Tsing Yi (青衣) is located on Tsing Yi Island in the Kwai Tsing District of the New Territories, and is part of the Tsuen Wan New Town, along with Kwai Chung. [1]
History[]
Today's Tsing Yi Island is actually formed by reclamation from three islands. These three islands are the original Tsing Yi, Nga Ying Chau (牙鷹洲, the former China Resources Depot, which is now Villa Esplanada and CCC Yenching College) in the north-east of Tsing Yi, and Chau Tsai (洲仔, the current site of the China Resources Depot) in the south-east of Tsing Yi. Between Eagle Island and Tsing Yi was a typhoon shelter called Mun Tsai Tong (also known as Tsing Yi Tong, 青衣塘).
In the 1960s and 1970s, the shipyards were the busiest in Tsing Yi, and in 1964, more than 30 shipyards in Tai Kok Tsui and Cheung Sha Wan had to be relocated to Tam Kon Shan on the north shore of Tsing Yi due to the reclamation works, and in 1972, Taikoo Dockyard and Whampoa Dockyard merged to form the United Dockyards and relocated to Tsing Yi, while the United and Eurasia Shipyards opened in Tsing Yi West in the 1980s for the repair and maintenance of ocean-going vessels, which were later bought by China Merchants in the Mainland. Since then, Tsing Yi has become the largest shipyard in Hong Kong.
On the other hand, CLP Power's Tsing Yi Power Station in Tsing Yi's Southern District commenced operation in 1969, accelerating the development of Tsing Yi into a new town. Tsing Yi Bridge, the first vehicular bridge connecting Tsing Yi, was opened to traffic on 28 February 1974, and was initially used only by vehicles carrying goods. The first external bus route on Tsing Yi, KMB Route 44, commenced service in October the following year, running between Tsing Yi Main Street and Lai Chi Kok (Bridge). The first public housing estate in Tsing Yi, Cheung Ching Estate, was occupied in 1977 and Cheung Hong Estate was completed in 1979.
In 1984, the Government carried out a reclamation project at Mun Tsai Tong (門仔塘), Tsing Yi [2], to fill up Tsing Yi Bay and the Tsing Yi Typhoon Shelter, linking Tsing Yi Island with Nga Ying Chau, and built public housing estates such as Tsing Yi Estate, Cheung On Estate and Cheung Fat Estate, as well as Cheung Hang Estate and the Tsing Yan Temporary Housing Area (青欣臨時房屋, the current site of Cheung Wang Estate) on the hill near Liu To Valley. As the number of residents on the island grew, so did the bus network.
Tsing Yi Island was part of Tsuen Wan District until 1985, when Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi were separated from Tsuen Wan District on 1 April 1985 to form the "Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi District Council", which was renamed in April 1988 as the Kwai Tsing District Council.
Oil depots all over Tsing Yi Island[]
Apart from shipbuilding, Tsing Yi is also famous for its oil depots. In the mid-1960s, oil companies such as Texaco and Oriental built oil depots on the island, and in 1968, the Mobil oil depot was relocated from Lai Chi Kok to Tsing Yi.
By the 1980s, Tsing Yi was full of oil depots, and the residents, realising the dangers of the oil depots, started a series of campaigns to relocate the oil depots. The Government's report "Investigation of Potential Hazards on Tsing Yi Island 1982" put forward a series of recommendations to reduce the risk posed by the Mobil Oil Depot on Tsing Yi East to the neighbourhood, including improvement of the infrastructure on Tsing Yi, and reconsideration of land use planning and development restrictions on Tsing Yi. To implement the recommendations, the Government has taken a number of measures as follows:[3]
- The Phase III development of Mayfair Garden was halted and the site was later built into the Mei King Playground;
- Completion of Tsing Yi Road 1 (now Tsing Yi Road West), which led to the completion of the entire island-wide road system in 1984 to facilitate the movement of emergency vehicles; completion of Liu To Bridge, Tsing Yi Road 5 (now Liu To Road) and Fung Shue Wo Road in 1987, together with the completion of Tsing Yi Road 4 (now Tsing King Road) in 1988, the road network in the area was further improved;
- Completion of the Tsing Yi North Bridge connecting Tsuen Wan in November 1987 greatly reduced the load on the Tsing Yi South Bridge.
The Government has also decided to confine future commercial and residential development on Tsing Yi to the eastern and northern parts of the island. The three oil depots in the north and east, namely, the Hong Kong Kerosene Oil Company, the Mobil Oil Company and the China Resources Nga Ying Chau Oil Depot, would have to be relocated to the south and west of Tsing Yi, as the mountains running from the south to the north of the island would serve as a natural barrier separating the residential areas in the north-east from the heavy industrial areas in the south-west.
At present, Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron and China Resources have their own storage facilities on Tsing Yi Island for unleaded petrol, diesel, LPG and other products. Tankers will enter Hong Kong waters via the East Lamma Channel to unload LPG at the Tsing Yi LPG Terminal. CRC also has a storage facility on Hong Kong Island with a capacity of 2,000 tonnes, to which fuel oil is transported by barge from the storage facility on Tsing Yi Island.
One island, eight bridges[]
The opening of the Lantau Link in 1997 and the new airport in 1998 brought heavy traffic to Tsing Yi Island. In the early 1990s, the Government implemented the construction of the Duplicate Tsing Yi South Bridge next to the Tsing Yi Bridge. The Duplicate Tsing Yi South Bridge was opened to traffic on 26 July 1999 and was officially named "Kwai Tsing Bridge"[4]. The Tung Chung Line and the Airport Express opened on 22 June and 6 July 1998 respectively, crossing the Rambler Channel over the Tsing Lai Bridge, with a public transport interchange opposite the Tsing Yi Station to facilitate residents' access to other public transport modes. With the occupation of the Tierra Verde in 1999, the Tsing Yi Town Centre has gradually taken shape.
Today, Tsing Yi Island has developed into a superb land transport hub with "one island and eight bridges", and is also the connection point for a number of highway trunk routes. Route 3 between Sai Ying Pun and Tsing Yi and Route 8 between Tsing Yi and Tung Chung were first opened to traffic in 1997, while Route 3 between Tsing Yi and Yuen Long was fully opened on 25 May 1998. The Tsing Yi to Cheung Sha Wan section of Tsing Sha Highway, which was fully opened on 20 December 2009, uses the Stonecutters Bridge as its spine and provides an alternative for traffic from New Territories West to and from Sha Tin.
Street/road structure[]
Streets in Tsing Yi are mainly concentrated on the east coast of Tsing Yi and residential areas, while the south, west and north coasts are dominated by dockyards, oil depots and factories, with fewer streets. Major roads on the island include Tsing Yi Road, Tsing Yi Heung Sze Wui Road, Tsing Hong Road, Chung Mei Road, Fung Shue Wo Road, Tsing King Road, Tsing Yi Road West, and Liu To Road, etc. (from east to west and south to north).
Tsing Yi residents travelling to and from the urban area mainly rely on three flyovers - Tsing Yi Bridge, Kwai Tsing Bridge (collectively known as Tsing Yi South Bridge) and Tsing Tsuen Bridge (commonly known as Tsing Yi North Bridge), of which Tsing Yi Bridge and Kwai Tsing Bridge are connected to Tsing Yi Interchange at Cheung Ching Estate and Kwai Chung Container Terminals, whereas Tsing Tsuen Bridge connects Tam Kon Shan Interchange at Cheung On Estate with Texaco Road.
As the development of Tsing Yi started after the implementation of the public light bus policy, initially red PLBs were not allowed to enter Tsing Yi Island until 31 May 2021 when the Kowloon Bay Vehicle Examination Centre was relocated to the Vehicle Examination Complex of the Transport Department in Tsing Yi, and then the use of certain sections of the Tsing Yi road by red minibuses was relaxed, including Tsing Tsuen Bridge, Tsing Yi North Coastal Road, a portion of Cheung Tsing Highway, the section of Tsing Yi Road West between the junction of Cheung Tsing Highway link and a small section of Sai Tso Wan Road to facilitate their travelling to and from the Vehicle Examination Building. [5] All PLBs operating on Tsing Yi are green minibuses.
Hong Kong Strategic Routes[]
The western part of Tsing Yi is a major junction of Route 3 and Route 8, and the trunk roads crossing Tsing Yi Island are shown below:
| Information of Strategic Routes in Tsing Yi | ||
|---|---|---|
| Road name | Strategic route(s) | Linking point(s) |
| Cheung Tsing Highway | Shared by Routes 3 and 8 | North West Tsing Yi Interchange, Tsing Yi Road West |
| Tsing Kwai Highway | Route 3 | Cheung Tsing Tunnel and West Kowloon Highway |
| Cheung Tsing Tunnel | Route 3 | Tsing Kwai Highway and Cheung Tsing Highway |
| Tsing Long Highway | Route 3 | The Tsing Yi section is within the North West Tsing Yi Interchange |
| Ting Kau Bridge | Route 3 | North West Tsing Yi Interchange and Tuen Mun Road |
| Tsing Ma Bridge | Route 8 | North West Tsing Yi Interchange and Ma Wan |
| Nam Wan Tunnel | Route 8 | Cheung Tsing Tunnel and unnamed interchanges |
| Stonecutters Bridge | Route 8 | Unnamed interchange and Lai Wan Interchange |
The Cheung Tsing Highway connects to Tsing Yi Road West, while the North West Tsing Yi Interchange connects to Tsing Ma Bridge, Tsing Long Highway (Tsing Yi section), Ting Kau Bridge and the Tsing Yi North Coastal Road, with the Tsing Ma Control Area Control Point and the Lantau Link Visitors Centre next to it. Route 8 also has an unnamed interchange at Tsing Yi South, connecting Tsing Yi Road near Container Terminal 9.
Bus and minibus termini[]
Except for Tsing Yi Station Public Transport Interchange, the franchised bus termini are listed in order of the year of commissioning.
| Information of bus and minibus termini | ||
|---|---|---|
| Article name | Location | Nature |
| Tsing Yi Station Public Transport Interchange | Tsing Yi Station, Tsing King Road | Multi-functional public transport interchange [4] |
| Cheung Ching Bus Terminus | Ching Hong Road, between Cheung Ching Estate and Cheung Hong Estate | Bus terminus |
| Cheung Hong Bus Terminus | Ching Hong Road outside Cheung Hong Shopping Centre[5] | Bus terminus |
| Cheung Wang Bus Terminus | Liu To Road outside Cheung Wang Estate | Bus terminus, green minibus (GMB) terminus[6] |
| Tsing Yi Estate Bus Terminus | Tsing Luk Street outside Tsing Yi Estate Commercial Complex | Bus terminus, GMB terminus[7] |
| Cheung On Bus Terminus | Between Chun Fat House Cheung Fat Estate and On Ching House Cheung On Estate | Bus terminus, GMB terminus |
| Cheung Hang Bus Terminus | Liu To Road outside Cheung Hang Bus Terminus | Bus terminus, GMB terminus |
| Tsing Yi Ferry Bus Terminus | Beside Tsing Yi Ferry Pier, with Greenfield Garden beside | Bus terminus, GMB terminus |
| Mayfair Garden Bus Terminus | Tsing Yi South outside Mayfair Gardens | Bus terminus, GMB terminus |
| Ching Fu Court Bus Terminus | Tsing Yi Road outside Ching Fu Court | Bus terminus |
| Villa Esplanada Public Transport Interchange | Tsing Yi North Shore within Villa Esplanada | Resident bus terminus |
| Greenfield Garden Minibus Terminus | Outside Greenfield Garden Block 7 | GMB terminus |
| Tivoli Garden | Tsing King Road near Tsing Yi Ferry Pier | GMB terminus |
| Cheung Hang (Hang Mei Street) Minibus Terminus | Opposite Cheung Wang Bus Terminus | GMB terminus |
| Rambler Crest Minibus Terminus | Tsing Yi Road near Container Terminal 9 | GMB terminus |
| Tam Kon Shan Road | Tsing Yi North Shore beside Hong Kong Shipyard | GMB terminus |
| Hongkong United Dockyards | Tsing Yi West Shore | GMB terminus |
| Lantau Link Visitors Centre | Tsing Yi West Shore | Former bus terminus[8] |
Gallery[]
Related Articles[]
Tsing Yi Island
Notes and References[]
- ↑ Civil Engineering and Development Department Website: Tsuen Wan New Town
- ↑ Memories about Hong Kong Housing Estates, Selected Library Resources
- ↑ Tsing Yi Island Risk Study and Reassessment Exercise, Official Record of Proceedings of the Legislative Council, 19 July 1989
- ↑ The Tsing Yi Station Public Transport Interchange is divided into five parts, with the franchised bus terminus located at the overground section outside Tsing Yi Station, whereas the intra-island minibus terminus, taxi stand and public vehicle loading and unloading area located at Tsing King Road near the open-air section of at-grade level of Tsing Yi Station, whereas the inter-district minibus terminus is located beside it under the Tsing Tsuen Bridge; besides there is a public loading and unloading area and the terminus of Route NR330 on the ground floor of Tsing Yi Station Exit C, and there is a New Territories Taxi stand on the Airport Express concourse level.
- ↑ The old Cheung Hong Bus Terminus was situated at Chung Mei Road near between Hong Shun House and Hong Cheung House.
- ↑ Cheung Wang Bus Terminus was formerly named Ching Yan Bus Terminus.
- ↑ The old Tsing Yi Town Bus Terminus is located opposite to the Tsing Yi Estate Terminus and was the first bus terminus on Tsing Yi Island, the remains of which are now St. Thomas the Apostle Church and Tsing Yi Park.
- ↑ The Visitor Centre was previously served by KMB Route 243R and New Territories GMB Route 309M, but is now only partially served by New Territories GMB Route 308M.
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