Victoria, Hong Kong Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids City of Victoria 維多利亞市 Victoria
City
Praya Central of the City of Victoria, 1870s
Current day boundary of Victoria City (2023)
Dependent territory	Hong Kong
Country	United Kingdom
Founded as a town	25 January 1841 (1841-01-25)
Incorporated as a city	11 May 1849 (1849-05-11)
Founded by	British Hong Kong, Charles Elliot
Elevation	552 m (1,811 ft)
Time zone	UTC+08:00 (HKT)

City of Victoria

Traditional Chinese

維多利亞市
維多利亞城

Simplified Chinese

维多利亚市
维多利亚城

Cantonese Yale

Wàih dō leih a shíh
Wàih dō leih a shìhng

Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Wéiduōlìyà Shì Wéiduōlìyà Chéng
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Wàih dō leih a shíh Wàih dō leih a shìhng
IPA	[wɐ̏itɔ́ːlèiʔā si̬ː] [wɐ̏itɔ́ːlèiʔā si̭ːŋ]
Jyutping	Wai4 do1 lei6 aa3 si5 Wai4 do1 lei6 aa3 sing4

The City of Victoria (also called Victoria City or simply Victoria) was the main city and unofficial capital of Hong Kong when it was a British territory. It was first called Queenstown but soon became known as Victoria. This city was one of the first big settlements in Hong Kong. Its borders are even written down in the laws of Hong Kong. Many important government offices are still located within its old boundaries today.

Today, the area known as Central is at the heart of Victoria City. The city grew to include many areas we know today, like Kennedy Town, Shek Tong Tsui, Sai Ying Pun, Sheung Wan, Wan Chai, and parts of Causeway Bay. Even though the name "Victoria" isn't used as much for the whole area, you can still find it in names like Victoria Park, Victoria Peak, and Victoria Harbour. It's also used by groups like the Victoria City District of the Hong Kong Scout.

History of Victoria City
First Streets in Victoria
Boundary Stones
Districts of Victoria City
Images for kids
See also

History of Victoria City

The name "City of Victoria" first appeared in official records around 1845. It officially became a city on May 11, 1849.

In 1857, the British government made Victoria City bigger. They divided it into four main areas called wans (Chinese: 環; Jyutping: waan4; literally "rings", meaning 'rings' or 'circles'). These areas were:

Sai Wan (meaning 'West Ring', which includes Kennedy Town, Shek Tong Tsui, and Sai Ying Pun today)
Sheung Wan (meaning 'Upper Ring', which is Sheung Wan today)
Choong Wan or Chung Wan (meaning 'Central Ring', which is Central today)
Ha Wan (meaning 'Lower Ring', which is Wan Chai today).

The first three names, "Sai Wan", "Sheung Wan", and "Choong Wan", are still used in Chinese today. These four wans were then divided into nine smaller areas called yeuks (Chinese: 約, similar to 'districts' or 'neighbourhoods'). The city also included parts of East Point and Happy Valley.

Around 1903, special stones were placed to mark the city's boundaries. Six of these original boundary stones can still be seen today. They stretch from Causeway Bay all the way to Kennedy Town.

By the 1890s, Victoria stretched about four miles along the coast from west to east. Buildings were often made of strong granite and brick. Buses and the new tramway became the main ways people got around the city.

The city was named after Queen Victoria in 1843. Its main part was in what is now Central. It covered many areas on Hong Kong Island, including Admiralty, Sheung Wan, Wan Chai, East Point, Shek Tong Tsui, the Mid-levels, the Peak, Happy Valley, Tin Hau, and Kennedy Town.

Map of Victoria published in 1908

First Streets in Victoria

When Victoria City was first planned, 16 streets were given names on the 1845 map. Most of these streets are in the areas of Central and the Mid-Levels, with two in Sheung Wan. The second Governor of Hong Kong, Sir John Francis Davis, officially named these streets. All 16 streets were named after important people from Great Britain or Hong Kong. Their location and layout were chosen based on how important the person was.

Here are a few examples of these first streets:

Some of Victoria's First Streets
Street Name	Location	Person Named After	Their Important Role
Queen's Road	Central	Queen Victoria	The Queen of Great Britain
Caine Road	Mid-Levels	William Caine	Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong
Pottinger Street	Central	Sir Henry Pottinger	First Governor of Hong Kong
Wellington Street	Central and Sheung Wan	Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington	A famous military leader and Prime Minister

Boundary Stones

A 1915 map showing Victoria on the north shore of Hong Kong Island (below); Kowloon peninsula (above) was not part of the colony until 1860

In 1903, the Hong Kong Government put up several special stones to show where Victoria City ended. These stones are about 98 cm tall and have "City Boundary 1903" carved into them. They served as clear physical markers for the city's official limits.

In 2021, three more of these old boundary stones were found. This means there are now 10 known stones, though one disappeared in 2007.

Here are some of the known boundary stones:

Boundary Stones of Victoria (from west to east)
No.	Location	Region	Notes
1	Sai Ning Street	Kennedy Town	Moved a few meters from its original spot in the 1970s.
2	Slope of Mount Davis, south of Victoria Road	Mount Davis	Found on December 12, 2021.
3	Pokfulam Road, near Smithfield	Sandy Bay Gap
4	Slope of Lung Fu Shan, near Hatton Road	Lung Fu Shan	Found on December 5, 2021.
5	Hatton Road, near Kotewall Road	Lung Fu Shan
6	Old Peak Road, near Tregunter Path	Mid-Levels
7	Magazine Gap Road		Removed in June 2007, its current location is unknown.
8	Bowen Road, near Stubbs Road
9	Slope near Rosaryhill School, Stubbs Road		Found on December 12, 2021.
10	Wong Nai Chung Road	Happy Valley