- For the urban development project in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, see Melbourne Docklands.
Victoria Harbour is the harbour between the Kowloon Peninsula and the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong, China. With an area of about 41.88 km² as at 2004, its natural depth and sheltered location enticed the British to occupy the Hong Kong Island during the First Opium War, and subsequently established the colony as a trade post.
The harbour is famous for its spectacular panoramic views, and is in itself a top tourism attraction. It is a natural focal point of the territory, and considered a crucial natural geographical element for city dwellers. This sense of geographical attachment is most notably demonstrated in recent years, when the Government's efforts to undertake reclamation projects in the harbour were met with widespread popular protests, despite reclamation work having taken place in the harbour for the past one and a half centuries.
Boundaries of the Harbour
On the East: A straight line drawn from the westernmost extremity of Siu Chau Wan point to the westernmost extremity of Ah Kung Ngam point (sometimes known as Kung Am).
On the West: A straight line drawn from the westernmost point of Hong Kong Island to the westernmost point of Green Island,thence a straight line drawn from the westernmost point of Green Island to the southeasternmost point of Tsing Yi, thence along the eastern and northern coastal lines of Tsing Yi to the westernmost extremity of Tsing Yi and thence a straight line drawn true north therefrom to the mainland.
Port facilities
Victoria Harbour is home to most of the port facilities of Hong Kong, making Hong Kong amongst the world's busiest. An average of 220,000 ships visit the harbour each year, including both ocean going vessels and river vessels, for both goods and passengers. The Kwai Chung Container Terminals in the western part of the harbour is the main container handling facility, operating round the clock and handling about 62 percent of the 21,930 TEUs handled by the territory in 2004. Some 400 container liners serve Hong Kong weekly, connecting to over 500 destinations around the world.
For many years until 2004, Hong Kong handled the most containers (measured by TEUs), but it faces competition from the ports in nearby Shenzhen in recent years, with the ports in Shenzhen combined handling more containers than the Kwai Chung terminals since August 2004 [2]. Overall, the Hong Kong port has also lost out to the Port of Singapore in containers handled, with Singapore's port outpacing Hong Kong's since the first quarter of 2005.
Tunnels
There is no bridge crossing the harbour, but three cross-harbour tunnels: Cross Harbour Tunnel (opened 1972), Eastern Harbour Crossing (1989), and Western Harbour Crossing (1997). They connect Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula across Victoria Harbour. The three tunnels act as important linkages between the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon.
Three MTR routes also have tunnels under the Harbour. They are namely:
- Tsuen Wan Line
- Tseung Kwan O Line
- Tung Chung Line and Airport Express, which share the same pair of tracks in the tunnel
Ferries
The Star Ferry has been crossing the harbour since the late 1800s. The operated ferry routes today are: Central to Tsim Sha Tsui; Wanchai to Tsim Sha Tsui; Central to Hung Hom and Wan Chai to Hung Hom. Some other regular ferry services also operate in the harbour.
The Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company used to operate numerous cross-harbour routes between various piers of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Many of the routes are now operated by First Ferry. Some of the piers no longer exist because of reclamation projects, or many of the routes became unprofitable. Currently, the company continues to operate vehicular ferry services for vehicles carrying dangerous goods that are prohibited within tunnel crossings.
For international passenger traffic and traffic to mainland China and Macau, there are two ferry terminals, namely Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal and Hong Kong China Ferry Terminal, and a terminal for cruises, the Ocean Terminal. Another cruise terminal has been proposed.
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