Chai Wan

 

Chai Wan is the eastern most residential area on the north side of Hong Kong Island, the area starts from Hang Fa Chuen to Siu Sai Wan further to the east and can easily be found at the end of the blue line of the Hong Kong Island MTR.

Chai Wan is a neighbourhood that offers some of the more affordable accommodation on the north of Hong Kong whilst being still connected to the MTR. The area is predominately residential, but around the Chai Wan MTR is an industrial hotspot, a remnant of Hong Kong’s manufacturing and production heritage. While these industrial buildings are still in use today, mostly as storage facilities, it is likely that they will slowly be replaced by residential buildings.

The location of Chai Wan with its open views of the opening of the Victoria Harbour and elevated hillsides was once used by the British as strategic location for the coastal defence of Hong Kong. Remnants of this period can still be seen today including the Lyeman Barracks that are now renovated and is part of Lie Yue Mun Park.

Notable coastal defence sites also include the Sai Wan Gun battery, which was built in 1937 in preparation for the defence against the impending Japanese attack. The battery was unfortunately the site of a Massacre when it was over-run by the Japanese in 1941, all but 2 of the Local volunteer corps survived and later testified at post-war war crime trials.