Kau Yi Chau

Map showing the location of Kau Yi Chau in Hong Kong
Kau Yi Chau
Kau Yi Chau (left) and Green Island (right)

Kau Yi Chau (Chinese: 交椅洲, literally meaning "chair island", formerly Kau I Island or Kau-i-chau), also known as Tai Kau Yi Chau (大交椅洲), is an uninhabited island located west of Victoria Harbour, between Peng Chau and Green Island in Hong Kong. It is located on the crossroad of sea routes, east to west and north to south. The ferry between Central (Hong Kong Island) and Mui Wo (Lantau Island) sails close to the south of the island. Administratively it is part of Islands District.

Location

The island is isolated from other islands. To its east are Green Island, Little Green Island and Hong Kong Island. To its west are Siu Kau Yi Chau, Peng Chau. To its southwest are Sunshine Island and Hei Ling Chau. To its northwest is Lantau Island.

Geography

The island is no higher than 120 m (394 ft). A radar station is situated south of its peak. Wave measurement monitors the wave surrounding since 1994.[1] The island south is largely cliff and island is uninhabited. Other than the radar station, the island left Qing tombs, woods and rocks. Chun Hoi Shek (鎮海石) is a major spot on the island. As uninhabited, no regular transport was set up for the island.

Name

Kau Yi (交椅) means chair in the Cantonese language for the island's shape. It is also known as Tai Kau Yi (大交椅) as it is a larger chair compared to Siu Kau Yi (小交椅), a smaller chair, on its west.

History

USS Regulus (AF-57) grounded on Kau Yi Chau in 1971.

In 1971, the United States Navy ship USS Regulus (AF-57) riding out typhoon Rose grounded on Kau Yi Chau. After three weeks of attempting to refloat Regulus, it was finally decided that the damage she had incurred was too severe to warrant salvage.

The island was part of the blueprint of Port and Airport Development Strategy. A container port was drawn between the proposed reclamation between Lantau Island and Kau Yi Chau. A proposed cross harbour tunnel connects the reclamation and another proposed reclamation of Green Island. The plan was not realised as a result of prolong disagreement between the governments of British and PRC.

References

  1. Digital Tidal Stream Atlas and Wave Measurement (CEDD)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kau Yi Chau.

Coordinates: 22°17′3″N 114°4′36″E / 22.28417°N 114.07667°E / 22.28417; 114.07667

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, July 19, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.