Central and Western District

Infobox HK District
official_name = Central and Western District

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map_caption = Location in Hong Kong
google = http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=22.272806,114.128551&spn=0.058545,0.078359&t=k&hl=en
leader_title = District Officer
leader_name = Miss Eliza Yau, JP
constituencies = 15
area_note =
area_magnitude = 1 E9
area_total = 12.4
area_land =
area_water =
population_as_of = 2006
population_note =
population_total = 250,064
population_density = 20,102
latitude = 22°17' N
longitude = 114°09' E
website = [http://www.districtcouncils.gov.hk/central/english/welcome.htm Central and Western District Council]
footnotes =
The Central and Western District (zh-t|t=中西區) located on northern part of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, is one of the 18 administrative 18 districts of the city-state. It had a population of 261,884 in 2001. The district has the most educated residents with the second highest income and the third lowest population.

Central is the central business district and the core urban area of Hong Kong. Western was part of City of Victoria one of the areas of early settlement in Hong Kong.

History

Central District was the first area of planned urban development in Hong Kong. The site of Victoria City was also the capital during the colonial era. The British held a land sale in June 1841, 6 months after the flag was raised at Possession Point. 51 lots of land were sold to 23 merchant houses to build offices and warehouses. Some of the property buyers included Dent's, Jardine's, Russell's and Olyphant's. At the time, the 2 roads Albany Nullah (now Garden rd) and Glenealy Nullah (now Glenealy rd) were mainly reserved for British use. The streets later became known as Government Hill [Wordie, Jason. [2002] (2002) Streets: Exploring Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 962-2095631] .

In 1857, the British government expanded Victoria City and divided it into seven districts. The ones located in present-day Central and Western are: Sai Ying Pun, Sheung Wan, Tai Ping Shan, Central. The area was essentially a European area until 1860 when Chinese merchants begin buying up European properties around Cochrane, Wellington and Pottinger Streets. The Central district was the principal European business district, hence the arrival of the first large scale bank HSBC. The Western district was the commercial centre for Chinese businesses. When the value of the district raised, a meeting was held in February 1866 to establish a "District Watch Force" to police and protect this specific area [Tsai Jung-fang. [1995] (1995). Hong Kong in Chinese History: community and social unrest in the British Colony, 1842-1913. Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231079338] .

In 1880, Shek Tong Tsui was established, followed by Kennedy Town in the 20th century. By 1890s the majority of Hong Kong's population was concentrated in the district with about 200,000 residents, mostly in Victoria City [Sanderson, Edgar. [1897] (1897) The British Empire in the Nineteenth Century: Its Progress and Expansion at Home and Abroad. Blackie publishing. No ISBN digitalized doc from Stanford university] .

Politics

District councils in Hong Kong are primarily consultative bodies of the HKSAR government with very limited powers, primarily restricted to building and maintaining parks, open areas, recreational and cultural activities and tourist promotion.

District council elections are held every four years; the last one was held on November 23 2003 for terms beginning January 1, 2004. 15 constituency members are elected while 4 are appointed by the government. The constituency areas are smaller than the commonly used geographic areas, which are in turn based on the old 1857 and 1880 divisions.

*Central (中環)
* Mid-Levels East (半山東)
* Castle Road (衛城道)
* Peak (山頂)
* University (大學)
* Kennedy Town (堅尼地城) and Mount Davis (摩星嶺)
* Kwun Lung (觀龍)
* Sai Wan (西環)
* Belcher (寶翠)
* Shek Tong Tsui (石塘咀)
* Sai Ying Pun (西營盤)
* Tung Wah (東華)
* Centre Street (正街)
* Water Street (水街)

Current members are:
* CHAN Tak-chor (陳特楚)(chairman) (Liberal)
* WU Chor-nam (胡楚南)(vice-chaiman) (appointed)
* CHAN Chit-kwai, Stephen (陳捷貴)
* LAM Kin-lai (DAB) (appointed)
* CHAN Choi-hi, Dominic (陳財喜)
* CHENG Lai-king (鄭麗瓊)(Democratic Party)
* LIN Mark (Liberal)
* CHUNG Yam-cheung (DAB)(appointed)
* TAI Cheuk-yin, Leslie Spencer
* HO Chun-ki (何俊麒)(Democratic Party)
* Victor YEUNG (楊浩然)(Democratic Party)
* Cyd HO Sau-lan (former legislator) (The Frontier)
* YEUNG Wai-foon (DAB)
* KAM Nai-wai(甘乃威) (Democratic Party)
* YOUNG Siu-chuen, Albert (appointed)
* KWOK Ka-ki (郭家麒)
* YUEN Bun-keung (阮品強)(Democratic Party)
* LAI Kwok-hung (黎國雄)

Demographics

Hong Kong's 2001 census put the total population of the district at 261,884, with 89,545 households. Among the 18 districts, Central and Western has the second highest median household income in the territory (HK$25,350 per month, behind only Wan Chai District, and is at a par with Wan Chai in median monthly per capita income, at HK$13,000 per month. In terms of average size of households, it is third smallest at 2.8 persons, behind only Wan Chai and Yau Tsim Mong District, at 2.7 each.

Geography and political subdivisions

The district is located at coord|22|17|00|N|114|09|00|E|, based on the location of the General Post Office). With an area of 12.4 km², the district occupies the northwestern portion of Hong Kong Island. It is surrounded by Wan Chai District on the east, Southern District on the south, and Victoria harbour in the north. The district also encompasses Green Island and Little Green Island, two uninhabited islands to the west of Hong Kong Island.

Areas from west to east along Victoria Harbour are: Kennedy Town, Sai Ying Pun, Sheung Wan, Central, Admiralty.

Neighbourhoods within the district are listed from east to west.

Admiralty

* Queensway

Central

Central is the business centre of Hong Kong, and many multinational financial services corporations have their headquarters there. Government Hill, the site of the government headquarters, is also in Central.

Central mid-levels escalator

The Central-Mid-levels escalator in Hong Kong is the longest outdoor covered escalator system in the world. The system is 800 meters long, connecting Des Voeux Road Central, in Central with Conduit Road in the Mid-levels, passing through narrow streets in Soho.

The escalator runs downhill from 6 am to 10 am and uphill from 10.20 am to 12.00 am (midnight) everyday. Apart from its significance in transport linkage, it is also a tourist attraction, with many restaurants, bars, and shops lining its route.

Bank of China Tower

The Bank of China Tower in Central houses the headquarters of BOCHK. Designed by I. M. Pei, the 70 storey building's height is 315 meters with two masts reaching 369 meters. Construction began in 1985 and the building was completed in 1989. It was the first building outside the United States to exceed 1,000 feet and to exceed 300 metres. It was the tallest building in Hong Kong and Asia from 1989 to 1992, when the nearby, taller Central Plaza was completed.

City Hall

Built in 1962, the City Hall complex housed the old central library of Hong Kong, as well as concert halls, restaurants and a marriage registry. The conference room of the former Urban Council was also at the lower building of the City Hall.

The garden at the north-western side of the complex includes a memorial to those killed in Hong Kong during World War II.

Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building

The funnel-shaped Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building (formerly, and still commonly known as the Prince of Wales Building) housed the headquarters of the British garrison in Hong Kong until the territory's handover to the People's Republic of China on June 30, 1997. It now houses the local garrison of the People's Liberation Army and is formally known as Central Barracks, in line with PLA convention for naming barracks after the name of the locality.

Other landmarks

* Cenotaph, Hong Kong
* Chater Garden
* Chinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building (formerly the Prince of Wales Building)
* Edinburgh Place, Hong Kong – including Queen's Pier and the Star Ferry pier
* Exchange Square
* Former Supreme Court Building
* Harcourt Park
* Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens
* Hong Kong Club
* Hong Kong Park
* HSBC Hong Kong headquarters building
* International Finance Centre
* Jardine House
* Lan Kwai Fong
* Legislative Council building
* Lippo Centre
* Old Bank of China Building
* Peak Tram terminus
* St. John's Cathedral, Hong Kong
* St. Joseph Church, Hong Kong
* St. Paul's Church, Hong Kong
* St. Paul's Co-educational College
* Soho
* Statue Square
* The First Church of Christ, Scientist, Hong Kong
* Union Church, Hong Kong

Mid-levels

* Government House

ai Ying Pun

* Sai Ying Pun Community Complex

heung Wan

* The Center

econdary schools

Arranged by alphabetical order of their full names in each category.

Government-administered schools
* King's College [http://kings.school.net.hk/]

Aided schools
* Caritas St. Francis Secondary School [http://www.fps.edu.hk/]
* Lok Sin Tong Leung Kau Kui College [http://lstlkkc.school.net.hk/]
* Raimondi College [http://raimondi.school.net.hk/]
* St. Clare's Girls' School [http://stclare.school.net.hk/index.html]
* St. Joseph's College [http://sjc.edu.hk/]
* St. Louis School [http://www.stlouis.edu.hk/]
* St. Stephen's Church College [http://home.netteens.net/~sscc/]
* St. Stephen's Girls' College [http://www.ssgc.edu.hk/web/index.asp]
* Ying Wa Girls' School [http://www.ywgs.edu.hk/]

Schools under Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS)

* Hon Wah Middle School [http://www.honwah.edu.hk/] , [http://honwah.school.net.hk/]
* St. Margaret's Girls' College, Hong Kong [http://www.smgchk.edu.hk/]
* St. Paul's Co-educational College [http://spcc.school.net.hk/]
* St. Paul's College [http://spc.hkcampus.net/]

International schools
* Carmel School [http://www.carmel.edu.hk]
* German Swiss International School [http://www.gsis.edu.hk/]
* Island School [http://www.island.edu.hk/] (under funding of English Schools Foundation, subsidized by government)
* Sear Rogers International School, Hong Kong Island [http://www.sear-rogers.com/sris/]

Vocational and night schools (privately-funded)
* Sacred Heart Canossian College of Commerce [http://www.shccc.edu.hk]
* St. Paul's Secondary Evening School

Tertiary institutions

* The University of Hong Kong
* Caritas Francis Hsu College

References

ee also

* List of buildings, sites and areas in Hong Kong
* Tourism in Hong Kong

External links

* [http://www.districtcouncils.gov.hk/central/english/welcome.htm Central and Western District Council]
* [http://www.eac.gov.hk/pdf/distco/2007dc/dc2007a.pdf List and map of electoral constituencies (large PDF file)]
* [http://www.nima.mil/gns/html/index.html Coordinates are courtesy of the GNS system of the National Imagery and Mapping Agency] .