Mong Kok (旺角), or Mongkok, is located in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the central and western parts of the Kowloon Peninsula, extends from the north of Dundas Street to the south of Boundary Street, and from Waterloo Road in the east to the Kowloon Coast and Tong Mi Road in the west. [1]
Mong Kok is the most densely populated area in the Kowloon Peninsula. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Mong Kok is the most densely populated area in the world, with an average density of 130,000 people per square kilometre, which is now about four times its plot ratio.
History[]
The former Chinese name for Mong Kok was "芒角" in ancient times because of the overgrown mango grass and the terrain resembling a bull's horn sticking out into the sea, the place was called Mong Kok Tsui, and the nearby village was named Mong Kok Village. [2]
According to the Xin'an County Records of 1819, people began to live in Mong Kok Tsuen in the Qing Dynasty, and most of the villagers were Hakka people who grew vegetables to make a living. The Tung Choi and Sai Yeung Choi fields in the past were the present Tung Choi Street and Sai Yeung Choi Street. Later, the fields where brocoli (Sai Yeung Choi in Cantonese) and cabbage (Tung Choi in Cantonese) were grown were relocated due to the breeding of mosquitoes and pests, which made them susceptible to diseases. After the vegetable fields were filled up, the residents turned to laundry and cloth dyeing, thus giving rise to the street names of Sai Yee Street and Yim Po Fong Street (Sai Yee and Yim Po Fong in Cantonese mean cloth washing and cloth dyeing respectively), etc.
In 1909, the government carried out reclamation works in the area of Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok Tsui to build a typhoon shelter [3], and "Mong Kok Tsui" and "Mong Kok Village" were also reclaimed and opened up as piers and streets; in the 1930's, its Chinese name was renamed as "旺角" to take the meaning of prosperity (Chinese:興旺), and its English name, "Mong Kok", is still in use to this day.
As early as the 1920s, bus services were already sprouting in Mong Kok and Tsim Sha Tsui, and the predecessor of public light buses was also active in Mong Kok, which now serves as the terminus for many public light bus routes, and is, together with the Jordan Road Minibus Terminus, the centre of public light buses in the Kowloon Peninsula.
Today, Mong Kok has developed into a sophisticated residential, commercial, hotel and tourist district, and is a must-visit shopping paradise for locals, Mainland and overseas travellers.
Area Improvement Plan for Shopping Areas of Mong Kok[]
The Planning Department completed a study on "Area Improvement Plan for the Shopping Areas of Mong Kok" in 2009, which examined key issues such as planning and urban design, landscape, traffic and transport, and pedestrians in the shopping areas of Mong Kok [4], and recommended 22 improvement projects, including greening and streetscape enhancement, strengthening of district character, improvement of pedestrian connectivity, and upgrading and beautification of individual sites, etc. [5]
Relocation of Sai Yee Street Water Supplies Department and FEHD Offices[]
The reprovisioning of the Sai Yee Street Water Supplies Department (WSD) Mong Kok Office and the FEHD office-cum-carport reprovisioning project, which has been disturbing the public for nearly two decades, was approved by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council in June 2015 for funding approval at the same time. The FEHD will relocate its office-cum-vehicle depot at Sai Yee Street to Yen Ming Road, West Kowloon Reclamation Area, a site close to Nam Cheong Station, and the related construction works will commence in early 2016 for completion in mid-2018. FEHD plans to arrange for the demolition of the existing structure at Sai Yee Street after the commissioning of the Yen Ming Road facility, and the relevant works are expected to be completed by the end of 2020. [6]
On the other hand, WSD has implemented the relocation of its NTW office at Sai Yee Street to the junction of Tin Cheung Road and Tin Pak Road in Tin Shui Wai, with the construction of the new building commencing on 17 August 2015 [7]. After serving for more than half a century from 1950 to 2018, the WSD Argyle Street plant has finally completed its historical mission and switched off the last light on 17 August, leaving the building empty since then. The WSD Mong Kok Customer Service Centre located on the ground floor of 128 Sai Yee Street was closed on 30 March and relocated to the ground floor of 41 Tit Shu Street, Tai Kok Tsui on 3 April.
The demolition of the original WSD Sai Yee Street Office was completed in 2019. Upon demolition of the existing FEHD facilities on the site, the entire site would be used for redevelopment into a commercial building and a public transport interchange, which will resolve the problems caused by the many public light bus and cross-boundary coach routes in the district with stops at different streets. [8]
Future Use on Sai Yee Street Government Land[]
Regarding the improvement project at Sai Yee Street, the Government planned to carry out the project in conjunction with the allocation of the site for redevelopment upon reprovisioning of the government facilities there. In this connection, the Planning Department commissioned a consultancy study entitled "Planning and Design Study on Redevelopment of Sai Yee Street and Mong Kok East Station Government Sites - Feasibility Study" in March 2015 to explore the potential of the site for integrated commercial or residential development, and at the same time to examine how to optimise the use of the site to improve the existing traffic conditions in the area, including the provision of the necessary public transport interchange, government, institution or community facilities and open space, etc., so as to enhance the environment of the area. The Planning Department would also consider how to improve pedestrian accessibility to major transport interchanges. The preliminary view of the Study is that the site would be more suitable for commercial development, providing Grade A offices, hotels and food and beverage retail facilities, in addition to the necessary public and community facilities in the area.
Based on the above development concepts, the Consultant has proposed three design options, all of which comprise three commercial buildings, with the highest building in one of the options being 75 storeys. Each scheme proposes the provision of community facilities, public open space, widening of carriageways and footpaths along a section of Sai Yee Street, Argyle Street and Luen Wan Street adjacent to the development site, and a two-level public transport interchange. The ground level will be used for minibus stops, and it is expected that the existing minibus stops at Tung Choi Street and Fa Yuen Street between Mong Kok Road and Argyle Street and at Fife Street between Fa Yuen Street and Sai Yee Street can be relocated to the new stops; and the first level of the basement will be used for cross-boundary buses, and it is expected that the existing cross-boundary bus stops in Mong Kok could be relocated.
Taking into account the public views, PlanD eventually proposed to adopt a high level iconic building design scheme with three buildings comprising six-storey community facilities, a four-storey shopping arcade and a 75-storey commercial building [9] with a public light bus (PLB) transport interchange, a cross-boundary coach pick-up/drop-off facility and a taxi stand. The PTI will be divided into groups of individual bays for minibus operation on different routes, reprovisioning the existing minibus stands at Tung Choi Street and Fa Yuen Street between Mong Kok Road and Argyle Street, and at Fife Street between Fa Yuen Street and Sai Yee Street. As for cross-boundary coach pick-up/drop-off facilities, the existing cross-boundary bus stops at Sai Yee Street and part of the cross-boundary coach stop at Playing Field Road will be reprovisioned. On the other hand, the proposed PLB transport interchange and cross-boundary coach pick-up/set-down facilities will have different entrances at Sai Yee Street and Luen Wan Street respectively. Both stations will also provide a more comfortable and safe waiting environment for passengers, including the provision of shelters, passenger waiting areas and toilets, and a taxi stand will be provided in the basement.
The Yau Tsim Mong District Council discussed the project on 29 November 2017 and finally endorsed the "Development of Sai Yee Street and Mong Kok East Station Government Sites" by a vote of 10 in favour and 5 against. In future, the building will surpass the 255-metre-high Langham Place to become the tallest landmark building in Mong Kok and will be the sixth tallest building in Hong Kong[10]. Upon relocation of the existing minibus and cross-boundary bus stops in the Prince Edward area, road space will be released to improve traffic congestion in the area. To further enhance the environment in the vicinity of the site, landscaping works are proposed to be carried out at the public transport interchange at the platform of the MTR Mong Kok East Station.
Place divisions[]
Prince Edward[]
The name "Prince Edward" (太子), which came into existence after the opening of the MTR Prince Edward Station, refers to the area of Mong Kok near the Prince Edward Station, i.e. the section between Bute Street and Boundary Street, and is not a formal place name. KMB categorises the bus stops in the aforementioned area as "Yau Tsim Mong District: Prince Edward Road West", which includes the stops at Prince Edward Road West and Boundary Street. [11]
Mong Kok East[]
Mong Kok East (旺角東) is a relatively rare term in the past. It can be attributed to the change of name of the Mong Kok Station of the KCR East Rail as a result of the rail merger, which led to the name change of the area in the vicinity of the station to Mong Kok East. The area around the station was called Mong Kok East and this area can probably be interpreted as the area from Sai Yee Street east to Grand Century Place (later renamed MOKO).
Mong Kok West[]
Mong Kok West (旺角西) is not traditionally part of Mong Kok, but is actually located on the West Kowloon Reclamation Area, which includes the area to the west of Ferry Street in Mong Kok, where the Yau Ma Tei Typhoon Shelter was located before the reclamation.
Street/road structure[]
Mong Kok has a large number of old and new buildings, and most of the ground floor shops in the old residential buildings are shops or restaurants. Bounded by Nathan Road, shopping centres are concentrated in the east and residential areas in the west. The area is well served by buses, the East Rail Line, the Tsuen Wan Line and the Kwun Tong Line, and there are also minibuses running overnight. During holidays, Nathan Road is always crowded.
Nathan Road is the busiest street in the area, with Boundary Street at its northern end, stretching all the way to Salisbury Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. Most KMB stop names start with "Mong Kok", including "Arran Street Mong Kok", "Shantung Street Mong Kok", etc. Shanghai Street, on the other hand, stretches from Lai Chi Kok Road to Austin Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, and is southbound for the whole section. KMB stops are only named after the neighbouring roads without the name "Mong Kok". Reclamation Street is also in the same row, and is mainly one-way northbound, but at present only a small section of the street between Argyle Street and Mong Kok Road is served by buses, which is only used due to the road design problem (please see the following paragraph for details). The Tsuen Wan Line and Kwun Tong Line tracks in Mong Kok run along Nathan Road, with the Prince Edward Station and Mong Kok Station split into upper and lower levels.
Argyle Street runs westbound from Sai Yeung Choi Street South to Reclamation Street. Vehicles travelling southbound from Nathan Road to Kowloon City or Tai Kok Tsui via Argyle Street have to pass through Sai Yeung Choi Street South or Sai Yee Street southbound, and then turn to Argyle Street eastbound or westbound. Buses travelling from Tai Kok Tsui to northbound Mong Kok or Kowloon City via Argyle Street will have to pass through Reclamation Street between Argyle Street and Mong Kok Road, and then pass through Mong Kok Road and turn to Nathan Road, Sai Yeung Choi Street South or Sai Yee Street to reach their destinations.
Boundary Street and Prince Edward Road West are parallel roads. The sections east of Lai Chi Kok Road are eastbound and westbound respectively, connecting to Lai Chi Kok Road (northbound and southbound in both directions) and Tung Choi Street (northbound). The morning express bus routes via the West Kowloon Corridor enters Mong Kok at Prince Edward Road West and enters Tsim Sha Tsui via Lai Chi Kok Road and Nathan Road.
Tong Mi Road and Ferry Street are one of the major trunk roads in the area, but franchised buses do not pass through the Mong Kok section of Ferry Street. Route 63X passes through Tong Mi Road northbound without stopping on trips not passing through the West Kowloon Corridor towards Hung Shui Kiu (Hung Fuk Estate).
Apart from the trunk roads, most of the roads in Mong Kok are one-way, including Tung Choi Street, Portland Street, etc. Most of the minibus termini are located on non-trunk roads between Prince Edward Road West and Dundas Street. Cross-boundary coach termini are located at Portland Street, Playing Field Road, Sai Yeung Choi Street North, and so on.
The section of Tung Choi Street in Mong Kok between Argyle Street and Dundas Street, and the sections of Nelson Street and Soy Street between Sai Yeung Choi Street South and Fa Yuen Street are partially pedestrianised, and vehicles (including minibuses) can only enter and exit the area using Fa Yuen Street or Shantung Street.
District division problems[]
The Yau Tsim Mong and Kowloon City districts are bounded by the East Rail Line tracks, and both KMB and Citybus and former NWFB include the area east of the East Rail Line tracks in the Kowloon City District [12]; many now consider the area to be part of "Mong Kok", such as the China Light and Power (CLP) General Company. [13]
The Yau Tsim Mong and Sham Shui Po districts are bounded by Boundary Street, with all the land south of Boundary Street and west of the East Rail Line tracks belonging to the Yau Tsim Mong district, most of which belongs to Mong Kok, with the exception of the land south of Lai Chi Kok Road and west of Tong Mi Road which belongs to Tai Kok Tsui. Lui Seng Chun, a declared monument in Hong Kong, is located at the junction of Lai Chi Kok Road and Tong Mi Road.
There are several roads between Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po that cross the two districts, including:[13]
- North-west - south-east: West Kowloon Corridor, Tung Chau Street, Lai Chi Kok Road, Tai Nan Street, Ki Lung Street, Yu Chau Street
- South West - North East: Maple Street, Poplar Street
- Sai Yeung Choi Street North (the cross-boundary coach terminus is in Yau Tsim Mong District)
Among them, KMB has several stops on Lai Chi Kok Road starting with "Sham Shui Po", including "Poplar Street Sham Shui Po", "Cedar Street Sham Shui Po" and "Maple Street Sham Shui Po", but the former stops are all located to the south of Boundary Street, and thus are actually within the Mong Kok area.
Bus and Minibus Termini[]
Franchised bus termini[]
| Information of franchised bus termini in Mong Kok | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Article name | Location | Category | Remarks |
| Mong Kok East Station Public Transport Interchange | Outside the podium at Mong Kok East Station | Public transport interchange | Named "Mong Kok East Station Bus Terminus" by KMB |
Disappeared bus termini[]
| Information of franchised bus termini in Mong Kok | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Article name | Location | Category | Remarks |
| Mong Kok Police Station Bus Terminus | Prince Edward Road East near Mong Kok Police Station | Disappeared bus terminus | |
| Mong Kok Ferry Bus Terminus | Ferry Street near Shantung Street | Disappeared bus terminus | Disused in 1972 |
| Mong Kok MTR Station Bus Terminus | near Mong Kok MTR Station | Disappeared bus termini group | Disused in 1984 |
| Mong Kok (West) Bus Terminus | near Argyle Street and Shanghai Street | Disappeared bus terminus | Disused on 16 August 1976 |
Non-franchised bus termini[]
| Information of non-franchised bus termini in Mong Kok | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Article name | Location | Category | Remarks |
| Mong Kok (Playing Field Road) Bus Terminus | Playing Field Road near Prince Edward Station Exit A | Resident bus terminus | Intermediate stop of Resident Bus Route NR936 |
| Prince Edward Bus Terminus | Nearby Prince Edward Station | Cross-boundary coach terminus | Located at Portland Street, Sports Ground Road, Sai Yeung Choi Street North and Tung Choi Street |
| Mong Kok (Arran Street) Bus Terminus | Arran Street near Nathan Road | Cross-boundary coach terminus | Terminus of Mong Kok All China Express |
| Mong Kok (Sai Yee Street) Bus Terminus | Sai Yee Street opposite Mong Kok Branch of Hong Kong China Travel Services Limited | Cross-boundary coach terminus | The "Mong Kok" stop for CTS Hong Kong and Sino Express |
Minibus termini[]
| Information of minibus termini in Mong Kok | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Article name | Location | Category | Remarks |
| Mong Kok Road | Mong Kok Road near Fa Yuen Street Market westbound | Green minibus (GMB) terminus | Only used during overnight hours |
| Mong Kok Station (Argyle Street) | Argyle Street near Sai Yeung Choi Street South westbound | Public light bus (PLB) origin point | Origin point for Mong Kok - Sheung Shui Route is only used during overnight hours Circular point of Kowloon GMB Route 5M |
| Mong Kok (Sai Yeung Choi Street South) Minibus Terminus | Sai Yeung Choi Street South near Pioneer Centre | GMB terminus PLB terminus |
Also named "Pioneer Centre" |
| Mong Kok (Bute Street) Minibus Terminus | Bute Street | GMB terminus PLB terminus |
GMB terminus located west of Nathan Road, PLB terminus located east of Nathan Road, also named "Pioneer Centre" |
| Mong Kok (Fife Street) Minibus Terminus | Fife Street near Mong Kok Station Exit B2 | GMB terminus | Also named "Mong Kok Station" Minibus Terminus Also with vacant PLB stop locations |
| Mong Kok (Tung Choi Street) Minibus Terminus | Tung Choi Street near Sin Tat Plaza | PLB terminus | Also named "Sin Tat Plaza" |
| Mong Kok (Fa Yuen Street) Minibus Terminus | Fa Yuen Street south of Mong Kok Road | PLB terminus | Divided into four parts |
| Mong Kok (Golden Era Plaza) Minibus Terminus | Sai Yee Street outside Golden Era Plaza | PLB terminus | |
| Mong Kok (Dundas Street) Minibus Terminus | Dundas Street near Kwong Wah Hospital | PLB terminus | |
| Mong Kok (Langham Place) Minibus Terminus | G/F, Cordis Hotel Hong Kong, Shanghai Street | PLB terminus | Indoor terminus |
| Mong Kok (Reclamation Street) Minibus Terminus | Reclamation Street opposute Cordis Hotel Hong Kong | PLB terminus | Terminus used only during overnight hours |
| Mong Kok (Soy Street) Minibus Terminus | Soy Street near Reclamation Street | PLB terminus | |
| Mong Kok (Portland Street) Minibus Terminus | Portland Street south of Lai Chi Kok Road | PLB terminus | PLB terminus located at near Changsha Street and Fife Street respectively [14] |
| Mong Kok (Changsha Street) Minibus Terminus | Changsha Street near western intersection of Nathan Road | PLB terminus | |
Gallery[]
Related Articles[]
- Sham Shui Po
- Tai Kok Tsui
- Ho Man Tin
- Yau Ma Tei
- Tsim Sha Tsui
- West Kowloon Reclamation Area
Notes and References[]
- ↑ The area east of the East Rail Line tracks belong to the Kowloon City District. To avoid confusion, the Wiki splits the area into "Mong Kok East", and will not be elaborated in this article.
- ↑ Mong Kok Tsui was located in the vicinity of New Reclamation Street and Soy Street, while Mong Kok Tsuen was geographically located between Bute Street and Tung Choi Street and Fa Yuen Street, i.e. in the vicinity of the present-day Pioneer Centre, both of which have now disappeared. Details are set out in the research project document.
- ↑ The typhoon shelter was located west of Ferry Street where the area of Hoi Fu Court and Charming Garden stand today.
- ↑ "LCQ4: Area improvement plan for shopping areas of Mong Kok", 16 February 2015.
- ↑ "LCQ4 Annex: Study on “Area Improvement Plan for the Shopping Areas of Mong Kok” Progress of the 22 Improvement Projects / Recommendations", 16 December 2015.
- ↑ 182GK－Reprovisioning of Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Sai Yee Street Environmental Hygiene offices-cum-vehicle depot at Yen Ming Road, West Kowloon Reclamation Area, Item for Public Works Subcommittee of Finance Committee of the Legislative Council.
- ↑ "Relocation of New Territories West Regional Office and Water Resources Education Centre of Water Supplies Department to Tin Shui Wai", Legislative Council Panel on Development, 24 March 2015.
- ↑ "旺角水署搬遷有期騰出黃金地" (WSD Mong Kok Office to relocate as planned yielding golden land), Sun Post, 29 October 2013.
- ↑ "Planning and Design Study on the Redevelopment of Government Sites at Sai Yee Street and Mong Kok East Station – Feasibility Study Proposed Development Design Schemes", Yau Tsim Mong District Council Paper No. 29/2016.
- ↑ "旺角擬建75層商廈 全港第6高" (75-storey building to be proposed to built in Mong Kok, will be 6th tallest in HK), Apple Daily, 30 November 2017.
- ↑ According to the Boundary Plan, the lot north of Boundary Street belongs to Sham Shui Po District, but KMB has included the station at Boundary Street together with Embankment Road in the classification of "Yau Tsim Mong District: Prince Edward Road West".
- ↑ Embankment Road also belongs to Kowloon City District, however KMB and Citybus as well as former NWFB categorised the stop into [[Yau Tsim Mong District].
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 2007 District Council Constituency Boundary Map: Yau Tsim Mong District
- ↑ The Mong Kok Cross-boundary Coach Terminus is located north of Lai Chi Kok Road, see article Prince Edward Bus Terminus; for the Yau Ma Tei stop of Eternal East Bus, see article Pitt Street (Portland Street).
Prince Edward and Mongkok
Template:Administrative Districts