Tonkin Street
Encyclopedia
Tonkin Street is a street between Sham Shui Po
and Cheung Sha Wan
of New Kowloon
in Hong Kong
. It runs northeast to southwest and crossing many major roads in the Cheung Sha Wan. After extensive reclamation in West Kowloon in 1990s, an extension Tonkin Street West (東京街西) was built.
is currently only used by Tokyo
, eastern capital of Japan
, a hint from its English name suggests that the name is associated with the eastern capital of Vietnam
, Tonkin
, namely modern-day Hanoi
. British named roads and streets in the area by the trading cities in the surrounding of Hong Kong.
and runs south across Po On Road, Shun Ning Road, Castle Peak Road
, Un Chau Street, Fuk Wa Street
, Cheung Sha Wan Road
, Lai Chi Kok Road
and ends at Tung Chau Street.
Part of the street maintains a nullah
in the middle. Some notably landmarks can be found beside the street. Lei Cheng Uk Estate
is one of early public housing estate
in Hong Kong. Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum
embedded a tomb dating back to Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25 - 220). An abandoned Cheung Sha Wan Factory Estate
marks the prosperity of Hong Kong industry from 1950s to the early 1980s. The estate was suggested to be workshops for fashionists. Other abandon buildings like Cheung Sha Wan Police Quarters and Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir are the colonial marks in Hong Kong. Amidst the city, an enclosed golf
court can be found at the junction with Lai Chi Kok Road.
s, bullet
s and grenade
s, in a drainage project in the street near Fuk Wing Street. The explosive was buried 1 to 3 metres beneath the surface. It belonged to former British Army
around the period of World War II
. Streets and MTR
exits of surrounding area are closed to let the ammunition experts from Hong Kong Police Force
to detonated these explosive. More pieces were unearthed at the same site on 27 April 2006.
Nam Cheong Station, via Ying Wa Street and Sham Mong Road
.
Sham Shui Po
Sham Shui Po, or Shamshuipo, is an area of Sham Shui Po District, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei. Sham Shui Po is known for its street market for electronic devices.-History:Sham Shui Po...
and Cheung Sha Wan
Cheung Sha Wan
Cheung Sha Wan is an area between Lai Chi Kok and Sham Shui Po in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is mainly residential to the north and south, with an industrial area in between. Administratively it is part of Sham Shui Po District. The Sham Shui Po District includes Mei Foo as well as Lai Chi...
of New Kowloon
New Kowloon
New Kowloon is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong, bounded in the south by Boundary Street, and in the north by the ranges of the Lion Rock, Beacon Hill, Tate's Cairn and Kowloon Peak...
in 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 runs northeast to southwest and crossing many major roads in the Cheung Sha Wan. After extensive reclamation in West Kowloon in 1990s, an extension Tonkin Street West (東京街西) was built.
Name
Its Chinese name Tung King (東京) means eastern capital, which is a very common name in historical China and neighbour countries. Although the name in Chinese characterChinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
is currently only used by Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, eastern capital of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, a hint from its English name suggests that the name is associated with the eastern capital of Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Tonkin
Tonkin
Tonkin , also spelled Tongkin, Tonquin or Tongking, is the northernmost part of Vietnam, south of China's Yunnan and Guangxi Provinces, east of northern Laos, and west of the Gulf of Tonkin. Locally, it is known as Bắc Kỳ, meaning "Northern Region"...
, namely modern-day Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
. British named roads and streets in the area by the trading cities in the surrounding of Hong Kong.
Tonkin Street
Tonkin Street (東京街) starts north from the junction with Kwong Lee Road near Lei Cheng Uk EstateLei Cheng Uk Estate
Lei Cheng Uk Estate is a public housing estate and Tenants Purchase Scheme estate in Lei Cheng Uk, a downhill of Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong, located near So Uk Estate. Since the redevelopment in 1980s, the estate consists of 10 residential buildings completed in 1984, 1989 and 1990...
and runs south across Po On Road, Shun Ning Road, Castle Peak Road
Castle Peak Road
Castle Peak Road is the longest road in Hong Kong. It runs from Tai Po Road in Sham Shui Po, Kowloon to the very north of the New Territories, serving south, west and north New Territories, being one of the most distant roads in early Hong Kong.-Name:...
, Un Chau Street, Fuk Wa Street
Fuk Wa Street
Fuk Wa Street is a street in Cheung Sha Wan and Sham Shui Po, New Kowloon, Hong Kong. Part of the street is a street market with numerous stalls selling varieties of goods like old books and clothes. Its section between Yen Chow Street and Kweilin Street where the famous Golden Computer Arcade is...
, Cheung Sha Wan Road
Cheung Sha Wan Road
Cheung Sha Wan Road is the most major road in western urban New Kowloon of Hong Kong. It starts from Sham Shui Po, passes through Cheung Sha Wan, and ends near Lai Chi Kok.-Route:...
, Lai Chi Kok Road
Lai Chi Kok Road
Lai Chi Kok Road is a road in the western part of New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It links Lai Chi Kok to Mong Kok, via Tai Kok Tsui, Sham Shui Po and Cheung Sha Wan. It starts from the junction with Nathan Road near Pioneer Centre in the south and ends near Mei Foo Sun Chuen...
and ends at Tung Chau Street.
Part of the street maintains a nullah
Nullah
A Nullah or Nulla is an arm of the sea, stream, or watercourse, a steep narrow valley. Like the wadi of the Arabs, the nullah is characteristic of mountainous or hilly country where there is little rainfall...
in the middle. Some notably landmarks can be found beside the street. Lei Cheng Uk Estate
Lei Cheng Uk Estate
Lei Cheng Uk Estate is a public housing estate and Tenants Purchase Scheme estate in Lei Cheng Uk, a downhill of Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong, located near So Uk Estate. Since the redevelopment in 1980s, the estate consists of 10 residential buildings completed in 1984, 1989 and 1990...
is one of early public housing estate
Public housing in Hong Kong
Public housing in Hong Kong is a set of mass housing programmes through which the Government of Hong Kong provides affordable housing for lower-income residents. It is a major component of housing in Hong Kong, with nearly half of the population now residing in some form of public housing...
in Hong Kong. Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum
Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum
The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum is composed of an ancient brick tomb and of an exhibition hall adjacent to it. It is located at 41 Tonkin Street, in Cheung Sha Wan, Sham Shui Po District, in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong.-The tomb:According to the structure,...
embedded a tomb dating back to Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 25 - 220). An abandoned Cheung Sha Wan Factory Estate
Cheung Sha Wan Factory Estate
Cheung Sha Wan Factory Estate was a factory estate in Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong, owned and managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority. It comprised five low-storey blocks without lift service, built between 1960 and 1965. Due to its outdated facilities, it was cleared in 2002 and...
marks the prosperity of Hong Kong industry from 1950s to the early 1980s. The estate was suggested to be workshops for fashionists. Other abandon buildings like Cheung Sha Wan Police Quarters and Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir are the colonial marks in Hong Kong. Amidst the city, an enclosed golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
court can be found at the junction with Lai Chi Kok Road.
Unearth of World War II explosive
On 8 April 2006, the workers unearthed 588 pieces of explosive articles including cannon shellShell (projectile)
A shell is a payload-carrying projectile, which, as opposed to shot, contains an explosive or other filling, though modern usage sometimes includes large solid projectiles properly termed shot . Solid shot may contain a pyrotechnic compound if a tracer or spotting charge is used...
s, bullet
Bullet
A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...
s and grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
s, in a drainage project in the street near Fuk Wing Street. The explosive was buried 1 to 3 metres beneath the surface. It belonged to former British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
around the period of 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...
. Streets and MTR
MTR
Mass Transit Railway is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 211.6 km of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops...
exits of surrounding area are closed to let the ammunition experts from Hong Kong Police Force
Hong Kong Police Force
The Hong Kong Police Force is the largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. It is the world's second, and Asia's first, police agency to operate with a modern policing system. It was formed on 1 May 1844, with a strength of 32 officers...
to detonated these explosive. More pieces were unearthed at the same site on 27 April 2006.
Tonkin Street West
Tonkin Street West (東京街西) continues Tonkin Street from Tung Chau Street to Lin Cheung Road near the interchange station of West Rail Line Nam Cheong Station and MTRMTR
Mass Transit Railway is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system now includes 211.6 km of rail with 155 stations, including 86 railway stations and 69 light rail stops...
Nam Cheong Station, via Ying Wa Street and Sham Mong Road
Sham Mong Road
Sham Mong Road is a major road on the new reclamation of 1990s in western New Kowloon of Hong Kong. The road starts from Cherry Street near HSBC Centre and MTR Olympic Station in Tai Kok Tsui, and ends in the former site of incinerator at the junction of Yuet Luen Street and Lai Po Road in Lai...
.