Praya (Chinese: 海旁; lit. 'next to the sea') was a term used in 19th-century Hong Kong to refer to a promenade by the waterfront. The name comes from the Portuguese word praia, which means "beach," but in China it came to mean a stone-faced waterfront road.[1] In Hong Kong, it was a broad road running parallel along the harbour in front of the city.[2]HSBC and Dent & Co. were just some of the major companies based in the area.[2]