Praya
Praya | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chinese | |||||||||||
|
Praya (Chinese:
History
[edit]British occupation of Hong Kong Island began on 26 January 1841, and the colonial government held its first land sale on 14 June of that year. Purchasers were mostly the British, Indian and Parsee traders such as Dent, Jardines and Lindsay. These traders were mainly import and export merchants and required land with frontage along Victoria Harbour.[3]
Queen's Road, to the south, was the first road opened. The land lots acquired were subsequently much expanded and reclaimed from the sea without paying rent to the government. The first land reclamations after 1841 were private ones without any planning at all, making the shoreline very irregular.[3]
Lisa Lim of the South China Morning Post argued that the proximity of Macau meant that Hong Kongers kept using the word "praya" as opposed to the word "bund".[4]
A number of reclamation schemes took place around the time that John Bowring served as the Hong Kong governor. Hence many of the major Praya areas were named after him. The long names are usually "Bowring Praya East", "Bowring Praya Central" for example.
Major areas
[edit]Praya West
[edit]The Praya Reclamation Scheme began in 1868 in this area. It was completed in 1873, adding significant land to Praya West and Central.[5] Praya west is now Des Voeux Road West.
Praya Central
[edit]Praya central is now Des Voeux Road Central.
Praya East
[edit]The Praya East area went through a series of land reclamation projects. The earliest series was known as Praya East Reclamation Scheme. The filled in area is known as today's Johnston Road and Hennessy Road in Wan Chai.[6] The Hong Kong Tramways first opened its service in 1904 in Praya East.[6]
Roads and areas
[edit]There are at least seven waterfront roads in Hong Kong that still retain the name praya:
- Aberdeen Praya Road (
香港 仔 海 旁 道 ) - Cheung Chau Praya - roadway that lines the southwest part of the island; the street is lined with buildings for most of the route facing the island's inner harbour
- Kennedy Town Praya (
堅 彌 地 城 海 旁 ) - a short roadway from about Collinson Street westwards to Sand Street in Kennedy Town. The eastern end of the street becomes Des Voeux Road West, itself formerly called Praya West. Reclamation projects have made the roadway landlocked. - New Praya, Kennedy Town (
堅 彌 地 城新 海 旁 ) - located north of the Kennedy Town Praya and runs from Sands Street to west of Cadogan Street. Unlike Kennedy Town Praya, this praya is still a waterfront roadway - Ap Lei Chau Praya Road (
鴨 脷洲海 旁 道 ) - Lei Yue Mun Praya Road (
鯉 魚 門 海 傍 道 ) - Tin Wan Praya Road
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Wordie, Jason (January 20, 2008). "FYI: Why do some Hong Kong street names seem to have no connection to the area they are in?". South China Morning Post. p. 10. Retrieved January 8, 2014. (subscription required)
- ^ a b The Praya, Hong Kong Illustrations of China and Its People, John Thomson 1837-1921, (London,1873-1874)
- ^ a b "A Historical and Architectural Appraisal of Queen’s Pier, Central (Annexe B3), Antiquities and Monuments Office, Government of Hong Kong SAR, accessdate=2007-12-15
- ^ Lim, Lisa (2017-08-18). "Where the word praya came from and how it became part of place names in Hong Kong". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2022-06-06.
- ^ Bard, Solomon. [2002] (2002). Voices from the Past: Hong Kong 1842-1918. HK University press. ISBN 962-209-574-7
- ^ a b Wordie, Jason. [2002] (2002) Streets: Exploring Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 962-209-563-1