Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak is a hill on the western half of Hong Kong Island. It is also known as Mount Austin, and locally as The Peak. With an elevation of 552 m (1,811 ft), it is the highest hill on Hong Kong island, ranked 31 in terms of elevation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Tai Mo Shan is the highest point in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with an elevation of 957 m (3,140 ft)).

For other places with the same name, see Victoria Peak (disambiguation).

Victoria Peak
太平山 | 扯旗山
Victoria Peak from Victoria Gap
Highest point
Elevation552 m (1,811 ft)
Hong Kong Principal Datum 
Prominence552 m (1,811 ft) 
Coordinates22°16′31.69″N 114°8′37.78″E 
Naming
Native name太平山  (Chinese)
Geography
Victoria Peak
Location of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong
Location Hong Kong
Victoria Peak
Chinese太平山
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese扯旗山

The summit is occupied by a radio telecommunications facility and is closed to the public. However, the surrounding area of public parks and high-value residential land is the area that is normally meant by the name The Peak. It is a major tourist attraction that offers views of Central, Victoria Harbour, Lamma Island, and the surrounding islands.

History
Further information: First houses on the Peak
1924 map of The Peak's residences
The summit is the site of radio telecommunication facilities
Peak Tram approaching the Peak Tower

As early as the 19th century, the Peak attracted prominent European residents because of its panoramic view over the city and its temperate climate compared to the sub-tropical climate in the rest of Hong Kong. The sixth Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Richard MacDonnell had a summer residence built on the Peak circa 1868.[1] Those that built houses named them whimsically, such as The Eyrie, and the Austin Arms.

These original residents reached their homes by sedan chairs, which were carried up and down the steep slope of Victoria Peak. This limited development of the Peak until the opening of the Peak Tram funicular in 1888.[1][2]

The boost to accessibility caused by the opening of the Peak Tram created demand for residences on the Peak. Between 1904 and 1930, the Peak Reservation Ordinance designated the Peak as an exclusive residential area reserved for non-Chinese. They also reserved the Peak Tram for the use of such passengers during peak periods. The Peak remains an upmarket residential area, although residency today is based on wealth.

In 1905 construction of the Pinewood Battery was completed on the western side of the Peak. Harlech Road was constructed around the Peak as a means of resupply to this artillery and later anti-aircraft battery.

Ecology

The Peak is home to many species of birds, most prominently the black kite, and numerous species of butterflies. Wild boar and porcupines are also seen on Peak, along with a variety of snakes.[3]

Tourism
The Peak Tower from Peak Road. The Peak Galleria is to the right.
The road junction at Victoria Gap, next to the Peak Tower. From left to right: Peak Road, the Peak Lookout Restaurant, Harlech Road (with street vendor), Mount Austin Road (with taxi), and Lugard Road.
View of Victoria Harbour from Victoria Peak. The 'Victoria Harbour Gateway' formed by the Two International Finance Centre and the International Commerce Centre on the opposite shore can clearly be seen.

With some seven million visitors every year, the Peak is a major tourist attraction of Hong Kong.[4] It has views of the city and its waterfront. The viewing deck also has coin-operated telescopes that the visitors can use to enjoy the cityscape. The number of visitors led to the construction of two major leisure and shopping centres, the Peak Tower and the Peak Galleria, situated adjacent to each other.

The Peak Tower incorporates the upper station of the Peak Tram, the funicular railway that brings passengers up from the St. John's Anglican Cathedral in Hong Kong's Central district, whilst the Peak Galleria incorporates the bus station used by the Hong Kong public buses and green minibuses on the Peak. The Peak is also accessible by taxi and private car via the circuitous Peak Road, or by walking up the steep Old Peak Road from near the Zoological Botanical Gardens or the Central Green Trail from Hong Kong Park. The nearest MTR station is Central.[5]

Victoria Peak Garden is located on the site of Mountain Lodge, the Governor's old summer residence, and is the closest publicly accessible point to the summit. It can be reached from Victoria Gap by walking up Mount Austin Road, a climb of about 150 metres (490 ft). Another popular walk is the level loop along Lugard and Harlech Roads, giving good views of the entire Hong Kong Harbour and Kowloon, as well as Lantau and Lamma Islands, encircling the summit at the level of the Peak Tower.[6]

There are several restaurants on Victoria Peak, most of which are located in the two shopping centres. However, the Peak Lookout Restaurant, is housed in an older and more traditional building which was originally a spacious house for engineers working on the Peak Tramway. It was rebuilt in 1901 as a stop area for sedan chairs, but was re-opened as a restaurant in 1947.

In addition to being a major tourist attraction for Hong Kong, The Peak is also the summit of Hong Kong's property market. Properties on The Peak can be as expensive as anywhere else in the world. On 12 January 2014, a Barker Road property sold at over HK$100,000 (US$13,000) per square foot for HK$690 million.[7]

Official residences

The Peak is home to a few other key officials in Hong Kong:

Alternative names
NameCantonese (Jyutping)Etymology
太平山頂Taai3peng4saan1 Deng2Literally "pacific mountain peak" or "mountain peak of great peace"
山頂Saan1 Deng2Literally "mountain top"; corresponds to the English name "The Peak"
扯旗山Ce2kei4 Saan1Literally means "flag-raising mountain"
爐峰Lou4 Fung1Literally means "furnace peak"
維多利亞山Wai4do1lei6aa3 Saan1A phonetic transliteration of the English name "Victoria Peak"
柯士甸山O1si6din1 Saan1A phonetic transliteration of the English name "Mount Austin"

Cityscape
Hong Kong day view viewed from The Peak Tower observation deck
Night View of Victoria Harbour beside Victoria Peak

Climate
Climate data for The Peak (2004–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 25.0
(77.0)		 28.0
(82.4)		 26.9
(80.4)		 29.0
(84.2)		 32.6
(90.7)		 32.7
(90.9)		 32.3
(90.1)		 32.9
(91.2)		 32.1
(89.8)		 30.6
(87.1)		 28.7
(83.7)		 25.5
(77.9)		 32.9
(91.2)
Average high °C (°F) 16.4
(61.5)		 17.5
(63.5)		 19.5
(67.1)		 22.7
(72.9)		 25.8
(78.4)		 27.3
(81.1)		 28.4
(83.1)		 28.5
(83.3)		 27.9
(82.2)		 25.5
(77.9)		 22.0
(71.6)		 18.0
(64.4)		 23.3
(73.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 13.3
(55.9)		 14.5
(58.1)		 16.6
(61.9)		 20.1
(68.2)		 23.3
(73.9)		 25.1
(77.2)		 25.8
(78.4)		 25.7
(78.3)		 25.0
(77.0)		 22.5
(72.5)		 19.2
(66.6)		 15.0
(59.0)		 20.5
(68.9)
Average low °C (°F) 11.1
(52.0)		 12.3
(54.1)		 14.5
(58.1)		 18.2
(64.8)		 21.5
(70.7)		 23.4
(74.1)		 24.0
(75.2)		 23.8
(74.8)		 23.2
(73.8)		 20.7
(69.3)		 17.3
(63.1)		 12.8
(55.0)		 18.6
(65.5)
Record low °C (°F) −1.0
(30.2)		 4.1
(39.4)		 4.9
(40.8)		 9.4
(48.9)		 13.4
(56.1)		 17.9
(64.2)		 19.8
(67.6)		 20.8
(69.4)		 18.1
(64.6)		 12.4
(54.3)		 6.3
(43.3)		 3.5
(38.3)		 −1.0
(30.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 34.7
(1.37)		 30.4
(1.20)		 71.5
(2.81)		 138.6
(5.46)		 310.8
(12.24)		 496.4
(19.54)		 392.4
(15.45)		 384.8
(15.15)		 245.8
(9.68)		 92.4
(3.64)		 44.7
(1.76)		 30.5
(1.20)		 2,273
(89.49)
Average rainy days (≥ 0.5 mm) 6.1 9.0 9.8 11.0 14.0 18.4 17.3 15.7 13.6 7.1 6.0 5.1 133.1
Source: Hong Kong Observatory[8][9][10]
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gollark: I do admit that Apple's got good integration, but really don't like the lack of customizability and stupidly high prices.
gollark: I wonder how many people answered A there.
gollark: ^
gollark: What quiz is this?

See also

References
  1. "The Peak History". The Peak. Archived from the original on 7 March 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2007.
  2. "Peak Tram History". The Peak Hong Kong. Archived from the original on 20 February 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2007.
  3. "Photo of the Week #8: Porcupine on The Peak". StripedPixel.com. 1 December 2013.
  4. DeWolf, Christopher "9 Hong Kong tourist traps – for better or worse" Archived 1 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine CNN Go. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  5. "Hong Kong: 10 Things to Do - 1. Victoria Peak - TIME". content.time.com. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
  6. "Nature Walks". The Peak | I ♥ you. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  7. "Hutchison Whampoa completes HK$690m house sale on Peak" South China Morning Post 13 Jan 2014
  8. "Monthly Means of Meteorological Elements for The Peak, 2004-2017". Hong Kong Observatory. Retrieved 29 May 2018. 山頂氣象要素月平均值 (2004-2017)
  9. "Monthly Means of Meteorological Statistics for The Peak, 2004-2017". Hong Kong Observatory. Retrieved 29 May 2018. 山顶气象统计月平均值 (2004-2017)
  10. "Extreme Values and Dates of Occurrence of Extremes of Meteorological Elements between 1884-1939 and 1947-2017 for Hong Kong". Hong Kong Observatory. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
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