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28-453: Before urban development, the area was the estuary of the Wong Nai Chung river, which flowed through Happy Valley . The 4th Governor of Hong Kong , John Bowring , developed the estuary area and named it Bowrington  [ yue ; zh-tw ] (or Bowring City). Bowrington Canal  [ yue ; zh-tw ] was built during the mid to late 1850s, fed by Wong Nai Chung . Because

56-516: A number of large massacres occurred, most notably the Blue Pool Road Massacre, where civilians were bayoneted. Civilians and Soldiers captured were kept in the appalling conditions of 'the black hole of Hong Kong' (a house on Blue Pool Road). The Japanese later advanced up to Wong Nai Chung Gap, where the battle of Wong Nai Chung Gap occurred, resulting in Japanese control of the gap. Although

84-553: A number of sports clubs including Valley RFC rugby club, Craigengower Cricket Club, Hong Kong FC football club, and a number of cemeteries including the Hong Kong Cemetery . It has a population of 32,202 people, 70.7% of them being Chinese. Other ethnic minority groups include Filipinos (12.8%) and whites (6.3%). The area now known as Happy Valley was formerly known as Wong Nai Chung Valley, sometimes known as Wong Nai Chung Kuk ( 黃泥涌谷 ) or Wong Nai Chung Valley because of

112-532: A temperature of 37.9 °C (100.2 °F). Happy Valley is primarily an upscale residential area. Several serviced apartments can be found here: Happy Valley is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 12. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and the following government schools: Hennessy Road Government Primary School and Sir Ellis Kadoorie (Sookunpo) Primary School. Happy Valley

140-677: Is a street spanning the whole length of Wan Chai from east to west on the Hong Kong Island of Hong Kong. It begins at Arsenal Street in the west and ends in East Point Road in East Point . The road is named after Sir James Stewart Lockhart , Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong from 1895 to 1902, who signed the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory . On 17 December 2005, during

168-496: Is adjacent to the secondary school. Located on Ventris Road, St. Paul's Secondary School is a prestigious Anglo-Chinese all-girls Roman Catholic secondary school. The school is renowned for its outstanding basketball team. Its affiliated primary school St. Paul's Primary Catholic School is adjacent to the secondary school. Located on Blue Pool Road , the Lycée Français International Victor Segalen ,

196-519: Is especially popular during king chat ( ging jat ) (typically in March). 22°16′40″N 114°10′52″E  /  22.27791°N 114.18117°E  / 22.27791; 114.18117 Wong Nai Chung Happy Valley ( Chinese : 跑馬地 ) is an upper-income residential area in Hong Kong , located on Hong Kong Island . The area is bordered by Caroline Hill to the east, Jardine's Lookout to

224-462: Is home to a number of prestigious institutions, international schools, and special education. Located on Blue Pool Road , Marymount Secondary School is a prestigious all-girls Roman Catholic Secondary School. The school is academically rigorous and students are known for excellence in open examinations, especially for the English Language. Its affiliated primary school Marymount Primary School

252-777: The Happy Valley Jewish Cemetery , the Hindu Cemetery, the Parsee Cemetery, Hong Kong Cemetery , St. Michael's Catholic Cemetery , and the Muslim Cemetery. The Hong Kong Racing Museum and the associated Happy Valley Racecourse, one of the two tracks of the Hong Kong Jockey Club , is in Happy Valley. Whenever a race runs, surrounding traffic patterns have to be changed: cars have to enter Happy Valley and

280-643: The WTO Conference , protestors from South Korea broke the police defensive line on Lockhart Road and attempted to break into the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai North . This action developed into a major clash with the Hong Kong Police Force . Part of Lockhart Road near its western end is the backbone of one of Hong Kong Island's two main bar districts, the other being

308-582: The Wong Nai Chung  [ yue ] ( 黃泥涌 , lit. yellow mud stream) that leads into the area, where the Wong Nai Chung referred to is a mud-filled river collecting waters from the Wong Nai Chung Gap and surrounding area. The river nourished the rice paddies until the construction of Happy Valley Racecourse in 1846. In early 1840, the British Army set a military camp in the area. However,

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336-579: The 1970s when the Canal Road Flyover was built. However, the name survives for the area. Canal Road Flyover  [ yue ] ( traditional Chinese : 堅拿道天橋 ; simplified Chinese : 坚拿道天桥 ; Jyutping : gin1naa4dou6tin1kiu4 ; Cantonese Yale : Gīnnàhdouh Tīnkìuh ; pinyin : Jiānnádào Tiānqiáo ) was built in the 1970s for the Cross-Harbour Tunnel , between Canal Road East and Canal Road West. Many who do not know

364-636: The Cross-Harbour Tunnel. They are a very important thoroughfare to conveniently reach Southern District and Happy Valley. From the Wan Chai Interchange , they pass (in order): Gloucester Road , Jaffe Road , Lockhart Road , Hennessy Road , Times Square , Sharp Street  [ yue ; zh-tw ] , Leighton Road , Queen's Road East , the Racing Museum  [ ja ; zh-tw ] and Wong Nai Chung Road . The area under this flyover

392-784: The French international school, maintains its Blue Pool Road campus, housing the administration and secondary school section, in Happy Valley. Located on Blue Pool Road , the Hong Kong Japanese School 's Happy Valley Campus is in the community. The Happy Valley campus houses the primary education section, and in April 2018 the junior high school section moved there too. Located on Blue Pool Road , Hong Chi Lions Morninghill School  [ zh ] offers special education for children with mild intellectual disability. Hong Kong Tramways extended their network into Happy Valley in 1922, and

420-426: The camp was later closed due to the increasing number of soldiers succumbing to malaria . The cause of malaria was unknown at the time and the soldiers apparently suffered a then-unknown fever. Early settlers had suggested the area to be used as a business centre, but the idea was shelved due to the valley's marshy environment, which was believed to be causing fatal diseases. The death rate in the area and Victoria City

448-527: The community has been served by the trams ever since. The extension has one terminus. Residents can access the Causeway Bay MTR station via minibuses or trams. Aberdeen Tunnel , Wong Nai Chung Road and Canal Road Flyover also serve as the major thoroughfares in Happy Valley. Happy Valley has three bus terminals, of which two are located above Happy Valley on Tai Hang Road and Stubbs Road and one on Wong Nai Chung Road . The terminus furthest up

476-589: The hill serves bus route No. 8X that goes to Island Resort , Siu Sai Wan . The upper terminus (also on the hill) serves one of Hong Kong's oldest bus routes ( No. 1 ) which spans from Green Lane of Happy Valley to Central ; it now terminates at Felix Villas in Mount Davis, Hong Kong . The lower bus terminus serves bus route No. 117, going to Sham Shui Po . 22°16′N 114°11′E  /  22.267°N 114.183°E  / 22.267; 114.183 Lockhart Road Lockhart Road ( Chinese : 駱克道 )

504-467: The history of Canal Road might associate the flyover with Ngo Keng Kiu . It initially connected only Canal Road West to the north of Gloucester Road when it opened on 29 March 1972. Four years later, the flyover was expanded and extended south to the portal of Aberdeen Tunnel in Happy Valley (the extension is separately named Wong Nai Chung Gap Flyover  [ yue ; zh-tw ] ). Peter Hines

532-482: The long and narrow canal resembled the neck of a goose it was known as Ngo Keng Kan ( 鵝頸澗 ; 'goose neck stream'). It was used by small vessels that could pass under various bridges along the route. The landmark Bowrington Bridge  [ yue ; zh-tw ] across the canal, built in 1861, was known as Ngo Keng Kiu ( 鵝頸橋 ; 'goose neck bridge') and carried the Hong Kong Tramways line across

560-597: The low-areas of Happy Valley were captured, areas surrounding Leighton Hill and Morrison Hill were still contested until later in the Battle of Hong Kong . Happy Valley is made up of upper-income residential areas. Residents are relatively diverse as to Hong Kong natives and foreigners. Two of the territory's tallest residential buildings, Highcliff and The Summit are specifically in Stubbs Road , facing Mount Nicholson . Happy Valley hosts six cemeteries, from south to north,

588-635: The nearby So Kon Po area (now the site of Hong Kong Stadium ). A Chinese-styled memorial site known as "Race Course Fire Memorial" was built in the Chinese cemetery (now behind the east stand of the stadium). In 1922, the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital located in Happy Valley started operation. On 19 December 1941, the Japanese Imperial Army entered the hill east of the valley and fought their way to Blue Pool Road. On (now Blue Pool Road )

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616-477: The racecourse via Wong Nai Chung Road in a clockwise fashion, and the road may be heavily congested. The stadium lights in the racecourse illuminate nearby buildings even when the buildings themselves are unlit. Many other sports are participated and competed in by Hong Kong First Division 's Happy Valley Athletic Association . Happy Valley is often a hot spot in Hong Kong. On 8 August 2015, Happy Valley recorded

644-530: The reclamation of Wan Chai . The canal is now covered by Canal Road . On 26 February 1918, there was a fire in the racecourse that claimed at least 590 lives. By the next day, as many as 576 confirmed deaths were reported by the Hong Kong Telegraph. It was caused by the collapse of a temporary grandstand, which knocked over food stalls and set bamboo matting ablaze. Most of the dead bodies became unrecognisable and assumed to be "Chinese". They were buried in

672-658: The south, Morrison Hill to the west, and Causeway Bay to the north. Administratively, it is part of Wan Chai District . Happy Valley is considered as an area surrounded by Caroline Hill Road to the east, Tai Hang Road and Stubbs Road to the south, Canal Road Flyover and westbound section of Wong Nai Chung Road to the west, and Leighton Road to the north. The area is home to the Happy Valley Racecourse , Hong Kong Racing Museum , Hong Kong Jockey Club Happy Valley Clubhouse, Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital , Hong Kong Adventist Hospital – Stubbs Road , home to

700-520: The waterway. The surrounding area, Bowrington, is also known as Ngo Keng . The original wooden bridge was replaced by an iron one that opened in March 1892. During the reclamation from 1922 to 1929 that created modern Wan Chai (the Praya East Reclamation Scheme ) a wider bridge (100 foot width) was built with a double line of tram tracks. The canal was covered and made subterranean in

728-636: Was high in the early colonial days, and the valley became a burial ground for the dead. As a result, the valley was renamed Happy Valley , a common euphemism for cemeteries. In 1846, the British felt that the valley terrain was ideal for horse-racing, and thus cleared the paddy fields and developed the Happy Valley Racecourse. For this, the Wong Nai Chung river was redirected to the Bowrington Canal, known as Ngo Keng Kan ( 鵝頸澗 ) locally, concurrent with

756-510: Was once visited by the second installment of Canadian television reality competition series, The Amazing Race Canada , where the U-Turn of the third leg was located. The area under the Canal Road Flyover, adjacent to Hennessy Road, is known for the old ladies who offer villain hitting services, in which personal enemies are cursed by beating pieces of paper representing them. The practice

784-538: Was the Resident Civil Engineer for the building of Happy Valley's multiple-curves, 4-lane-wide, 40-span-long viaduct, and roads – and responsible for the opening in late 1980. He had warned that the wide, sloping roads would flood rain into the Happy Valley Racecourse and harbour tunnel, requiring flood tanks hidden under the racecourse. The flyover was expanded again and an exit connected to Canal Road East. The flyovers currently connects Aberdeen Tunnel to

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