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Cheung Sha Wan (長沙灣) is an area between Lai Chi Kok and Sham Shui Po in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is mainly residential to the north and south, with an industrial area in between. Administratively it is part of Sham Shui Po District.
History
As its Chinese name suggests, it was formerly a bay with a long beach. It spans roughly from today's Butterfly Valley Road at the west to Yen Chow Street at the east. The beach was a gathering place for many Tanka fishermen before its development. The original shoreline approximates the present Castle Peak Road and Un Chau Street. Inland, villages of Om Yam, Ma Lung Hang, Pak Shu Lung, So Uk, Li Uk, Wong Uk and others sparsely occupied the whole bay of Cheung Sha Wan. Rivers from Beacon Hill, Crow's Nest and Piper's Hill formed a long plain behind the beach. Farmlands filled between villages. A larger river ran in Butterfly Valley separating Chueung Sha Wan and Lai Chi Kok. Sandbar was founded at its estuary.
Before World War I, two ends, Lai Chi Kok and Sham Shui Po, of Cheung Sha Wan had been reclaimed. The former was for military use and the later emerged as a new town north of Tai Kok Tsui.
The bay was reclaimed gradaully after World War II. There were many shipyards along the then-reclaimed shore between the 1950s and 1980s, many of which have since relocated to the north shore of Tsing Yi Island.
Economy
Cheung Sha Wan was a manufacturing centre after the war, with a number of light industries, especially textile and clothing. After the PRC implemented its open door policy in the 1980s, many factories relocated to the mainland, vacating the area's industrial buildings (some of which have since been converted into offices and warehouses). There are also many wholesale clothes markets in the area.
Events
In April 2006, a total of 580 unused shells left from the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong was found buried at Tonkin Street in Cheung Sha Wan. The residents were temporary evacuated, and the shells were detonated safely.
Reclamation of West Kowloon
The bay of Cheung Sha Wan was reclaimed in several phases in the 20th century. The last reclamation in 1990s extended the area close to Stonecutters Island. The shipping building and repairing industry on the old shore were moved near the island and the sites were replaced by some private housing estates built in the area in the early 2000s. They are the Banyan Gardens, liberté, Pacifica and Aqua Marine. A brand new public housing estate named Hoi Lai Estate (formerly name Hoi Lai Court before the government turned it into a public hosung estate) was located in the area and was having the most expensive rental fees within the Sham Shui Po District.
Transport
The area is served by two stations on MTR Tsuen Wan Line:
Lai Chi Kok Station is actually located not in Lai Chi Kok, but in Cheung Sha Wan. The fact that references to Cheung Sha Wan can be found on many buildings and amenities near Lai Chi Kok Station continues to be a source of confusion for many.
"Cheung Sha Wan"