHong Kong Garrison was home to theBritish Forces in Hong Kong, until thehandover in 1997, since then it has been occupied by thePeople's Liberation Army of China.
Central has been the site of a number of major political protests. From October 2011 to September 2012, theOccupy Central movement against global economic inequality was based in front of theHSBC Main Building.[9] Two years later, in September 2014, democratic activists initiatedOccupy Central with Love and Peace, demandinguniversal suffrage for the election of theChief Executive of Hong Kong, eventually contributing to theUmbrella Revolution.[10]
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There are manyGrade-A commercial buildings in Central,[11] a prime commercial district in Hong Kong.
Bank of China (Hong Kong) has its head office in theBank of China Tower.[12]The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, a subsidiary ofHSBC, has its head office in theHSBC Main Building.[13]Bank of East Asia andHang Seng Bank have their head offices in Central.[14][15]Standard Chartered Bank is also located in Central. TheHong Kong Monetary Authority is based inIFC 2.Chu Kong Passenger Transport is headquartered in the Chu Kong Shipping Tower (珠江船務大廈) in Central.[16] The head office ofNew World Development is in theNew World Tower [zh] in Central.[17]HKR International has its head office inShun Tak Centre.[18]
Before 1999,Cathay Pacific had its head office in theSwire House in Central.[19] In 1999, the airline relocated its head office to theHong Kong International Airport.[20]
Nord Anglia Education, which operates international schools in various countries, formerly had its head office in Central.[21] The head office moved toHong Kong in 2012.[22] In 2018 the company announced it was returning its head office to the United Kingdom.[23]
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Central, together withTsim Sha Tsui andTsim Sha Tsui East, is home to many hotels.
Central is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 11. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and the following government schools:Bonham Road Government Primary School andLi Sing Primary School [zh] (李陞小學).[27]
Hong Kong Public Libraries operates City Hall Library in Central.[28]
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The area is a major transport hub for Hong Kong (see alsoTransport in Hong Kong).
| Climate data for Hong Kong Park (2011–2020) Extremes (2008–present) Sunshine hours (2019–2023) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 28.4 (83.1) | 27.9 (82.2) | 30.9 (87.6) | 32.3 (90.1) | 35.8 (96.4) | 34.8 (94.6) | 36.0 (96.8) | 36.1 (97.0) | 35.8 (96.4) | 34.2 (93.6) | 32.0 (89.6) | 29.0 (84.2) | 36.1 (97.0) |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 25.3 (77.5) | 26.4 (79.5) | 28.3 (82.9) | 30.4 (86.7) | 33.2 (91.8) | 34.1 (93.4) | 34.8 (94.6) | 35.2 (95.4) | 34.2 (93.6) | 32.1 (89.8) | 29.6 (85.3) | 26.4 (79.5) | 35.5 (95.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 19.6 (67.3) | 20.0 (68.0) | 22.3 (72.1) | 25.8 (78.4) | 29.0 (84.2) | 31.2 (88.2) | 31.8 (89.2) | 31.8 (89.2) | 31.0 (87.8) | 28.6 (83.5) | 25.5 (77.9) | 21.1 (70.0) | 26.5 (79.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.5 (61.7) | 17.0 (62.6) | 19.4 (66.9) | 22.9 (73.2) | 26.4 (79.5) | 28.5 (83.3) | 28.7 (83.7) | 28.6 (83.5) | 27.8 (82.0) | 25.6 (78.1) | 22.7 (72.9) | 18.0 (64.4) | 23.5 (74.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.3 (57.7) | 14.9 (58.8) | 17.3 (63.1) | 20.8 (69.4) | 24.4 (75.9) | 26.5 (79.7) | 26.5 (79.7) | 26.2 (79.2) | 25.6 (78.1) | 23.4 (74.1) | 20.7 (69.3) | 15.7 (60.3) | 21.4 (70.5) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | 8.8 (47.8) | 9.8 (49.6) | 12.8 (55.0) | 16.6 (61.9) | 20.3 (68.5) | 23.7 (74.7) | 24.2 (75.6) | 23.7 (74.7) | 23.5 (74.3) | 19.9 (67.8) | 15.6 (60.1) | 9.7 (49.5) | 7.9 (46.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 2.9 (37.2) | 6.7 (44.1) | 8.4 (47.1) | 13.6 (56.5) | 16.7 (62.1) | 20.3 (68.5) | 22.2 (72.0) | 22.6 (72.7) | 22.2 (72.0) | 15.0 (59.0) | 10.0 (50.0) | 5.8 (42.4) | 2.9 (37.2) |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 175.4 | 137.7 | 149.3 | 131.6 | 141.6 | 138.9 | 215.4 | 177.4 | 189.6 | 185.8 | 174.5 | 174.3 | 1,991.5 |
| Source:Hong Kong Observatory[29][30][31] | |||||||||||||
Company Address: 22/F.,Chu Kong Shipping Tower, 143 Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong–Traditional ChineseArchived 25 August 2021 at theWayback Machine: "香港干諾道中一四三號珠江船務大廈22字樓" ,Simplified ChineseArchived 25 August 2021 at theWayback Machine: "香港干诺道中一四三号珠江船务大厦22字楼"
30/F, New World Tower, 18 Queen's Road, Central, Hong Kong–Traditional Chinese address: "香港中環皇后大道中18號新世界大廈30樓",Simplified Chinese address: "香港中环皇后大道中18号新世界大厦30楼"
Mail HKR International Limited 23/F, China Merchants Tower Shun Tak Centre 168 Connaught Road Central Hong Kong-Traditional Chinese: "香港干諾道中168號 信德中心招商局大廈23樓",Simplified Chinese: "香港干诺道中168号 信德中心招商局大厦23楼"
Hong Kong/Central travel guide from Wikivoyage
Media related toCentral, Hong Kong at Wikimedia Commons22°16′55″N114°09′29″E / 22.28194°N 114.15806°E /22.28194; 114.15806
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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Urban areas of Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories | |||||||||||
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| MHong Kong1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9a,10,11,12,14,15,16 |  | ||||||||||
| MOld KowloonKL,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9a,10,11,12,14,15,16 |
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| MNew KowloonNKL,2,3,4,5,6,7,9a,10,11,12,14,15,16 |
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| New Territories |
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Official place names are summarized from "Geoinfo Map" of Government ofHong Kong Special Administrative Region, "Hong Kong Guide" ofLands Department, "Hong Kong Guide Book" of Universal Publications Ltd. and "Areas and Districts" ofRating and Valuation Department. M：Narrow meaning of urban areas KL:Kowloon Peninsula at the south ofBoundary Street NKL: Former New Territories area at the north of Boundary Street and at the south ofLion Rock 1: Common definition (1) 2: Common definition (2) 3: Common definition (3) 4: Areas not adopting small house concessionary right ofindigenous inhabitants 5: Jurisdiction area of formerUrban Council 6: Definition of "Metropolitan Area" ofPlanning Department 7: Jurisdiction area ofUrban Renewal Authority 8: Unique operating area ofurban taxis 9: "Urban" (9a) and "Extended Urban" (9b) areas defined byHong Kong Housing Authority 10: Definition of Urbanrates 11: Hospital cluster belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon 12: Police region belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon 13: Regions having 999-year land lease 14:Geographical Constituency inHong Kong Legislative Council belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon 15:Regional Education Office belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon 16:Primary One Admission School Net belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon | |||||||||||
