The racecourse lights are bright, luxury homes stand in rows. Located in the southern part of Wan Chai District on Hong Kong Island, Happy Valley is an area extremely familiar to Hong Kong people. Today, Happy Valley is not only the headquarters of The Hong Kong Jockey Club but also a place with a rich cultural and historical heritage, creating a unique atmosphere of its own. Originally known as Wong Nai Chung, how did Happy Valley gradually develop into its current form? How have human activities impacted the changes in the natural landscape? The cultural heritage exhibition "Happy Valley: Cultural Landscape" currently being held at the Tai Kwun may reveal the answers. Dr. Chung Miu-fan, the Head of Heritage at Tai Kwun, pointed out that by exploring some forgotten stories of Hong Kong, they hope everyone can explore the relationship between urban cultural landscape changes and the sustainable development of society from a more macro perspective. ●Report and Photography by Hong Kong Wen Wei Po reporter Zhang Yueyue
Victoria City was once planned to be built at Wong Nai Chung
Formerly known as Wong Nai Chung, Happy Valley is a long, narrow valley surrounded by Morrison Hill, Mount Cameron, Mount Nicholson, Jardine's Lookout, Mount Caroline, and Leighton Hill. The exhibition includes rare historical photos, archival maps, and documentary films, from the 1841 "Nautical Survey of Hong Kong Island," the 1859 "Plan of Victoria City," to the 1928 "Plan of Victoria City, Hong Kong" and the 1978 "Hong Kong Official Guide Map"... These maps drawn at different times show the process of landscape changes in Wong Nai Chung, including river diversions, land use changes, infrastructure developments, mountain digging, and land reclamation, all of which are influenced by human activities. The ways humans interact with landscapes are diverse, constructing multiple meanings.
What if Victoria City were built at Wong Nai Chung? Shortly after the British occupied Hong Kong Island in 1841, the argument that Wong Nai Chung was "the best place for building a British town" arose. Soon after, Land Officer Gordon created a development blueprint for the first Governor Sir Henry Pottinger in 1843, proposing the relocation of the town to Wong Nai Chung. However, due to the damp climate in the valley and the rampant malaria, Victoria City was moved to Central, while Wong Nai Chung became a military camp for the British army. As more British soldiers died of illness, the area became a cemetery district, named "Happy Valley" by the British as a "resting place," with "Happy" actually implying an early ascent to paradise. In recent history, significant transformations in the valley and interactions with other areas have woven together the urban texture of Hong Kong. These transformations can be explored through the historical films from the 1930s and 1970s that loop in the exhibition.
"Eel Stream Banyan Shade" was one of the "Eight Views of Hong Kong"
After going through heavy historical records, another exhibition area uniquely arranged, reflects on the natural landscape changes brought by human activities and the environmental challenges affecting human well-being. The ground is filled with small stones, echoing the changes in land use, infrastructure development, land reclamation, and urbanization that Happy Valley has undergone. Dr. Chung Miu-fan stated that the historical photos on display tell multiple interlinked stories, revealing the past and present challenges we face regarding public health, human-environment health, and climate change adaptability and resilience. These crucial topics continue to influence our lives today. "Cultural and natural systems are constantly changing and interacting. Understanding the impacts brought by change will help us deeply understand how to responsibly coexist with the rapidly changing environment and build relationships with each other."
These old photos faintly show the bustling scene during horse racing days. A photo of the "Bowrington Canal" taken in the 1920s shows a tram passing over a bridge, a rare sight today. It turns out that the quality of Hong Kong's early drainage projects was uneven. In 1860, a major rainstorm destroyed most of the water intake facilities, causing many houses in the Guangzhou Market (the predecessor of the Central Market) to collapse. Later, the government built an open channel "Bowrington Canal" along the Wong Nai Chung River, which directed the water from Happy Valley's catchment area into Victoria Harbour. Built in 1861, Goose Neck Bridge was one of the bridges across the Bowrington Canal, providing traffic flow to the reclaimed areas north of Wong Nai Chung. At that time, banyan trees were planted along both sides of Wong Nai Chung, which was also known as one of the "Eight Views of Hong Kong" as "Eel Stream Banyan Shade." Since 1904, the tram tracks have been set up on the Goose Neck Bridge crossing the waterway, allowing trams to travel from east to west.
The hidden infrastructure "Bowrington Canal" underground
In the 1960s, to build a overpass connecting the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, the Bowrington Canal was converted into a culvert, henceforth buried underground, and "Goose Neck Bridge" became a colloquial term for Canal Road Flyover. Another little-known urban infrastructure is the underground stormwater storage tank in Happy Valley. During major rainstorms in August 2000, April 2006, and June 2008, serious flooding occurred in Happy Valley and its neighboring areas. However, large-scale additions or expansions of underground drainage channels in busy urban areas would involve massive roadworks, causing disturbances to the public and commercial activities.
In view of this, the Drainage Services Department commenced the Happy Valley Underground Stormwater Storage Scheme in 2012. The project includes constructing an underground stormwater tank with a capacity of 60,000 cubic meters, an approximately 650-meter-long box culvert, and a stormwater pumping station with a pumping capacity of up to 1.5 cubic meters per second beneath the Happy Valley Recreation Ground. The underground stormwater tank can temporarily store part of the rainwater collected from the Recreation Ground and upstream catchment area during heavy rainstorms, reducing the peak flow passing through the downstream stormwater drainage system. After the rainstorm, the temporarily stored rainwater in the tank will naturally flow back and be pumped through the downstream stormwater drainage system into the sea, thereby reducing the flood risk in low-lying areas of Wan Chai and Happy Valley. Dr. Chung Miu-fan said, "Whether in the past or present, we will face the challenges of extreme weather. In the more than a hundred-year history of Happy Valley, we have been constantly solving drainage problems and dealing with the relationship between humans and nature, which is also an important issue we need to consider in our current urban sustainable development process."
Special cultural heritage exhibition "Happy Valley: Cultural Landscape"
Date: Now until February 23, 2025
Time: 11 am to 7 pm
Venue: Duplex Studio, Block 01, Tai Kwun