Waterfall Bay, Hong Kong

Waterfall Bay (Chinese: 瀑布灣; pinyin: Pùbùwān; Jyutping: buk6 bou3 waan1) is a bay in Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Located on the East Lamma Channel off the coast of Wah Fu Estate and Cyberport, it is named after the waterfall that flows into it. The fresh water from this waterfall is said to have given the city its name – the translation of Hong Kong's name in Cantonese 香港 means "fragrant harbour". An eponymous park is now situated around the area.

Location

Waterfall Bay is located in the Pok Fu Lam area, with the waterfall itself encompassed by Wah Fu Estate and the residential complex of Bel-Air on the Peak in Cyberport.[1] Geographically, the bay forms part of the East Lamma Channel.[2] The park surrounding the bay can be accessed by a road by the same name, which is connected to Wah Fu Road.[3]

History

Pre-1841 British colonization

External images
An 1817 painting by William Harvell depicting the waterfall and the bay

It is not known when Waterfall Bay was first discovered.[3] One of the first mentions of the waterfall was in A Voyage Around the World by George Anson, a book that was published in 1748.[1] It was around this time that the natural landmark was noted on the survey charts of the Admiralty.[2] In 1816, the first images of the waterfall appeared,[3] the same year that William Amherst used the bay as the rendezvous point for his ships during its failed mission to China.[1]

Fishermen working in the southern part of Hong Kong Island referred to Aberdeen Harbour as "Hong Kong", which translates to "fragrant harbour". This name is attributed to the fresh water that flowed into Waterfall Bay from its namesake natural feature.[4] The waterfall became well-known among British and European sailors,[1][5] who would refill their fresh water supplies directly from the falls[6] on their journey towards other ports in Asia, such as Galle, Ceylon and Malacca.[7] This brought about the city's reputation for its abundant supply of drinking water, one of the few places on the coast of China to have such a resource.[2] As a result, the name derived from the waterfall was later utilized to refer to the entire island and Victoria Harbour.[4]

Post-1841

Construction of the nearby Pok Fu Lam Reservoir—the first key water storage facility in the colony—was finished in 1863. In order to accomplish this, the streams flowing from the mountains that are the source of the waterfall were dammed. This greatly reduced the flow intensity of the waterfall.[1]

Second World War

Due to the bay's strategic location overlooking the Lamma Channel, it was utilized by the British during the Second World War to defend the colony from the Japanese. A pillbox and searchlight—known as a Lyon Light—was constructed;[3][8] the former served as a bunker for Allied soldiers during the Battle of Hong Kong. Now in ruins, they can still be accessed at low tide.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Wordie, Jason (11 October 2009). "Out and about". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 8 February 2014. (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 3 Wordie, Jason (21 July 2013). "Then & Now". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 8 February 2014. (subscription required)
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Waterfall Bay". The List (HK Magazine Media Ltd.). Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  4. 1 2 Hughes, R. H. (March 1951). "Hong Kong: An Urban Study". The Geographical Journal (The Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers) 117 (1): 1–23. doi:10.2307/1789788. JSTOR 1789788. Retrieved January 25, 2014. (registration required)
  5. ↑ Owen, Bernie; Shaw, Raynor (1 October 2007). Hong Kong Landscapes: Shaping the Barren Rock. Hong Kong University Press. p. 202. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  6. 1 2 DeWolf, Christopher (21 April 2011). "Convenient feng shui and Chinese gods at Waterfall Bay Park". CNN Travel (Turner Broadcasting System). Retrieved 8 February 2014.
  7. ↑ "Theory behind 'Waterfall'". South China Morning Post. November 12, 1996. p. 27. Retrieved February 11, 2014. (subscription required)
  8. ↑ Cheng, Jennifer (19 October 2012). "Technology hub in need of a reboot". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 8 February 2014. (subscription required)

Coordinates: 22°15′09″N 114°07′59″E / 22.2526°N 114.133°E / 22.2526; 114.133

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