Connaught Road

Connaught Road, Hong Kong
Connaught Road at Pedder Street, with the Duke's statue on the right
Traditional Chinese	干諾道
Simplified Chinese	干诺道
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Gānnuò dào Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization gon1 nok6 dou6 Jyutping gon1 nok6 dou6

Connaught Road refers to one major road and its western extension on the north shore of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong

Connaught Road Central is a main thoroughfare that runs the length of Central, parallel to the north shore. It runs from approximately Admiralty in the east, where it connects into Harcourt Road, to the Shun Tak Centre in the west, where the road becomes Connaught Road West.

Connaught Road West (干諾道西) runs towards the Kennedy Town and Pok Fu Lam areas in the west. For most of the stretch, Connaught Road West runs beneath the Connaught Road West Flyover, (Route 4). It is the main thoroughfare to the entrance of the Western Harbour Tunnel and beyond to Shek Tong Tsui, where it merges with Des Voeux Road.

History

1911 map showing Connaught Road on the Central waterfront, and its many piers

This road was once a waterfront promenade with boats docked against the northern side of the road. In 1889, the north shore of Victoria City was under extensive reclamation. At the time of the prince's visit, Francis Fleming, then acting governor, announced a new road extension beginning from the old "Bowring Praya", which was to be renamed Des Voeux Road. The new praya would be named Connaught Road, after Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn when he visited Hong Kong in 1890. A statue of the Duke once occupied the junction of Pedder Street.

Connaught Road West was lined with many piers in the past. Rice wholesalers gathered there owing to its proximity to the shore. Due to reclamation of the harbour, the whole of Connaught Road has now become land-locked.

Structures with frontage on Connaught Road

• AIG Tower
• Hong Kong Club Building
• Statue Square
• City Hall, Hong Kong
• Mandarin Oriental Hotel
• Connaught Place
• Chater House
• Jardine House
• Central Elevated Walkway
• World-Wide House
• Exchange Square,
• One, IFC,
• Wing On House
• New Hang Seng Bank Headquarters Building
• Shun Tak Centre

Gallery

• 
  AIG Tower, 1 Connaught Road Central
• 
  The Mandarin Oriental Hotel
• 
  Statue Square abuts Connaught Road
• 
  The Hong Kong Club Building's frontage on Connaught Road
• 
  City Hall facing Connaught Road
• 
  Henry Moore's sculpture, Connaught Place
• 
  The Central Elevated Walkway crosses Connaught Road
• 
  Connaught Road Central at night, with Exchange Square on the left
• 
  Connaught Road, looking west (1IFC on the right)
• 
  New Headquarters of the Hang Seng Bank
• Connaught Road Central (foreground left: City Hall;opposite: Hong Kong Club Building. Background: Prince of Wales Building; Distant Background: Central Plaza)
  Connaught Road Central (foreground left: City Hall;opposite: Hong Kong Club Building. Background: Prince of Wales Building; Distant Background: Central Plaza)
• 
  Connaught Road West Flyover leading up to the Shun Tak Centre (background)
• 
  Wing On House (middle); the two buildings to the right are the old and new headquarters of Hang Seng Bank
• 
  ChinaChem Plaza and the China Insurance Group Building are both on Connaught Road Central

See also

• List of streets and roads in Hong Kong

22°16′51.60″N 114°9′46.80″E

External links

• Hong Kong Tourism Board, To have a nice glance of Hong Kong