Yau Yat Tsuen Explained

Yau Yat Tsuen
Native Name:又一村
Native Name Lang:zh
Settlement Type:Area
Pushpin Map:Hong Kong
Coordinates:22.3308°N 114.1739°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Hong Kong
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Kowloon
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Sham Shui Po
Founder:Yu Tat Chi
Government Type:District Council
Leader Party:Liberal
Leader Title:Councillor
Leader Name:Dominic Lee Tsz-king
Unit Pref:Metric
Population As Of:2015
Population Total:16484
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone1:HKT
Utc Offset1:+08:00
T:又一村
J:jau6 jat1 cyun1
P:Yòuyīcūn

Yau Yat Tsuen or Yau Yat Chuen is one of the very few low density upscale neighbourhoods in the central urban area of Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is located in North Kowloon, at the foot of Beacon Hill. An electoral constituency of Sham Shui Po District is also named after the neighbourhood.[1]

Naming

The area's name comes from a poem by Southern Song era poet Lu You, titled Touring Shanxi Village.[2] The name comes from the fourth verse in the poem, which translates to Then out of the shade of the willows, came bright flowers and another village. Hence, the area's name literally translates to "another village".

Facilities

As a primarily residential area, there are relatively few services inside Yau Yat Tsuen. There is a small supermarket, a few property agents, a post office and a few other local stores. However a large shopping centre, Festival Walk, is on the edge of the village. It consists of 200 stores including a cinema and an ice-skating rink. The whole area of Yau Yat Tsuen is also within walking distance from the Kwun Tong line (Shek Kip Mei and Kowloon Tong) and East Rail line (Kowloon Tong) of MTR, the only mass transit railway operator of Hong Kong.

History

After the Second World War, affluent families built large detached houses in the area of Yau Yat Tsuen. Since then, it has been expanded and covers a much larger area. Along with the neighbouring Kowloon Tong and Beacon Hill, the area has some of the most exclusive and expensive residential properties in Kowloon.

Development

1970s

In the 1970s, some of the large houses were subdivided into approximately ten flats in each block. However, with high property prices in Hong Kong, these 3 or 4 bedroom flats, which tend to cost more than 7 million Hong Kong dollars, are still prohibitively expensive for a large section of the Hong Kong population.

1980s

In the 1980s, the large development scheme of Village Garden was constructed and more 1000square feet2400square feet flats and houses were built.

1990s

In the early 1990s Yau Yat Tsuen continued to expand with the development of Parc Oasis, where more than twenty 10-storey blocks were developed. In 1992 the nearby Polytechnic gained University status and became the City University of Hong Kong.

Education

Yau Yat Tsuen is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 40. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and two government schools: Fuk Wing Street Government Primary School and Li Cheng Uk Government Primary School.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: District Council Constituency Boundaries - Sham Shui Po District. January 2015. 5 April 2019. Electoral Affairs Commission. Hong Kong.
  2. News: Lam . Wing Kin . 【恒管清思】錯譯香港街名 泉水誤作春園 . Pure Thoughts from HSMC: Wrongfully translate Hong Kong's street name, "Spring Water" turns into "Spring Garden". 9 January 2019 . . 12 May 2017 . zh . 不少香港街道的取名卻饒有深意,甚或帶有相當中國文化色彩。如九龍塘著名住宅區「又一村」,其名稱固然是取自南宋詩人陸游名句「柳暗花明又一村」。(Many names for Hong Kong streets have rather deep meaning, and can even have Chinese cultural characteristics. For example, the famous Kowloon Tong residential area"Yau Yat Chuen", its name obviously came from Southern Song poet Lu You's famous phrase, "Then out of the shade of the willows, came bright flowers and another village.").
  3. Web site: POA School Net 40. Education Bureau. 2022-09-12.