A building with a moving history
Standing with your back to the main entrance of the legendary Mandarin Oriental Hotel at the corner of Ice House Street and Connaught Road, you are on the exact spot where, for a couple of years, the first pier of the Kowloon Ferry (later Star Ferry) was located. In 1912 it was replaced by a new, larger Victorian-style building, as a significantly higher number of passengers were expected due to the 1898 newly leased New Territories and the completion of the Kowloon–Canton Railway.
But as early as November 1912 there was trouble. After the Chinese Revolution of 1911, the colonial government feared a collapse of the Chinese currency and advised the ferry and tram companies to refuse to accept Chinese coins, which, despite a ban, were still in circulation. This was followed by a colony-wide boycott lasting nearly three months.
Info
Address Central Ferry Pier Link Building, 7 Man Yiu Street, Central | Public Transport MTR Tung Chung Line (orange), Airport Express – Hong Kong Station, Tsuen Wan Line (red), Island Line (blue) – Central Station, Exit A or B; Bus 722 to Central, Star Ferry | Tip On the rooftop of Central Pier 3 to Discovery Bay is a public area with benches that has a fine view over Victoria Harbour by day or night.
By the 1940s, architectural taste had completely changed; lean and clean was the flavour of the moment, and the pier was modernised. All ornaments and railings were removed, as well as the top of the tower. Ten years later the pier was moved further down to the new waterfront with a new building in the Streamline Moderne style. This elegant, no-frills building carved its way into the collective memory of Hongkongers, and was a part of their life over a span of 50 years. So when in 2007 the government planned to demolish it as part of a land reclamation project, it raised an unexpected storm of protest. The wrecking balls, however, were soon to arrive, but Hongkongers voted with their feet and passenger numbers declined by a massive 18 percent.
In total the pier advanced around 600 metres to the waterline. The new one was built according to the old plans from 1912, which many people perceive as inept for Hong Kong and which is seen as especially absurd when simultaneously cherished old buildings are demolished elsewhere.
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