Sai Ying Pun

Sai Ying Pun is a residential area built on the lower slopes of Victoria Peak and reclaimed land. It is located in between Kennedy Town to the west and Sheung Wan to the east on Hong Kong Island. In the recent years there has been an increasing amount of new apartment developments in the area, brought on by the new Sai Ying Pun MTR station that is due to be completed in 2014.

Sai Ying Pun is one of the older districts in Hong Kong and is reflected by the older style apartment buildings in the area. But this is slowly changing, the anticipation of the MTR extension has sparked interest from many expatriates and locals alike in buying older apartments for refurbishment. The rental apartments in Sai Ying Pun are still relatively cheaper here and some apartments are modernly renovated with fantastic outdoor spaces.

The major part of the area is built on the lower slopes of Victoria Peak, the gradient can make it a tiring ascent and can be quite slippery when it rains. Navigation around Sai Ying Pun is relatively easy, there is Centre Street that goes upwards all the way to Bonham Road, flagged by Eastern St and Western St, then the from the bottom, the streets run parallel from Connaught Road all the way to High Street.

There is a debate on the origin of the name Sai Ying Pun, which in Chinese means western encampment, it is generally believed that the name referred to the British–era soldier’s encampment, or an earlier settlement west of Hong Kong Island used by Cheung Po Tsai a famous pirate from the early nineteenth century. Throughout the history of Sai Ying Pun a number of religious organizations established themselves here, German missionary organizations such as the Basel Missionary Society and the Rhenish Mission built the many churches, schools and welfare organizations in the area.

Some popular apartments to rent in Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong.