Victoria Barracks , Hong Kong The Victoria Barracks ( ) were a barracks in the Admiralty district of Central on Hong Kong Island , Hong Kong . The barracks were constructed between the 1840s and 1874 , and situated within the area bounded by Cotton Tree Drive , Kennedy Road and Queensway , Hong Kong . Together with Murray Barracks , Wellington Barracks and Admiralty Dock , the barracks formed a British military zone in Central . The barracks was named for Queen Victoria , monarch at the time of construction . The barracks were one of the first British military compounds in Hong Kong and were used by the Japanese during the Japanese occupation ( 1941 – 1945 ) . They underwent major restoration after World War II . Part of the land was returned to the Hong Kong Government in 1967 ; most of the rest was transferred to the government in 1979 . According to the Hong Kong Heritage Society , a Shinto - style arch was built and a pilau stone was erected by the Japanese Navy during the war . These Japanese structures still existed in the barracks in the late 1970s . Part of the barracks were subsequently used as a branch office of the Immigration Department ; illegal immigrants went to the Victoria Barracks office for registration to apply for Hong Kong Identity Card s in 1979 . Planning the redevelopment of the barracks . In March 1977 , the Governor of Hong Kong appointed the Victoria Barracks Planning Committee to advise him and the Executive Council on the planning of the area ; in September in the same year , the committee published the " Report to the Governor - in - Council on the Future Development of Victoria Barracks " . The planning of the redevelopment of the Victoria Barracks had led to the strong public pressure in the late 1970s . According to the Report , the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Hong Kong Heritage Society objected to the setting up of the " ad hoc " committee , separate from the Town Planning Board . In the report , the committee suggested that the public supported the preservation of the mature trees and the green zones , including the wooded slopes , in the barracks ; also , it was suggested that Flagstaff House and other historic buildings should be preserved . The Hong Kong Squash Racquets Association supported the retention of the historic squash court building , which was later demolished during the redevelopment and replaced by a new one . The Scout Association of Hong Kong requested to be allocated some of the buildings and structures to set up a scout training centre . Some people proposed that the government should re - site the proposed new secondary school , the government offices and the then Supreme Court ( now the High Court ) . In 1979 , the Government released the final planning proposal ; the Urban Council , the Conservancy Association and the Hong Kong Heritage Society were dissatisfied that the Government refused to preserve the whole site of the barracks . Part of the site was converted to the Hong Kong Park while the southern part of the barracks was where Pacific Place , the High Court and Queensway Government Offices now stand . Historic Buildings . Some of the buildings within the barracks were preserved and graded as Historic Buildings : The following buildings are graded as Grade II historic buildings : Queen ' s Line . Ching Yi To Barracks , formerly known as " Queen ' s Line " , was part of the barracks . The current Ching Yi To Barracks is used by the People ' s Liberation Army . Dragon House and Paget House were two of the buildings of the former Victoria Barracks within the area occupied by the current barracks . Destroyed buildings . The following building was destroyed when the barracks were redeveloped into the Park :