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To Kwa Wan 土瓜灣 | |
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Neighborhood | |
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| Country | China |
| SAR | Hong Kong |
| Region | Kowloon |
| District | Kowloon City |
| To Kwa Wan | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 土瓜灣 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 土瓜湾 | ||||||||||||
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To Kwa Wan (Chinese:土瓜灣;Cantonese Yale:Tóugwāwàahn) is a bay and an area of the eastern shore ofKowloon peninsula. The area is part ofurban Hong Kong, and is situated betweenHok Yuen,Hung Hom,Ma Tau Chung andMa Tau Kok. Administratively, the area belongs to theKowloon City District ofKowloon.
To Kwa Wan is a mixed residential and commercial area, located to the west of the oldKai Tak Airport.
It comprises mostly mid-20th century residential and light industrial architecture of 10 or fewer floors, built to comply with height restrictions for the formerKai Tak Airport. Since the airport closed in 1998, new buildings are taller, often with commercial space on the ground floor, especially along major roads such aMa Tau Wai Road. Consequently, the area has a much-valued cohesive community spirit.[1]
To Kwa Wan station services this area.
The name "To Kwa Wan" literally means "Potato Bay", named for the sweet potatoes formerly grown here by localHakka people. From the 19th century, a nearby granite quarry provided construction materials, including for the development ofKai Tak Airport.[1]
At the time of the 1911 census, the population of To Kwa Wan was 1,072. The number of males was 766.[2]
After World War II, light industrial units sprang up, making products such as toys and textiles. Housing rose concurrently with factory buildings, and in the 1970sthe area's public housing estates were built to relieve pressure in other crowded areas of Kowloon.[1]
Poor building standards and ageing have been highlighted by crumbling facades that have hurt or killed people in the area. The demolition of older flats has allowed developers to acquire land in To Kwa Wan to build newer and more profitable residential flats.[3]
Alongside high-density residential and commercial zoning, there are a few green spaces in To Kwa Wan:
With extensiveland reclamation in the early 1970s,Hoi Sham Island, formerly located in the adjacent bay, was incorporated into thepeninsula, becoming part of the Hoi Sham Park.[4]
There only a few main roads in the area. All other roads are side streets serving local residents.To Kwa Wan Road and Ma Tau Wai Road form a V-shaped corridor, while theEast Kowloon Corridor is an elevated highway passing through the middle of To Kwa Wan.
The Kowloon City Pier Bus Terminus to the north services several local bus routes.
To Kwa Wan station now serves the area with the full opening of theTuen Ma Line as part of newSha Tin to Central Link, in anticipation of which new development is already taking place.[1]
To Kwa Wan is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 34. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and two government schools: Farm Road Government Primary School and Ma Tau Chung Government Primary School.[5]
Hong Kong Public Libraries maintains the To Kwa Wan Public Library in the To Kwa Wan Market & Government Offices complex.[6]
Urban areas of Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||||||||||
22°19′08″N114°11′27″E / 22.31885°N 114.19070°E /22.31885; 114.19070