Heng Fa Chuen

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A bird's eye view of Heng Fa Chuen.

Heng Fa Chuen (Chinese: 杏花邨 literally Almond Flower Village) is a residential estate in the northeast of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. With a calm waterfront offering beautiful views of the Tathong Channel and away from congestion in other places, Heng Fa Chuen is administratively part of the Eastern District.

Heng Fa Chuen was founded in 1979, when land reclamation projects created land adjacent to Chai Wan. The town officially opened on 10 July 1982.

Contents

1 History
2 Features
3 Demographics
4 Education
5 Transport
6 See also
7 External links

History

The area which is now known as Heng Fa Chuen was actually reclaimed from Pak Sha Wan (白沙灣) and Lei Yue Mun Bay (鯉魚門灣). In the early 1980s, the Island Line of the MTR was built, the working name of the station was "Chai Wan Quay" on the Freeman, Fox, Wilbur Smith & Associates Mass Transportation Study became Heng Fa Chuen when the MTR became the rightful developer of the land on top of the station and depot.

Features

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There is a total of 48 residential blocks, of which each of them is assigned a number in ascending order (from 1 to 50), but numbers 14 and 44 are omitted, accordingly because of each of the numbers' association with bad luck and death when interpreted in Cantonese. The first phase of the development featured 20-storied complexes while the second phase featured 21-storied counterparts, accordingly since Heng Fa Chuen was in the aeronautical path of most planes heading to the former Hong Kong International Airport at Kai Tak. There is a depot for the MTR Island Line, which is used for housing and maintenance of the MTR EMUs.

All of the town's 48 residential blocks are managed by MTR Property Management. The MTR Corporation Limited has control over the MTR depot, and on top of it are 20 blocks of residential complexes. There is a recreation center near blocks 32 and 33, with two swimming pools, a gym, and a restaurant. There is also a fairly large shopping center named "Paradise Mall".

In 1999, the PARKnSHOP supermarket replaced the existing Carrefour giant chain supermarket. This Carrefour store, which had opened in 1997, had been the first one opened in Hong Kong.

Heng Fa Villa is to the northwestern end of Heng Fa Chuen.

Interestingly, McDonald's 11,000th fast-food restaurant was opened at Heng Fa Chuen in 1989.

The Heng Fa Chuen waterfront offers a picturesque view of the Tathong Channel, providing a pleasant break from the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong.

Education

There are three schools in Heng Fa Chuen:

St. Dominic Kindergarten
The Salvation Army Ann Wyllie Memorial Primary School
Lingnan Secondary School

Transport

Heng Fa Chuen is served by the station of its namesake on the MTR Island Line. There is also a bus station just a few minutes away from the Paradise Mall and across the road from residential blocks 49 and 50.

External links

[Webpage on MTR Properties website]