Wan Chai District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. Of the four on Hong Kong Island, it is north-central, and had 166,695 residents in 2021, an increase from 152,608 residents in 2011. The district has the second-highest educationally qualified residents with the highest-bracket incomes, the second-lowest population and the third-oldest quotient. It is a relatively affluent district, with one in five persons having liquid assets of more than HKD 1 million.[4]
In May 2009, 300 guests and staff members at the Metropark Hotel Wanchai were quarantined, suspected of being infected or in contact with the H1N1 virus during the 2009 swine flu pandemic. A 25-year-old Mexican man who had stayed at the hotel was later found to have the viral infection. He had travelled to Hong Kong from Mexico via Shanghai.[5][6]
The district councilof Wan Chai consists of 10 councillors, with 2 directly elected, 4 indirectly elected and 2 appointed. Chairmanship is assumed by the District Officer start from 2023.
Diversity
Flag Rising Ceremony at Golden Bauhinia Square
Today Wan Chai is sometimes described as the heart of the city, representing the epitome of the Hong Kong lifestyle – it has a well-established arts centre, the large exhibition and conference complexes, luxury apartments, five-star and non-five-star hotels, shopping malls, metropolitan office towers and a large government building cluster. It has a multitude of home decoration shops, bars and Mahjong centres. Wan Chai District houses a mosque, as well as cemeteries for several different faiths. Five minutes away from the noisy polluted streets is Bowen Drive, popular for jogging and walking by politicians, movie stars, and government officials.
Entertainment and shopping
The numerous bars and strip joints in the red-light district part of Wan Chai are popular with tourists and visiting US sailors. Within this Fenwick Pier the Fleet Arcade hosted the only McDonald's that served alcohol and pizza in Hong Kong until 2004 when it was closed; its replacement was an up-market restaurant. Benches of the McDonald's were however left behind at the lobby of the arcade.[7]
Fenwick Pier was landlocked since 2016 following reclamation by the government, and was closed and handed back to the government on 11 February 2022, with a new fire station to be built on the land of where the arcade stood. Prior to the handover of Hong Kong, Fenwick pier was regularly visited by vessels, with numbers ranging from 37 to 99 annually.[7]
Johnston Road and Queen's Road East are the two major streets in the area. Export clothing shops line Johnston and Luard Roads predominantly. Queen's Road East has many stores selling Chinese style wooden furniture.
Spring Garden Lane and Tai Wo Street are lined with stalls selling for vegetables, fruit and household items.
Next to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre is the "Golden Bauhinia Square". There is a huge sculpture of a bauhinia, which is the representative flower of Hong Kong, in the square. This is a popular tourist spot in Hong Kong for mainland visitors and also the location of the flag-raising ceremony which occurs daily and in a special form on Chinese National Day and other occasions.
Notable skyscrapers include:
Central Plaza, the third tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, located in Wan Chai North
The House of Trousers is a household belonging to one Mr Trousers who is beacon to all who refuse to leave the "Wan Chai Bubble".
Tai Yuen Street is called 'Toy Street' as this street has a lot of toy shops.[8]
Demographics
According to a household survey by the Census and Statistics Department, the median household income is the second highest of Hong Kong.
As of 2021, the district has a population of 166,695 people. It's one of the most diversed districts in Hong Kong, with 75% of the population being Chinese. The ethnic minority groups include Filipinos (9.8%) and white (4.4%). [citation needed][9]
The 2000 computer game Deus Ex features Wan Chai Market as the main district in the Hong Kong chapters of the game.
Almost a third of the 2001 video game Shenmue II is spent in Wan Chai. A small portion of the city is divided into fictional quarters modelled after similar locations.
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