Hong Kong Park

Hong Kong Park View (2009)

The Hong Kong Park ( Chinese 香港公園 / 香港公园 , Pinyin Xiānggǎng Gōngyuán , Jyutping Hoeng ¹ gong ² Gung ¹ jyun ^{4 * 2} ) is an 8 hectare public park opened in May 1991 in the Central and Western District on Hong Kong Island , Hong Kong .

Geographical location

The park is located in the eastern part of Central and Western between the two districts of Central and Admiralty , enclosed by the Central Station of the Peak Tram , the Bank of China Tower and Pacific Place . It is accessible daily from 6:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. through 11 entrances, the main entrance of which is on Cotton Tree Drive .

history

The site of today's park used to be a garrison of the British armed forces until the site was returned to the Hong Kong government in 1979 and the latter decided to use it for other purposes. The area at the foot of the hill was to be used for commercial purposes and the construction of government buildings, while the upper part was converted into a park. The cost of this project amounted to 398 million Hong Kong dollars . The park was officially opened in May 1991.

Several of the buildings built between 1842 and 1910 have been preserved, including Flagstaff House , built in 1846 , the former headquarters of the Hong Kong Commander in Chief. Today the Flagstaff House is a tea museum. Other historic buildings include Rawlinson House (today's park administration and registry office ), Cassels Block (now an education center), and Wavell House (today's headquarters of the Hong Kong Visual Arts Center ).

Facilities

Aviary in Hong Kong Park, outside view

SARS memorial

The park's facilities include:

Central garden with 2 artificial lakes and a waterfall , with various ornamental fish and turtle species .

Edward Youde Aviary opened in September 1992 and is named after Sir Edward Youde, a former Hong Kong governor from 1982 to 1986.
The walk-in bird house has an elevated walkway which allows visitors to move between the treetops and see the birds up close. It covers an area of 3000 m² and is 30 meters high at the highest point. This makes this birdhouse one of the largest in the world. The aviary is home to over 600 birds of over 80 species native to Malesia .

Forsgate Conservatory is a greenhouse , which covers an area of 1400 m² and consists of 3 climatically separated sections. One section is used to display various genera and families of plant species. Over 30 different groups of these plants are exhibited here throughout the year. A second section exhibits a wide range of plants from South Africa, Southeast Asia and America. The temperature is kept there over the year between 23 and 33 degrees Celsius with high humidity. The climatic conditions are adapted to the alternately exhibited plant species which are selected according to climatic zones. In the third section, native plant species are exhibited in arid climatic zones . The temperature is kept at 33 degrees Celsius and the humidity at only 60%.

Hong Kong Park Sports Center and Hong Kong Squash Center are the park's two sports facilities. The Hong Kong Park Sports Center consists of a 1296 m² hall which can be used for a wide variety of sports. The Hong Kong Squash Center is the largest in the city with 18 fields and international tournaments are held regularly.

The over 1000 m² children's playground is arranged on 6 platforms at different heights and is located in the upper part of the park next to the Hong Kong Visual Arts Center .