Chung Ying Street
Encyclopedia
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
, within the border town
Divided cities
A divided city is one which, as a consequence of political changes or border shifts, presently constitutes two separate entities. Listed are the localities and the state they belonged to at the time of division...
of Sha Tau Kok
Sha Tau Kok
Sha Tau Kok or Shataukok or Sathewkok is a town in the northeastern corner of Hong Kong. Located on the border with mainland China, there is another town of same Chinese name, Shatoujiao, romanized using Hanyu Pinyin, across the Sham Chun River-defined border in Shenzhen of mainland...
/Shatoujiao. One side of the street belongs to Hong Kong, and the other side the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a major city in the south of Southern China's Guangdong Province, situated immediately north of Hong Kong. The area became China's first—and one of the most successful—Special Economic Zones...
.
In Cantonese, Chung means China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Ying England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
or the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The name is a mark of history of the Second Convention of Peking, a treaty that China under Qing was forced to lease New Territories
New Territories
New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory. Historically, it is the region described in The Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory...
to Britain in 1899.
The street was a river in 1899. British use the high water mark
High water mark
High water mark may refer to:*Ordinary high water mark, a landscape marking such as floodwater staining left by the highest level of water...
as the border. The river was too shallow at the section of Sha Tau Kok. It dried before the coming of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The residents on both dried river sides then erected their shops to trade. The dried river then renamed to Chung Hing Street (中興街), and later renamed to Chung Ying Street. The town of Sha Tau Kok flourished for that period of time. After World War II, with large influx of refugees from mainland China, British decided to close the border and the town fell into the Closed Area
Closed Area
The Frontier Closed Area is a 28 km² area in Hong Kong along the border with mainland China. It was gazetted and established in June 1951, and expanded to its current limit in 1962...
. The border town declined since then.
Chung Ying Street was once a famous place for shopping. In the 1990s, when China is still closing to the world, the tourists from the mainland visit to buy foreign goods, majorly watches, clothes and jewelry. However, the prosperity has declined in the last few years due to the policy that most people can apply to visit Hong Kong directly. Nowadays, Chung Ying Street is transforming to a sight-seeing place of its history. In fact, the mainland government has built a museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
about the history of Chung Ying Street to attract tourists again.