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Plans to revive nightlife in Central

The Young Reporter (1979, April 15), 11(11), pp. 4, 5.
Author: Chris Cheung, Cathy Yeung.
Permanent URL - https://sys01.lib.hkbu.edu.hk/bujspa/purl.php?&did=bujspa0012984

By CHRIS CHEUNG & CATHY YEUNG

MAMMOTH-SIZED neon signs on both sides of the harbour go out to signal the tranquil end of the night in this Pearl of the Orient.

But the hectic new day in Central District has already begun — four hours before the sun rises — with hundreds of newspaper hawkers and delivery people unloading lorries piled high with local morning papers.

These are distributed to newspaper stands throughout the district in time to greet the rush of office workers streaming in to get the day’s business started.

The tempo keeps building — reaching its full peak with the noon lunch-hour break.

While executives quietly discuss business inside elegant private clubs, white-collar workers, clerks and messengers desperately fight their way into fast food centres to buy mass-produced boxed lunches.

Having finished (or gulped) their food, many women office workers find time to shop or spend a while “looking” in some of the most expensive and fashionable boutiques in Hongkong.

The bustle gradually dies down as evening comes and offices close. Darkness drifts in the crowds thin out, shops close — and Central District suddenly is “dead” .

Only the occasional pedestrian can be seen wandering along the streets.

There just isn’t much for people to do in Central at night.

There are a few private clubs, some restaurants and pubs, a couple of cinemas and some open-air recreation grounds close to the waterfront..

But it doesn’t come close to the nightlife one finds in Tsimshatsui, Causeway Bay or even Wanchai. However, Hongkong Land Co. Ltd. is planning to do something about it.

Hongkong Land is already in the midst of its multi-million-dollar Central redevelopment scheme, and whatever the company does is certain to lure other business interests into climbing on the band-wagon.

Martin Spurrier, group marketing service manager of the Hongkong Land Group, said when the scheme is done, it is hoped that nightlife will come back to the commercial heart of Hongkong.

The whole project is expected to be completed in the early 1980s.

But a plaza will be opened by the end of this year where cultural events, fashion shows, commercial exhibits and other similar activities can be held in the evening.

The plaza will be within the Alexandra House, Gloucester Tower and Edinburgh House complex.

The three buildings, when completed, will be linked with covered footbridges.

By then, one will be able to walk all the way from the Star Ferry to Queen’s Road Central by the footbridge network.

This means pedestrians won’t have to worry about vehicle traffic and will also have protection from bad weather.

Apart from this, many more private and Government projects are either being planned or are already underway.

These include reclamation projects along the waterfront, construction of the Mass Transit Railway Terminal and the re-construction of several well- known commercial complexes.

In fact, the Public Works Department has already started construction of a covered footbridge running from Gilman Street to the Central Yaumatei Ferry Pier as well as a flyover in Robinson Road in Mid-levels.

Many residential buildings have been demolished in making way for the new commercial complexes and public projects, so the resident population in the district has dwindled.

According to the Government 1976 by-census statistics, the number of residents in Central District dropped from 5,000 in 1971 to about 4,000 in 1976. And it is thought to be much lower now.

At present, Central has an area of a little more than 60 hectares from Arsenal Street in the east to Jubilee Street in the west.

But the area will grow as reclamation projects move on.

Despite the rapid evolution, remnants of the “good old” Central stand as they were more than a hundred years ago.

The four antiquated lamps in Dudell Street and the few stone streets at the far end of Queen’s Road Central and Pottinger Street are examples.

These are worth preserving according to Dr S. M. Bard, executive secretary of the Antiquities and Monuments Section of the Cultural Services Division of the Urban Services Department.

“As long as they are not a financial burden to the public, we should preserve them,” said Dr Bard.

Talking about recreational facilities, some town planners argue that development plans in Central emphasise the commercial sector too much.

But a spokesman for the Central and Western Districts City District Office said more recreational facilities will be provided.

He said parks will be built in the west portion of the Victoria Barracks while the east side will be used for construction of high-rise commercial buildings.

Moreover, 10 pagodas, as an addition to the Central waterfront promenade are now under construction next to the Central Bus Terminal.

And the first stage of Chater Park has already completed on the spot where the Hongkong Cricket Club once stood. The second stage will soon be started when the MTR construction work is completed.

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