Capital of Hong KongBelieve it or not, there is NO capital of Hong Kong.Central, Hong Kong, is the metropolitan area. It is the "capital" of finance, government and all commercial activities. The Legislative and Executive Councils are in Central. The Government House, which is the official residence of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, is also located in the same area. It's not open to the public. The best way to have a peek of it is to take Bus # 23B (start out from Braemar Hill to Park Road/Mid_levels; this is a circular bus route) @ Pacific Place Mall if you head over in the direction of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen HK Museum or Hong Kong University . Other bus routes would work, too, such as the following 2 CityBus routes: #3B - start out from Central (Rumsey Street) to Pokfield Road (If you happen to get off the bus at Wan Chai, you may want to take the advantage of going across the street to take the Hong Kong Star Ferry (link to HK Star Ferry page - coming soon) to Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. Or, check out the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre where a major event in Hong Kong history happened back in 1997.) If you are coming from Kowloon Peninsula way, take Bus #103 starting from Chuk Yuen Estate to Pokfield Road. Make sure to get on the upper deck so that you can see the HK Government House. You may see the tennis court, swimming pool and the main building. When HK was still under the British colonial rule, it was open to the public once a year. When I was a kid, my parents took us there to appreciate the Bauhinia around April.
The map above shows you the major buildings, company headquarters and so forth which explains why Central is the "Capital" of Hong Kong.
Next to the Legislative Council Building is Statue Square. It is very well-known for being the gathering place for the Filippino maids on Sundays. In the square, there is the Cenotaph constructed in 1923 commemorates the veterans(including the British) in the First and Second World War that served in HK. Although HK is no longer a British colony since 1997 , the same ceremony performed by the HK Police Force Pipe Band still continues on Remembrance Sunday which is the second Sunday in November. It is also attended by all the high government officials. Across the street is the City Hall where the original Central library located and thousands of couples "tie the knot" every year, including one of my younger sisters. Heading towards Admiralty way (less than 5 a minute walk from City Hall), it is the Chinese People's Liberation Army Force HK Building. It's formerly the Prince of Wales Building and former HMS Tamar naval base during the British era. This building was very famous for its design which looks like a upside down bottle. The former headquarters of the Hong Kong Police Force was in the same district. Just by the description of where all these Hong Kong government buildings are located, you would have a clear picture of why Central is called the capital of Hong Kong although many of them have relocated their offices. Many white collar workers love to work in Central. They feel more superior. Many companies and banks have their headquarters over there as well. So, pretty much, you name it, any government and company headquarters were and/or are here in this area, called the capital of Hong Kong.
Traffic from Mid-Level to Central, "Capital" of Hong Kong
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