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Canton Road

Coordinates: 22°19′03″N 114°10′03″E / 22.31759°N 114.16749°E / 22.31759; 114.16749
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Canton Road
Harbour City (left side of the road) in the Tsim Sha Tsui section in May 2012.
Native name廣東道 (Yue Chinese)
Former name(s)MacDonnell Road
NamesakeGuangzhou
LocationKowloon, Hong Kong
Coordinates22°19′03″N 114°10′03″E / 22.31759°N 114.16749°E / 22.31759; 114.16749
South endSalisbury Road
North endLai Chi Kok Road
Map

Canton Road is a major road in Hong Kong, linking the former west reclamation shore in Tsim Sha Tsui, Jordan, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok and Prince Edward on the Kowloon Peninsula. The road runs mostly parallel and west to Nathan Road. It starts from the junction with Salisbury Road in the south and ends in the north at the junction with Lai Chi Kok Road in the Prince Edward area. The southern section of Canton Road is home to many upscale retail shops, shopping centres and others business establishments, with busy traffic from both vehicles and pedestrians from morning till late at night.

Name

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The road was originally named MacDonnell Road. It was renamed to Canton Road in 1909 to avoid confusion with MacDonnell Road on Hong Kong Island.[1][2] The road is named after the City of Canton (now Guangzhou, 廣州), following a pattern where roads in the area were named after cities in China and Vietnam. However, an error resulted in Canton being interpreted as referring to the Province of Canton (Now Guangdong, 廣東), resulting in the Chinese name of the road becoming 廣東道 instead of the intended 廣州道. [citation needed]

Sections and features

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Canton Road is not one continuous road, instead, it is divided into four sections, interrupted by a major housing estate (Prosperous Garden) and disjointed by a traffic intersection (Jordan Road) as the result of urban development in the past hundred years. The following list follows a south-north order. (W) indicates the western side of the road, while (E) indicates the eastern side.

Tsim Sha Tsui section

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Southern end of Canton Road, along the 1881 Heritage in June 2015

The section starts at Salisbury Road and ends at Jordan Road. Features include:

Jordan to Yau Ma Tei section

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Jade monument in Canton Road, near the intersection with Jordan Road in August 2009.
Yau Ma Tei Police Station, at the intersection of Canton Road and Public Square Street in May 2016.

The section starts at Jordan Road and ends at Public Square Street. The part of this section between Jordan Road and Kansu Street is sometimes called "Jade Street" because of the number of jewellery shops selling jade.[4][5]

  • (W) Giant jade stone near the intersection with Jordan Road (north side)[6][7]
  • (E) > junction with Nanking Street
  • (E) > junction with Ning Po Street
  • > intersection with Saigon Street
  • (E) No. 578 Canton Road, a building proposed for conservation,[8] at the intersection with Saigon Street
  • (E) > junction with Pak Hoi Street
  • > intersection with Kansu Street
  • (W) Yau Ma Tei Police Station, a Grade III historic building, at the intersection with Public Square Street

The road is interrupted north of Public Square Street, and Prosperous Garden, a housing estate, is located in its place. The Broadway Cinematheque is located within Prosperous Garden.

Yau Ma Tei section

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Yau Ma Tei section in April 2008: a primary school occupies the whole eastern side of this section. The vehicles are within Canton Road.

This very short section (about 30m long) starts at Tung Kun Street, north of Prosperous Garden and ends at the Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market, a Grade III historic building. This section is bordered by two schools:

  • (W) Tung Koon District Society Fong Shu Chuen School
  • (E) Wanchai Church Kei To School

Yau Ma Tei to Prince Edward section

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No. 1235 Canton Road in July 2010.

The section starts at Waterloo Road, north of the Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market and ends at Lai Chi Kok Road. This section features a street market in the Mong Kok area.[9]

West Rail line (Tuen Ma Line)

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It was proposed that a station, Canton Road on the Kowloon Southern Link of the West Rail line, could be built beneath the Tsim Sha Tsui section of the road, outside Harbour City. The plan was put off after unsuccessful negotiation between KCRC and The Wharf on financial arrangement. Another station, Austin, near the junction of Canton Road and Wui Cheung Road in Kwun Chung opened on 16 August 2009.

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The final shootout sequence of the 2003 film PTU, directed by Johnnie To, takes place in Canton Road. The sequence was actually shot in Ap Lei Chau.[16]

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Tsim Sha Tsui section

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  • Hard Rock Cafe, G/F & 1/F, Silvercord in December 2005 (closed since 24 November 2008)[17]
    Hard Rock Cafe, G/F & 1/F, Silvercord in December 2005 (closed since 24 November 2008)[17]
  • Canton Road Government Offices in January 2008, demolished in 2011
    Canton Road Government Offices in January 2008, demolished in 2011
  • Canton Road near Silvercord in the evening, looking north in December 2005
    Canton Road near Silvercord in the evening, looking north in December 2005
  • Canton Road along Harbour City at night, looking south in March 2015
    Canton Road along Harbour City at night, looking south in March 2015

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Changes in Names of Streets" (PDF). Hong Kong Government Gazette. GA 1909 no.184 (1909): 173. 19 March 1909.
  2. ^ Bard, Solomon (2002). Voices from the past: Hong Kong, 1842-1918. Hong Kong University Press. p. 177. ISBN 978-9622095748.
  3. ^ Film Services Offices: Canton Road Government Offices
  4. ^ Hong Kong Tourism Board: Theme Shopping Streets
  5. ^ "Film Services Office: Canton Road (between Jordan Road and Kansu Street)". Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  6. ^ "Giant jade lure in survival fight", The Standard. 25 June 2008
  7. ^ Jade Market & Jade Street. Hong Kong Tourism Board
  8. ^ Brief Information on Proposed Grade III Items, pp. 997–998 Archived 22 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Kinoshita, Hikaru (2001). "Chapter 2: The Street Market as an Urban Facility in Hong Kong". In Miao, Pu (ed.). Public places in Asia Pacific cities: current issues and strategies. Springer. pp. 71–86. ISBN 978-0-7923-7083-3.
  10. ^ 中國冰室 China Cafe
  11. ^ "Cha Chaan Chow" Archived 11 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine, HK magazine 18 September 2009
  12. ^ Fulltime Killer – China Cafe. Hong Kong on Film
  13. ^ "They Haven't Torn It Down... Yet" Archived 11 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine, HK magazine 11 January 2008
  14. ^ "48 hours in cinematic Hong Kong", The Vancouver Sun 24 April 2008
  15. ^ Brief Information on Proposed Grade III Items, pp. 625–626 Archived 22 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Teo, Stephen (2007). Director in Action: Johnnie To and the Hong Kong Action Film. Hong Kong University Press. pp. 128, 129, 264. Archived from the original on 21 December 2012.
  17. ^ bloomberg.com "Hong Kong Recession Cuts Jobs at Hard Rock, Retailer, SCMP Says", Bloomberg. 15 November 2008
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