Mid-levels West

 

Mid-Levels West is commonly referred to as the area west of Central, extending upwards from Bonham Rd level and stretching towards Pokfulam. This area retains a flavor of what much of Mid-levels used to look and feel like before towering apartment blocks took over. Old trees with sprawling roots line many parts of the area and once off the busy Bonham Road, the area is calm and quiet, seemingly a world away from the commercialized Central and the busy markets of Sai Ying Pun below. Many expatriates prefer to live and rent apartments in Mid-Levels West for these reasons.

The apartments in Mid-levels West mostly date from the 1950s and 1960s and are consequently much larger than the average modern flat. Many apartments here have large balconies and unlike other parts of Hong Kong they are mostly filled with outdoor furniture and plants rather than drying laundry and domestic overspill.

The best forms of transportation in the area are the many mini-buses or taxis that travel along Bonham Rd, some may even utilize the tram down in Sai Ying Pun. Although, this will soon change with the arrival of the Sai Ying Pun MTR Station, completion due in 2014, which has a proposed entrance on Bonham Road near the David Trench Rehabilitation Centre.

Mid-Levels West, has traditionally been a solidly upper middle class residential area, with good schools in the area and the nearby University of Hong Kong. Notable streets in the area include Kotewall Road named Sir Robert Kotewall whom with expediency welcomed the arrival of the victorious Japanese, Lyttleton Road where Hong Kong’s most prestigious girl’s school St Stephen’s Girl’s College is located and Park Road a well known address which has many luxurious residential apartments.