Aberdeen Street

Aberdeen Street
Aberdeen Street at Queen's Road Central
Traditional Chinese	鴨巴甸街
Transcriptions Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization ngaap3 ba1 din1 gaai1

Lin Heung Tea House, at the corner of Aberdeen Street and Wellington Street.

Gage Street, at its junction with Aberdeen Street. The red sign commemorates Yang Quyun.

Former Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters at the corner of Hollywood Road and Aberdeen Street.

Kwong Hon Terrace Garden viewed from Aberdeen Street.

Caine Road at its junction with the upper end of Aberdeen Street. The building on the right is Albron Court.

Aberdeen Street is a border street dividing Sheung Wan and Central on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.^[1] It ascends from Queen's Road Central to Caine Road in the Mid-levels. The street is named after George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Foreign Secretary at the time of the cession of Hong Kong Island to the United Kingdom in 1842.^[2]

History

In the early days after 1841, while Choong Wan was planned to be business centre of Victoria City and an area of Westener population, Chinese population was removed from Choong Wan to the area around Tai Ping Shan Street in Sheung Wan and Sheung Wan became the area of Chinese population.

South of Hollywood Road was the Alice Memorial Hospital and the College of Medicine where Sun Yat-sen graduated with distinction in 1892. After the college was merged into the University of Hong Kong, the hospital was also moved to Bonham Road and renamed to Nethersole Hospital.

After reclamation of island north, Aberdeen Street was extended in the north by Wing Kut Street (Chinese: 永吉街), a pedestrian lane which hosts a street market.

Features

The following list follows a north-south order. (W) indicates the western side of the street, while (E) indicates the eastern side.

• > Junction with Queen's Road Central
• This section is a ladder street
• > intersection with Wellington Street
• (E) Lin Heung Tea House (Chinese: 莲香楼; literally: "Fragrant Lotus")
  • Located at 160-164 Wellington Street,^[3] at the corner with Aberdeen Street. The restaurant opened in 1928 and changed location several times before opening at its present location.^[4] It serves dim sum for breakfast and lunch and traditional Cantonese dishes for dinner.^[5]
• (W)> junction with Kau U Fong (九如坊)
• (W) Lan Kwai Fong Hotel
  • Located at No. 3 Kau U Fong, at the corner with Aberdeen Street.^[6] Despite the name, it is not located at Lan Kwai Fong.
• (E)> junction with Wa On Lane (華安里)
• (W)> junction with Gough Street
• (E)> junction with Gage Street
• (E) Original site of the school where Yang Quyun was assassinated by Qing agents in 1911.
  • Located at No. 52 Gage Street, at the corner with Aberdeen Street. A marker, part of the Dr Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail is located in Aberdeen Street. The site is also included in the Central and Western Heritage Trail.^[7]
• (E)> junction with Sam Ka Lane (三家里)
• > intersection with Hollywood Road
• (W) PMQ (前荷李活道已婚警察宿舍)
  • The compound occupies the block west of Aberdeen Street, between Hollywood Road and Staunton Street.^[8] It is located on the site of the former Central School. The school had been established in 1862 at Gough Street and moved to the Aberdeen Street location in 1889, while being renamed Victoria College.^[9] At that time, the school was one of the largest and most expensive buildings in Hong Kong. It was renamed Queen's College in 1894. The campus was destroyed during World War II, and the school was subsequently relocated. The buildings at Aberdeen Street were demolished in 1948 and the Quarters were opened in 1951. They were completely vacated in 2000.^[10] It has been revitalized as a creative hub for local design talents in 2014.
• > intersection with Staunton Street
• (E) Kwong Hon Terrace Garden (光漢臺花園)
• (W) Albron Court, at the corner with Caine Road
  • The current building occupies the site of a former two-storey-mansion of the same name, that had been built in the 1870s for H.N. Mody. A gatepost of the mansion remains in front of the building on Caine Road.^[2]
• (E) St. Margaret's Girls' College, at the corner with Caine Road
• > intersection with Caine Road

See also

• List of streets and roads in Hong Kong

References

1. Yanne, Andrew; Heller, Gillis (2009). Signs of a Colonial Era. Hong Kong University Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-962-209-944-9.
2. Wordie, Jason (2002). Streets: exploring Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 16–20. ISBN 978-962-209-563-2.
3. Liam Fitzpatrick, "Hong Kong: 10 Things to Do. Lin Heung Tea House", Time Travel
4. Hong Kong Tourism Board: Lin Heung Tea House
5. "Lin Heung Tea House: Dim sum elder", CNN Go, 14 July 2009
6. Lan Kwai Fong Hotel: location
7. Antiquities and Monuments Office: Original Site of the School where Yang Quyun was Murdered
8. Conserve and Revitalise Hong Kong Heritage: Former Police Married Quarters on Hollywood Road
9. Sweeting, A.E. (1991). Education in Hong Kong, Pre-1841 to 1941: Fact and Opinion. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 150 & 214. ISBN 978-962-209-258-7.
10. Antiquities and Monuments Office: "Former Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters. 2007 Site Investigation Report"

External links

• An article about the street in Sing Pao (Chinese)
• Google Maps of Aberdeen Street
• Waters, Dan, "The Hungry Ghosts Festival in Aberdeen Street, Hong Kong", pp. 41–55, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, Vol. 44 (2004)

Coordinates: 22°17′00″N 114°09′08″E / 22.2833°N 114.1523°E