Victoria, Hong Kong

For other places named Victoria, see Victoria (disambiguation).

City of Victoria
維多利亞市
Victoria
City
Praya Central of the City of Victoria, 1870s
Praya Central of the City of Victoria, 1870s
Current day boundary of Victoria City (2023)
Current day boundary of Victoria City (2023)
Dependent territoryBritish Hong Kong Hong Kong
CountryUnited Kingdom
Founded as a town25 January 1841 (1841-01-25)
Incorporated as a city11 May 1849 (1849-05-11)[1]
Founded byBritish Hong Kong, Charles Elliot
Elevation
552 m (1,811 ft)
Time zoneUTC+08:00 (HKT)
City of Victoria
Traditional Chinese維多利亞市
維多利亞城
Simplified Chinese维多利亚市
维多利亚城
Cantonese YaleWàih dō leih a shíh
Wàih dō leih a shìhng
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinWéiduōlìyà Shì
Wéiduōlìyà Chéng
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationWàih dō leih a shíh
Wàih dō leih a shìhng
JyutpingWai4 do1 lei6 aa3 si5
Wai4 do1 lei6 aa3 sing4
IPA[wɐ̏itɔ́ːlèiʔā si̬ː]
[wɐ̏itɔ́ːlèiʔā si̭ːŋ]

The City of Victoria,[2] (Chinese: 維多利亞市,[3] or 維多利亞城)[4] often called Victoria City or simply Victoria (Chinese: 維城), was the de facto capital of Hong Kong during its time as a British dependent territory.[5] It was initially named Queenstown but was soon known as Victoria.[6] It was one of the first urban settlements in Hong Kong and its boundaries are recorded in the Laws of Hong Kong.[7] All government bureaux and many key departments still have their head offices located within its limit.

Present-day Central is at the heart of Victoria City. Although the city expanded over much of what is now Kennedy Town, Shek Tong Tsui, Lung Fu Shan, Sai Ying Pun, Sheung Wan, Wan Chai, Happy Valley, the Mid-Levels, East Point and parts of Causeway Bay,[8] the name Victoria has been eclipsed by Central in popular usage.[9] However, the name is still used in places such as Victoria Park, Victoria Peak, Victoria Harbour, Victoria Prison, and a number of roads and streets. It is also retained in the names of various organisations such as the Victoria City District of the Hong Kong Scout,[10] and the Victoria Junior Chamber.[11] The name Victoria District Court had been used into the 1980s,[12][13][14][15] when it was moved to the Wanchai Tower and combined with other district courts in the territory.

  1. ^ "ORIGINAL LETTERS PATENT CREATING BISHOPRIC OF VICTORIA". HKSKH. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  2. ^ "CAP 1 INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE Schedule 1 Boundaries of the City of Victoria" – via hklii.hk.
  3. ^ 第1章 《釋義及通則條例》 附表1 維多利亞市的界線 [CAP 1 INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE Schedule 1 Boundaries of the City of Victoria] (in Chinese) – via hklii.hk.
  4. ^ Yeung Sum (5 July 2006). "OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS" [zh:會議過程正式紀錄] (PDF) (in English and Traditional Chinese). Legislative Council of Hong Kong. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Hong Kong"
  6. ^ Shelton, Barrie; Karakiewicz, Justyna; Kvan, Thomas (2011). The Making of Hong Kong: From Vertical to Volumetric. Routledge. p. 41. ISBN 113685763X.
  7. ^ "Cap 1 Sched 1 Boundaries of the City of Victoria (Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance)". www.blis.gov.hk. Retrieved 23 March 2018.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ Wordie, Jason (2002). Streets: Exploring Hong Kong Island. Hong Kong University Press. p. 12. ISBN 962-209-563-1.
  9. ^ Tsang, Steve (2004). A Modern History of Hong Kong. I.B. Tauris. p. 17. ISBN 1-84511-419-1.
  10. ^ Victoria City District
  11. ^ Victoria Junior Chamber
  12. ^ "Volume 22 Inland Revenue Board of Review decisions". Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  13. ^ CACC497/1986 The Queen v. Chan Ngai Hung
  14. ^ CACC186A/1987 The Queen v Currency Brokers (H.K.) Ltd and Robert Lee Flickinger
  15. ^ CACC133A/1986 The Queen v. Wai Hin Keung