Mid-Levels
Mid-levels is a residential area in Hong Kong. Located halfway up the mountain, between the Peak and Central, it is one of the most popular and high-class residential areas for both local folks and expatriates. In the old days, mainly the expatriates lived there, but not much locals. Precisely, Mid-levels include the area between Queen's Road Central and the Peak, from Caine Road and Robinson Road in the west to Conduit Road in the east. It is mainly separated into East Mid-levels, Central Mid-levels and West Mid-levels.
One of the reasons for its attraction is that it provides a lot of choices of housing from the very luxurious to small and compact apartments and the cost of these apartments definitely varies considerably according to their sizes and locations. The cost ranges from a few million dollars to about twenty hundreds million dollars. Mid-levels is located at the superior region, apart from having a bird's eye view of the mesmerizing view of the Victoria Harbor from Mid-Levels, it is close to Central and Admiralty which is a significant intense business area, so it provides easy and convenient access for the businessmen living in Mid-levels.
Mid-levels is surrounded by nature and thus have the fresh air that has almost entirely dissipated in Hong Kong. These account for the extremely high price of all the residential buildings in Mid-levels. As everyone knows that health is equivalent to wealth, many famous people are convinced that it is worthwhile to pay such a high price for a house or apartment in this area. Therefore, it is easy to spot many well known people in this precious district.
Also, the Mid Levels West provides both traditional and historical features. For example, the old buildings in Sheung Wan fall into one of the many traditional and historical features. Moreover, many prestigious colleges and schools can be found in Mid-Levels, with the most historical and famous one being The University of Hong Kong for university and St. Joesph's College for college.
One other characteristic we can find in Mid-Levels is the naming of roads after a myriad of former Governors of Hong Kong, such as Bonham Road (after George Bonham, 1848-1854) and Kennedy Road (after Arthur E. Kennedy, 1872-1877). Many of the roads in this area are within walking distance of the Central Business District, which is accessible by a long escalator from Central. The escalator links Central district with Conduit Road in the Mid-Levels, starting from Queen's Road Central, along Cochrane Street, Shelley Street and then to the Conduit Road. This escalator was opened to the public in 1994. Being 800 metres long, it is the longest escalator in the world.
1. FAMOUS STREETS
The most special feature of the streets in Mid-levelsis that they all have it own characteristic. You will find that the whole street belongs to the same theme and all the shops sell similar or even the same thing. It is convenient for people from all walks of life to compare the quality of the goods and bargain the price. Now, let's us give you some details of the well known streets found in Midlevels.
a) Hollywood Road
There is a very special road lay on the center of the Mid-levels area - Hollywood Road. When you walk along the road, it seemed you have entered into an art museum, because it is amazingly that is an open-air curio market in which more than 70 antique and artifact shops and galleries along the road there. These quaint locales are ideal places for picking up eclectic souvenirs and gifts. They mainly sell artworks and antique likes: paintings, Chinese and European artworks, India carpet and some small object that is quite rare and unusual. Everything from Ming Dynasty furniture and lotus lamps to Mao badges and ancient snuff bottles is on sale here.
b) Lascar Row
Lascar Row is situated between the Queen's Road West and Hollywood Road and is also known as "Cat Street". In the past, thieves used to sell some stolen stuffs in this street and so the English call them "cat". Therefore, it gives Lascar Row another name, "Cat Street". At the entrance, there are Twin Stone Lions of the Tang Dynasty to act as the symbol of the street. It can be separated into 2 parts: upper part and lower part. Similar to Hollywood Road, many handicrafts and antiquities are also avaliable there. You can find many different variety of stuffs from Dynasty there, for example, some vases and coins. Therefore, it attracts many collectors to find the valuables and treasure. It is very interesting that the word "Lascar" comes from the word "Moorman" which means ugly Indian! If you have time, you can travel this historical street and feel its special "old" features. Perhaps, you will come back with a lot of precious old thing and many modern things but all are in second-handed!
c) Others
(I) Wing Lok Street --- It is commonly called as Ginseng and Bird's Nest Street. A majority of fascinating ginseng and bird's shops can be found here.
(II) Des Voeux Road West --- You can find exotic dried seafood from all around the world, including such rare and expensive items as abalone, in the Des Voeux Road West area. That's why it is also known as aDried Seafood Street
(III) Ko Shing Street --- This street has another name called Herbal Medicine Street which is the wholesale centre of Hong Kong's thriving herbal medicine scene.
(IV) Bonham Strand West --- It was built on newly reclaimed land in Sheung Wan in 1849. The merchants at that time came from different Mainland Chinese provinces such as Fujian and Shandong, or from cities like Guangzhou and Shanghai. They opened many stores to sell specialty goods and groceries from all over Southeast Asia and Mainland China. Another common name of this street is Nam Pak Hong Street
(V) Gage Street --- If you like taste differnt kinds of food, it is a good idea for you to walk along here. In this street, best of Hong Kong-style fragrant soups, noodles, herbal teas and pastries are all served outdoors and let you feel relaxed and refreshed.
(VI) Stanley Street --- Stanley Street is fulfilled with modern technology. It is regarded as the photographer's paradise since cameras, film and accessories are available there at very reasonable prices.
(VII) Pottinger Street --- The only thing that you can find here is the small stalls selling small items such as ribbons, bows, buttons and other things of interest line the paved steps.
(VIII) Li Yuen Streets East and West --- These alleys are narrow, compact and packed with stalls and shops selling casual wear, leatherwear and knick-knacks. The main customers are local housewives and visitors. Moreover, Central commuters are great spots to go bargain hunting.
2. EATING AND DRINKING
Hong Kong is regarded as the paraside of food. Differnt cuisines all over the world can be found in Midlevels. No matter where you come from or what kind of food you want to taste, you can strict go to Midlevels and enjoy a wonderful meal with your friends. It not only provides you a comfortable environment to chat with your friends, but also lets you feel the culture of other places in the world. Therefore, it is not surprised to see that tourists will have no regret queuing up outside the restaurant even for a long period.
a) Lan Kwai Fong
Lan Kwai Fong is a good place for the brilliance nightlife, because you can find a lot of bars, discos and coffee shops around this area, in addition to many large functions held during public holidays and festive occasions. So it is a nice place for gatherings with friends, having a drink at leisure after work. It also attracts a lot of foreigners to have a drink there. During the daytime, bars in Lan Kwai Fong are nearly all closed as people inside are probably preparing for nighttime to dawn. In stark contrast, at night, Lan Kwai Fong is so full of life that you can see a multitude of cultures that exists in Hong Kong. In some special occasions such as Halloween and New Year's Eve, it becomes the ideal area for celebrations.
However, a tragedy happened there on New Year's Eve in 1992 when 21 people were tramped to death by a huge crowd of people celebrating. This disaster was contributed by some undesirable elements of the location namely the narrow streets, a steep gradient, poor police planning and bad weather. However, the situation in Lan Kwai Fong has been improved a lot nowadays. No matter how tragic and griefing that incident was, Lan Kwai Fong still remains a very famous spot of tourist attraction in Hong Kong up till today.
b) Soho
Soho(named after its location "South of Hollywood Road"), is another hot spot in Hong Kong. It is further west from Lan Kwai Fong, around Staunton Street and Elgin Street. Soho offers a compact, fashionable area of bars and restaurants with food from the Himalayas to the Louisiana Bayou, and from Malaysia to the Mediterranean. It becomes well-known due to the fact that this tiny area serves a very wide range of international cuisine, for example: Chinese, Japanese, Nepalese, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, etc.
3. SHOPPING MALLS
In the Mid-levels, there are many far-farmed shopping malls, such as Pacific Place and the Lanmark. Owing to their proximity to the Central MTR station, it is convenient for people from all parts of Hong Kong. It is a wonderful place for the tourists to go shopping anytime.
a) The Landmark
The Landmark is a collection of famous brand shops all over the world. Shopping centres of well known brands such as Chanel, LV, Gucci, Loewe, Polo and Prada can all be found in the Landmark. Moreover, the Landmark is regarded as the trend of Hong Kong. Here in Hong Kong, people from all walks of life are always in the latest fashion and all the shops exhibit the most special and latest goods from time to time. Even going window-shopping in such an air-conditioned environment can be very enjoyable.
b) The Pacific Place
Pacific Place is an integrated complex located on the top of Admiralty MTR station near Hong Kong Park. It has pioneered the concept of leisure shopping in Hong Kong. Whatever you are looking for, you can find it here. Shops of different aspects such as fashion, electronic equipment, antiques, sports, health and beauty are all located in this heart of the city's business and entertainment district. Cinema which shows different Hollywood movies attract tourists from all parts of world. Besides, food Court is included in order to provide large varity of food for the people having shopping there.
Apart from shopping and entertainment, Pacific Place also offers world-class commerical offices, luxury hotels and apartments and meeting environment for us. For commercial purpose, three Pacific Place offices are built near the shopping mall in order to suit the businessmen. They acquire high quality of business facilities, management services and easy accessibility. Two five class residental properties, Parkside and The Atrium, can provide comfortable and plesure accomodation for tourists and businessmen. To satify the commercial needs, Pacific Place Conference Centre is also included to offer a place for important or international meetings and conferences.
After walking around Pacific Place, you will discover that the statement of "Pacific Place is a world of delights under one roof" is really true.
c) Western Market
The Western Market is located at the commercial district of Sheung Wan. It was first built in 1858 followed with a reconstruction in 1991. It is now a lofty historic monument declared by the Hong Kong Government in 1990 and reopen to the public as a shopping centre. In the past, it was the Post Office of Hong Kong and it had ever been a rice store in the World War II. This four-storey building with red brick walls on a granite base was built in a special characteristic of having a granite arch over the entrance and columns of different styles. It is now a centre permeated with Chinese arts and crafts. The total four floors are divided into different groups. The first floor is a place to sell different Chinese arts. Things like antiques, old-styled toys and special souvenir can be found here. The second floor in which many cloth shops can be found is the continuity of the Fa Bo Street. You can have the tailor-made clothes of different cultures from all parts of the world. The third floor is a restaurant constructed in a deep Chinese culture. It provides Chinese specialized food. Also, there is a performance of huqin every night. The forth floor holds different kinds of exhibitions about the Chinese culture. In short, this historical building lets all of us go back to the past and feel the life-style of people living in the early stage of Hong Kong. That is why it is regarded as the shopping highlight in Mid-levels.
4. RECREATION
Midlevels is a place with a lot of recreational facilities. Famous parks and well-known buildings can be found here. For example, recreational parks such as Hong Kong Park can be found in Midlevels. They provides you a comfortable environment and lets you be relaxed and refreshed after your hard work. On the other hand, the Peak is also a famous place for recreation and sightseeing. Many tourists and visitors must go to have a look at these places when they come to Hong Kong.
a) Hong Kong Park
Hong Kong Park is located next to Cotton Tree Drive in Central and can be easily reached by walking through the Pacific Place and its nearby escalator. Hong Kong Park was open to public in May 1991. It covers an area of 8 hectares and is an outstanding example of modern design and facilities blending with natural landscape.
Hong Kong Park captures the natural landscape in the busy and crowded business centres and provides a relaxing environment, with its main feature being Hong Kong's largest aviary. In addition, Vantage Point is another great place to see a variety of birds. Inside Hong Kong Park, there is a greenhouse which holds various species of plants and the orchid exhibition running from February till March. There are also many modern gardens, including Garden Plaza and Tai Chi Garden. In order to suit sport-lovers, a sport centre and a squash centre have also been built in Hong Kong Park. For people who are interested in art or teaware, it is a good idea to visit the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre and the Flagstaff House Museum, since they are situated near Hong Kong Park.
Futhermore, apart from the Hong Kong Park, if you want to stroll in some more conservational areas in Mid-levels, country parks such as Tai Tam Country Park and Aberdeen Country Park are some perfect choices for both Hong Kong people and visitors to savor the unpolluted realms far away from the "concrete forest".
b) The Peak
The Peak is one of the attractive tourist destinations in Hong Kong. If you want to visit the Peak, it's very convenient for you to do so, as there are so many public transports that can take you there, though it is highly recommended that you take the Peak tramway. It only takes 7 minutes to bring you from the bottom of the hill (admiralty) to the terminal - the Peak. Travelling in the Peak tramway is a wonderful experience when you look back at its historical importance. In 1988, it carried its first flock of passengers and had served as one of the city's most vital transport links over the last century. Up until now, it still reamins one of the most popular tourist attractions in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, do not forget the working hours of this meaningful service. The Peak Tram runs every day, even on Sundays and public holidays, between 7:00 am and 12:00 midnight. The tram departs every 15 minutes.
Besides tourist, the Peak is also popular among the locals because from the Peak, the whole picture-perfect scenario of Hong Kong will come into the view , due to its being highest spot in Hong Kong. When firework is being carried out in the Victoria Habour during Lunar New Year as well as some other special days , the Peak is usually a marvellous place to view these fantastic firework. Besides a special building, Peak Tower, which shapes like a chinese "wok", is situated in the Peak. There are seven levels in the buildingPeak Tower, each level provids different activities for the visitors, including restaurants, entertainments and some shops selling traditional stuff. The well-known Madame Tussauds has also opened in Hong Kong, showing you a bunch of wax figures, such as super stars like Jackie Chan. Also, the Peak Explorer Motion Simulator,Hong Kong's Historical Adventure and the Ripley's Believe it or not Odditorium are the other forms of entertainment that you can find. In addition, many spectaculars are placed in the Viewing Terrances for visitors to observe the undescribably mesmerizing view of Hong Kong .
c) Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens
The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is one of the oldest Zoological and Botanical centres in the world. It is located on the northern slope of Victoria Peak and has been opened to the public since 1862. In 1871, the name was offically changed to Botanical Gardens, and in 1975, the name was changed again to Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens. This venerable park was previously named Ping Tao Garden, as it was linked to the garden to the Government House in those days, meaning the Cheif Commander's Garden. In 1958, a bronze statue of King Geoge VI was erected in the garden to mark the centenary year in which Hong Kong became a British Colony. In the olden days, many lovers liked to go there.
5. ART AND CULTURES
In Mid-levels, you are able to feel the culture trait, ranging from the traditional to the modern cultures. Different sorts of cultural building such as museums, temples and church are available here. They let you enrich your knowledge and broaden your horizons. Through walking along these museums and famous old buildings, you will have a feel of going back to the past and realize different kinds of culture more deeply. Now, let's us give you some recommendations
a) The Flagstaff House Museum
Inside the Hong Kong Park, there is the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware (茶具文物館), which is a branch museum of the Hong Kong Museum of Art. It is built in the 1840s and originally served as the office and residence of the Commander of the British Forces in Hong Kong. However, it was converted to the Museum of Tea Ware in 1984, with a new wing (the K.S. Lo Gallery) added in 1995. Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware specializes in the collection, study and display of tea ware. In order to promote Chinese tea drinking culture, a lot of exhibitions are held in the museum. For example, special Exhibition of Pottery and Porcelain: A Journey of Discovery will be displayed from 10 Mar 2004 to 13 Dec 2004. Moreover, there are also permanent exhibitions such as Chinese Tea Drinking and Chinese Ceramics and Seals Donated by the K.S. Lo Foundation. Apart from this, video programmes in Cantonese and Japanese version, regular presentations and lecture programmes and services like free guided tours, giftshops can also be found. The most special and interesting service provided in the museum is the Chinese Teahouse. It is located on the ground floor of the K.S. Lo Gallery, its main purpose is not only serves Chinese tea, but also holds tea demonstrations regularly. After you tour the galleries, you may feel tired and thiristy, then you can go there to enjoy a nice cup of tea, which makes you feel relaxed and refreshed.
b) Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre
The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre is located at the Kennedy Road in Central, the main aim of the centre is supporting the local art creation. The centre was restructured from an early 20th century building (Cassels Block, former barracks for married British officers), in order to provide an area and facilities for local artists in order to enhance their creativity. You can enjoy a lot of modern artifacts and sculptures in this centre.
c) The Main Building of the University of Hong Kong
The Main Building of the University of Hong Kong is the oldest of all the university's structures. Its construction began in 1910 and was completed in 1912. It is usually not open to the public. However, sometimes public talks will be held by the university, and so you can visit the Main Building.
d) Man Mo Temple
Man Mo Temple, as one of the traditional temples in Hong Kong, is another popular tourist spot. Inside Man Mo Temple the Taoist Gods of Literature (Man)with his calligraphy brush and War (Mo) with his sword are enshrined. Tourists can shake fortune sticks out of a bamboo cylinder, which is avaliable in the temple and get the predictions inscribed on the sticks in the book "Man Mo Temple". If you run into ill luck or if you intend to look for your better half, it is a good idea to go there to have a prediction from the Gods. They may give you guidelines and help you by different means. Moreover, the income of the temple will all be contributed to charitable organizations to help others in need.
e) Central Police Station
The Police station is located at Hollywood Road. It was built in 1864, and the other blocks were added between 1910 and 1925. Many police stations were built during this period because a huge amount of people moved to Hong Kong from mainland China and thus peace and order had to be maintained. This four-story grey building has a classical style, as it is built with Doric-style columns. It stands as a mute testimony to Hong Kong's colonial heritage for its long history and antiquated architectural style. In the past, the police station was used as the headquarters of the police, however, its importance declined when the new police headquarters was built in Wan Chai after World War II. Today it is still a police station, dormitory and prison. Nowadays, this police station is used as both the Hong Kong Island Regional Police Headquarters and the Central District Police Headquarters.
However, the Central Police Station has to face a reconstruction in the future. It is because the Government has a plan to convert the Police Station and the magistracy into modern food plazas, a museum and an art gallery. Besides, the Victoria prison is also designed to be converted to a theatre or a museum. They will then become tourist spots and use their historical backgrounds to attract visitors.
f) Union Church Hong Kong
Union Church Hong Kong is located at Kennedy Road in Mid-Levels, up the hill from Central and Admiralty, and next to where the Peak Tram bridge intersects with Kennedy Road. It is an international, interdenominational church which was established in Hong Kong in 1844. The first Union Church was built in 1845 on Hollywood Road. And then, in 1866, the Church relocated to a new site on Staunton Street. Until 1888, due to the church on the Staunton Street had become very crowded and it was moved to the current site on Kennedy Road. Union Church has a long history and during World War II, it was forced to be closed owing to the invasion of the Japanese.
g) The Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences
The building of Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences was established in 1906. It was the first laboratory of bacteriology in Hong Kong, which was constructed of red bricks and composed of three blocks.1996. It is an unique institution showing the development of medical sciences in Hong Kong. The museum is located at 2 Caine Lane at Mid-levels. It is a three-tier building occupying 10,000 square feet and it consists of 11 exhibition galleries including 1 gallery for Tai Ping Shan View, 1 library and 1 lecture room. A herbal garden can also be found. There, a collection of different types of herbs are shown and the studies of their medical properties are carried out. The aim of the museum is to exhibit and educate the public about Hong Kong's medical history as well as to preserve historical medical materials relating to the local development of medicine. Occasionally, special activities are held by the museum to inform the public about medical information and news. Publications and leaflets are also distributed to the public occasionally so as to help arouse the interest of the public in the medical history of Hong Kong and increase their knowledge and understanding of health and diseases. This museum is special and meaningful since it is the first of its kind among all the medical museums in the world! The museum is closed on Monday but it is open to the public from 10:00a.m to 5:00p.m from Tuesday to Saturday. On Sundays and public holidays, it starts at 1:00p.m. and closes at 5:00p.m. The admission fee is only HK$10.00 for adults and $5 for the disabled people, full-time students and the elderly aged 60 or above. Don't miss the chance and go right now!