Urmston Road is a broad body of water between Lantau Island

Lantau Island

Lantau Island , based on the old local name of Lantau Peak , is the largest island in Hong Kong, located at the mouth of the Pearl River. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the Islands District of Hong Kong...

 and Tuen Mun

Tuen Mun

Tuen Mun is a town near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in Hong Kong which can be dated back to the Neolithic period. In the more recent past, it was home to many Tanka fishermen who gathered at the Castle...

 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 forms an inshore passage

Channel (geography)

In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...

 between the northwest end of Victoria Harbour

Victoria Harbour

Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour situated between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on the South China Sea were instrumental in Hong Kong's establishment as a British colony and its subsequent...

 and the mouth of the Pearl River

Pearl River (China)

The Pearl River or less commonly, the "Guangdong River" or "Canton River" etc., , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name Pearl River is usually used as a catchment term to refer to the watersheds of the Xi Jiang , the Bei Jiang , and the Dong Jiang...

. At its eastern end it connects to the Western Working Anchorage through the Ma Wan Channel

Ma Wan Channel

Ma Wan Channel is a channel between Ma Wan and Tsing Yi Island in Hong Kong. The north end of the channel is Ting Kau where it joins the Rambler Channel. To the west it joins with the Kap Shui Mun channel running to the south of Ma Wan, leading into Urmston Road. To the east it divides into the...

 and the narrower Kap Shui Mun

Kap Shui Mun

Kap Shui Mun or Throat Gates is a major channel, between Lantau Island and Ma Wan, in Hong Kong. It is part of major sea route along the coast of South China, from Victoria Harbour to the Pearl River. It joins north with Urmston Road...

 channel to the west of Ma Wan

Ma Wan

Ma Wan is an island of Hong Kong, located between Lantau Island and Tsing Yi Island, with an area of 0.97 km². Administratively, it is part of Tsuen Wan District....

.

History

Urmston Road is named after Sir James Brabazon Urmston, who was the British East India Company

East India Company

The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...

's China chief from 1819 to 1826. The passage received its English name in 1823; prior to that it was referred to as Toon-Koo Bay.

Geography

Urmston Road contains a number of small islands and rocks, which confine the main shipping fairway to a relatively narrow course along the north side. It is occasionally used as an alternative route for the ferry service between Hong Kong and Macau

Macau

Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

 in times of heavy weather from the south. There are several piers, shipping terminals and anchorages around Urmston Road, including the Tuen Mun River Trade Terminal

River Trade Terminal

River Trade Terminal Company Limited is the only container terminal in Hong Kong for river cargo. It mainly handles and consolidates container and bulk cargo from upstream prior to dispatch to Kwai Tsing Container Terminals and vice versa....

. First Ferry operates a passenger ferry service across Urmston Road from Tuen Mun to Tung Chung

Tung Chung

Tung Chung, meaning 'eastern stream', is an area situated on the north-western coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. Tung Chung, currently one of the latest generation of new towns, was formerly a rural village around Tung Chung Wan, and along the delta and lower courses of Tung Chung River and Ma...

.

The most significant recent development in the area was the building in the 1990s of the new Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong International Airport

Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is colloquially known as Chek Lap Kok Airport , being built on the island of Chek Lap Kok by land reclamation, and also to distinguish it from its predecessor, the closed Kai Tak Airport.The airport opened for commercial...

, almost entirely on reclaimed land around a rocky islet called Chek Lap Kok

Chek Lap Kok

Chek Lap Kok was an island in the western waters of Hong Kong. Together with the smaller Lam Chau, it was leveled and merged via land reclamation into the platform for the current Hong Kong International Airport, which opened for commercial operations in 1998...

close to the north of Lantau.