(written by Cait)
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When Brad first told me our apartment was on Wing Lok (pr. lock) Street, my response was, “You lock it up!” That’s a Wedding Crashes movie reference and I think of it every time I walk down the street. Wing Lok is in the Sheung Wan district on Hong Kong Island. It’s a great place to stay for the beginning of our time here: transportation is very convenient, buses, trams, subway and ferries are all very close to us. Brad’s work is a 10 minute walk away. I can get almost anything I need within a few blocks like groceries, home goods and plenty of things I don’t need like pastries/desserts, takeout food, clothes, shoes, makeup…you get the point. Two other districts it borders is Central, the height of business and shopping, and Soho, an artsy and hip area built up on Victoria Mountain.
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Trams and buses on Des Voeux street, a major street that runs along the north side of Hong Kong island.
The neighborhood has two personalities: bonkers busy (during the day) and quiet ‘where is everybody?’ (early morning and night). Hong Kong is not an early bird city, so I’m adjusting to that and running errands in the middle of the day along with everyone else. But there’s plenty of nightlife in a short walking distance. The area is known for many things, and Chinese medicine shops being one of them selling all kinds of dried herbs and such.
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Bird nests, swallow nests specifically, are considered a delicacy in Hong Kong and China. They are sold in many shops in Sheung Wan and are quite expensive.
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A close up of the bird nests.
Sheung Wan has a long and interesting history, which people can read about on a covered walking bridge for pedestrians to cross a busy road. After the British colonized Hong Kong in the mid 1800s, Sheung Wan soon became the first commercial and residential area for local Chinese. Setting up one of the first hospitals in Hong Kong that included a free clinic, the area became well known for medicine. Merchant trading was just as strong being right along the harbor.
Sheung Wan can boast some pretty stand-up men: In the late19th Century, there was serious problems of children abduction and trafficking of women for prostitution in Hong Kong. On 8th November, 1878, a group of Dongguan merchants in Hong Kong established Po Leung Kuk with the objective of “protecting the young and innocent”. In its early days, the Kuk was primarily engaged in combating abduction of women and children. Most of the rescued victims were sent back to their places of origin, and for those who had reasons to stay in Hong Kong, shelters and education would be provided. The Kuk has gradually evolved into a diversified organization in line with the social and economic changes over time. -Hong Kong Government
