Spring Garden Lane is a street in Wan Chai

Wan Chai

Wan Chai is a metropolitan area situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area north of Gloucester Road is often called...

, Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. It was one of the first focal areas developed by the British in the 1840s.

History

During the early development of Wan Chai, one of the focal area of development was Spring Gardens. The name was used by the British during the early Colonial Hong Kong

Colonial Hong Kong

In the 19th century the British, Dutch, French, Indians and Americans saw Imperial China as the world's largest untapped market. In 1840 the British Empire launched their first and one of the most aggressive expeditionary forces to claim the territory that would later be known as Hong Kong.In a few...

 eras in the 1840s. The name was supposed to be 泉园街 meaning water spring

Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

. Instead it was translated to 春園街 meaning spring season

Spring (season)

Spring is one of the four temperate seasons, the transition period between winter and summer. Spring and "springtime" refer to the season, and broadly to ideas of rebirth, renewal and regrowth. The specific definition of the exact timing of "spring" varies according to local climate, cultures and...

. The water spring mentioned possibly refers to the mountain creek beside Hopewell Centre

Hopewell Centre, Hong Kong

Hopewell Centre is a skyscraper in Hong Kong. It is located at 183 Queen's Road East, in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island. It is the first circular skyscraper in Hong Kong. It is named after Hong Kong-listed property firm Hopewell Holdings Limited, which constructed the building...

 in Queen's Road

Queen's Road

Queen's Road is the first road in Hong Kong built by the Government of Hong Kong between 1841 and 1843, spanning across Victoria City from Shek Tong Tsui to Wan Chai...

 East.

During the founding of the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

 around 1948 to 1949, many of the Communist party

Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

 guerrilla

Guerrilla warfare

Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...

 forces found their way to Hong Kong after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. One of them was the East River Guerrilla Force (東江縱隊), which formed a pro-Communist underground group called the Hailiushe (海流社). They were headquartered in the rooftop of a multi-story house on Spring Garden Lane. The area and group was raided by the Hong Kong police, while it was an operating network cell.

Around Spring Garden Lane are Lee Tung Street

Lee Tung Street

Lee Tung Street , known as the Wedding Card Street by the locals, is located at Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Involved in a project executed by the Urban Renewal Authority , was torn down in December 2007...

, Swatow Street

Swatow Street

Swatow Street is a street in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong island, Hong Kong. It intersects with Queen's Road East. Category:Roads in Hong Kong...

 and Amoy Street

Amoy Street (Hong Kong)

Amoy Street is a street in the Wan Chai district of Hong Kong island, Hong Kong. It intersects with Queen's Road East....

where abounded with warehouses storing cargoes to be shipped to Chinese coastline cities.