This Community Cultural Tour Maps the Metamorphosis of Wanchai
There's more to Wanchai than meets the eye.
Wanchai is known today as a busy and hip metropolitan area brimming with modern skyscrapers, hotels, boutiques, and the trendiest bars, restaurants, and cafés. After dark, its heady atmosphere and neon lights point to a nightlife both exciting and exotic that attracts locals and tourists alike. It’s a far cry from its humble roots as a small fishing community once inhabited by Chinese settlers.
A community cultural tour, organized by the St. James Settlement and the Hong Kong House of Stories, however, aims to show the rich heritage of Wanchai beyond the pomp and noise. The Wan Chai Heritage Preservation Tour plots the changing faces of the area, which has gone from a fishing village, a commerce site of merchants, and a military base of the British colonial government to its commercial development in the mid-20th century and onwards.
The tour, which includes stops to key destinations around Wanchai, is as enjoyable as it is educational and perfect for all ages. To have an idea of what to expect from the tour, check out the route below!
Pak Tai Temple
Pak Tai Temple, built by locals in 1863, is also known as "Yuk Hui Kung" and is the biggest Pak Tai Temple in Hong Kong. It is managed by the Chinese Temples Committee.
Blue House
Originally occupied by the "Wah To Hospital," the site of the Blue House was eventually converted into a temple for the God of Medicine, Wah To, after the hospital's closing in 1886. It finally got its name – Blue House – after it was painted blue by the government in 1997.
Old Wan Chai Post Office
Did you know that the first Environmental Centre of the Environmental Protection Department, which was built in 1993, used to be the Old Wan Chai Post Office?
The post office was built between 1912 and 1913 and was listed as a Declared Monument in 1990 as Hong Kong's oldest surviving post office.
Old Wan Chai Market
The only existing part of the Old Wan Chai Market today is its facade and front part of the original building after it was demolished in 2009. Its architectural style was called "Streamlined Moderne," thanks to its simplicity and functionality. It is located at the intersection of Wan Chai Road and Queen's Road East.
Cross Street & Tai Yuen Street Open Market
The Open Market is populated by stalls and licensed hawkers, which the Hong Kong government planned to relocate into an indoor market back in 2006 to ease traffic. However, this was abandoned in 2007 after hawkers and stallholders opposed the plan. The Open Market in Cross Street & Tai Yuen Street is now considered a landmark of Wan Chai.
Wo Cheong Pawn Shop
The Woo Cheong Pawn Shop was built around 1888-1900s and is considered a Grade II historical building. Today, the hundred-year-old pawn shop has been transformed into a high-end restaurant after it was obtained by the Urban Renewal Authority in 2002 for HK$25 million.
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