旅遊景點的背景

Star Ferry:

The company was originally founded by Parsee Dorabjee Nowrojee as the "Kowloon Ferry Company" in 1888. He renamed it to "Star Ferry" in 1898, inspired by his love of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Crossing the Bar", of which the first line reads "Sunset and evening star, and one clear call for me!". In 1924 the Yaumati Ferry would monopolize the route to Kowloon in competition[1].

The Star Ferry makes a "star turn" in the 1950s film The World of Suzie Wong. In the beginning of the film, Robert Lomax (played by William Holden) debarks from the USS President Harrison (an old American President Line transpacific passenger vessel) and takes the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island, and on the ferry meets Suzie Wong (played by Nancy Kwan), who scorns his attentions as unwanted. The ferry itself is completely recognizable, and the layout of the pier where William Holden debarks in Kowloon is familiar to the resident or denizen of Tsim Sha Tsui, but missing are the giant shopping malls of today.

In 1966, a fare increase of 10 cents of the ferry sparked the 1966 Hong Kong Riots. Until the opening of the Cross Harbour Tunnel in 1972, the Star Ferry was the main means of public transportation between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon side.

On November 11, 2006, the end of an era was marked when the third generation pier in Central, the Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier, ended its mission, along with the big clock tower. The pier will be demolished to make way for reclamation.


Clock tower:

The plan of Kowloon-Canton Railway was realised in 1904 with its terminus in Tsim Sha Tsui. The railway was inaugurated on 1st October 1910; however, construction of the station did not begin until 1913. Because of World War I, the British materials required for the construction could not be shipped on time, and construction was halted for some time. The part of the station, together with Clock Tower, was completed in 1915, and the whole station 28th March 1916.

The Clock Tower reused the clock from the demolished Pedder Street Clock Tower. However, only one side had a clock, and it was not until 1920 that the remaining three sides of the Clock Tower were installed. They began operation in the afternoon of March 22, 1921, and have run ever since except during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II.

In 1975, Kowloon Station was moved to the present-day Hung Hom Station on the newly reclaimed Hung Hom Bay. The building of the station was demolished in 1977 despite the protest and petitioning from the Heritage Society and other pressure groups. However, as a compromise it was decided that the Clock Tower was to be preserved, and is now accompanied by the Hong Kong Space Museum, Hong Kong Museum of Art and Hong Kong Cultural Centre, all built on former station grounds.

The bell inside the Clock Tower is currently in the railway depot in Ho Tung Lau.

HK Cultural centre:
The Hong Kong Cultural Centre (Chinese: 香港文化中心) is a multipurpose performance facility in Tsim Sha Tsui of Hong Kong. Located at Salisbury Road, it was founded by the former Urban Council and, after 2000, is administered by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong Government. It is a place for a wide variety of cultural performances.
The centre is located on the southwestern tip of Tsim Sha Tsui, on the former location of the Kowloon Station of the Kowloon-Canton Railway. Adjacent to the centre on the west is the Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier of the Star Ferry, while to the east are the Hong Kong Space Museum and Hong Kong Museum of Art. The historic Clock Tower stands between the centre and the pier.