History
On 20 January 1841, Charles Elliot of Britain and Qishan of the Qing Dynasty agreed to the Convention of Chuenpee. A navy official Edward Belcher led a fleet to land in Hong Kong. The surveyors of fleet found an elevated plain near the shore suitable for camping in the west side of the island. A road was built from the shore to the camp. The road became Possession Street later. The elevated plain is present-day Hollywood Road Garden, also known as Tai Tat Tei.
In 26 January 1841, the commander of Far East Fleet James John Gordon Bremer came to Hong Kong by HMS Calliope. A flag rise and gun ceremony marked the official possession of Hong Kong. And the landing venue was renamed as Possession Point.
At the end of the 19th century, the street was full of brothels, until 1903, when they were relocated to Shek Tong Tsui and the premises was replaced with housing. It resulted in the golden period of Shek Tong Tsui, tong sai fung yuet (塘西風月), where wealthy Chinese merchants gathered.
Read more about this topic: Possession Street
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“If man is reduced to being nothing but a character in history, he has no other choice but to subside into the sound and fury of a completely irrational history or to endow history with the form of human reason.”
—Albert Camus (1913–1960)
“In the history of the United States, there is no continuity at all. You can cut through it anywhere and nothing on this side of the cut has anything to do with anything on the other side.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)
“These anyway might think it was important
That human history should not be shortened.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)