Tsing Yi Town

Tsing Yi Town (Chinese: 青衣墟) was a town on Tsing Yi Island, Hong Kong. Many people at that time referred the town as Tsing Yi Main Street (青衣大街), namely the main street of the town.

The Chinese character Hui (墟) means market that people gathers at fix period, usually nine to ten days. However, the stalls and shops open every day in the town. It is the possible one of the reasons that people called the town "main street".

Transport

The town was by the Tsing Yi Bay and Tsing Yi Lagoon. In the early days, the town had no motor roads. Resident travelled on foot within island and external transport totally relied on sea. Taking sampan to Tsuen Wan was a typical example. Later Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry provided services to and fro Tsuen Wan. Later the service extended to Central.

Upon the completion of Tsing Yi Bridge, the motor roads were built to various places including Tsing Yi Town. Kowloon Motor Bus established bus routes to Tsuen Wan and Mei Foo.

Relocation

Upon the demolition of Tsing Yi Town, most of shops in the town were relocated to the re-sited villages of Chung Mei and Lo Uk near Sheung Ko Tan. Shops open on the ground floor of houses and form a market. The informal Chung Mei Market still operates as of 2006 and is busy every early morning.

References

*cite book|title=Tsuen Wan: Growth of a New Town and Its People.|author=James Hayes|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Hong Kong|date=1993
*cite book|title=新界年鑑|publisher=華僑日報|language=Chinese