Victoria, Hong Kong

**Victoria**, **Victoria City**, or statutorily, the **City of Victoria**, wis ane o the first urban dounsets in Hong Kong efter it became a Breetish colony in 1842. It wis initially namit **Queenstown** but wis suin kent as Victoria. It is aften said tae be the caipital o Hong Kong, an amaist aw govrenment depairtments still hae thair heid offices locatit athin its leemit.

Victoria City expandit ower hintle o what is nou Central, Sheung Wan, and Wan Chai. Housomeivver, the ceety name *Victoria* haes been eclipsed bi *Central* in popular usage. It is nivertheless retained in the names o various organisations in reference tae the Victoria City, sic as the Victoria City District o the Hong Kong Scout, an the Victoria Junior Chamber. The name Victoria District Court haed been uised intae the 1980s, when it wis muivit tae the Wanchai Tower an combined wi ither destrict courts in the territory.

## Location

The ceety is centred in present-day Central, an namit efter Queen Victoria in 1843. It occupees the areas that are kent in modren times as Central, Admiralty, Sheung Wan, Wan Chai, East Point, Shek Tong Tsui, the Mid-levels, the Peak, Happy Valley, Tin Hau, an Kennedy Town, on Hong Kong Island. In 1903, the Hong Kong Govrenment erectit seiven boondar stanes for the ceety, inscribit "*City Boundary 1903*" at Hatton Road (克頓道), Pok Fu Lam Road, Bowen Road, Old Peak Road (舊山頂道), Wong Nai Chung Road, Victoria Road/Sai Ning Street (西寧街) an Magazine Gap Road. Aw remain, except for the ane in Magazine Gap Road, which disappeared aroond mid-Juin, 2007.

## History
In 1857, the Breetish govrenment expandit the scowp o Victoria City an dividit it intae fower "*wan*s" (環, jyutping: *waan4*, pinyin: *huàn*, literally *rings*). The fower *wans* are *Sai Wan* ("Wast Ring" in Cheenese, present-day Sai Wan, includin Kennedy Town, Shek Tong Tsui, an Sai Ying Pun), *Sheung Wan* ("Upper Ring" in Cheenese, present-day Sheung Wan), *Choong Wan* or *Chung Wan* ("Central Ring" in Cheenese, present-day Central) an *Ha Wan* ("Lawer Ring" in Cheenese, present-day Wan Chai). Except "Ha Wan"; "Sai Wan", "Sheung Wan" an "Choong Wan" retain the same name in Cheenese the day.

The fower *wans* are further dividit intae nine "*yeuk*s" (約, jyutping: *joek3*, pinyin: *yuē*, seemilar tae "destrict" or "neebourheid"). The coverage includit pairts o East Point an Happy Valley (Wast o Wong Nai Chung Road on the east side o the Racecourse) an aw.  In 1903, boondar stanes wur establisht tae merk the Ceety's boondar an sax o thaim are still preservit the day. The stanes spread frae Causeway Bay tae Kennedy Town.

In the 1890s the caipital ceety extendit 6&nbsp;km wast tae east alang the coastal strip.  Biggins wur made o granite an brick.  Buses an the new tramwey wad acome the main form o transportation in the aurie.

## Destricts
Cried *yeuks* an aw.
*Shektongtsui
*Sai Ying Poon
*Taipingshan - Victoria Peak or The Peak or Moont Austin
*Sheung Wan
*Choong Wan (kent in modren times as Central in Inglis)
*Ha Wan (the day's Admiralty)
*Wan Chai
*Bowrington (atween the day's Wan Chai an Causeway Bay)
*Soo Kun Po

## References

## Freemit airtins

* Boundary of the City of Victoria as defined in Hong Kong Laws, Cap 1 SCHED 1 of Hong Kong Law
*Article on history of Hong Kong  
*Photos of the 1903 boundary stones 
*A article on the "four wans and nine yeuks" in Chinese  (Adobe PDF format)
*Another article on "four wans and nine yeuks"  
*Victoria City - Provisional Urban Council 
*Victoria City - Provisional Urban Council