Wan Chai, Hong Kong

The Area
WanChaiThe area became famous for the location of the movie, The World of Suzie Wong. Wan Chai is known for its numerous aspects. Second to the popular Lan Kwai Fong area in Central, it is a never sleeping alternative for night clubs, bars and restaurant seekers. The area is intertwined with old and new, family run printing shops, hardware shops, fresh fruit and vegetable market stalls, residential developments, modern grade A commercial buildings, 5-star hotels, the Convention Hall and Plaza, Government services and institutions, Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts and shopping centers. It is a crowded neighborhood, but with the Urban development plan for the Queen’s Road East throughway, there is still great capacity for gentrification. Here developers are harmonizing the old with the new and creating a skyline of both residential and commercial centers. Among the more notable monuments are the Wan Chai post office, Golden Bauhinia square, with a statue of the representative flower of Hong Kong, decorated next to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. There are two ferry piers which shuttle Kowloon goers from Wan Chai to the Cultural Center in Tsim Sha Tsui and to the Wampoa Gardens in Hung Hom. There are several MTR exits in the heart of Want Chai and the proposed Northern line will have another exit in the HKCEC.

Transportation
Queen’s Road East, Lockhart Road and Hennesy Road are the major throughways which connect the Western and Eastern Corridor of Hong Kong Island through Central and Wan Chai. The roads are busy with buses making way to all destinations, making above ground transportation to and from the district very easy. Further, as mentioned above, the MTR line has an exit in the heart of Wan Chai and exits in all directions within Wan Chai. The ferry pier by the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center ferries passengers from Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui and to Whampoa Gardens

Schools
There are no notable international schools in the area, but the ESF catchment for the Wan Chai area falls under Quarry Bay in the Primary sector and the South Island and West Island Schools for the secondary sector. The Hong Kong academy was built in Lower Stubbs Road in the past several years and has become very popular among expatriates with primary school children.

Leisure, Entertainment, Shopping
Queens Road East and Johnston Rd. are the two major streets in the area. Numerous export clothing shops line the streets of Johnston and Luard Rd. and offer some of the best value in Hong Kong. Queens Rd. East has many stores selling Chinese Style wooden furniture that are hand crafted to your personal style or are imported from China. For fresh vegetables, fruits and household items, a stroll along Spring Garden Lane and Tai Wo Streets offer an array of choices. Tai Yuen Street is famous for its various stalls selling toys. For the larger scale shops and malls, the convention plaza and the Sun Hun Kai building offer uniquely Chinese stores selling hand crafted goods as well as other specialist goods. The Art Center and the Center for Performing arts are located very close to one another. The Convention and Exhibition Center is a venue for conventions in many fields within Asia.