29 Granite Rocks Were Excavated During the Extension of Admiralty Station

With the completion of Phase 2 of the Shatin-to-Central Link—which extended the East Rail Line from Hung Hom in Kowloon to Admiralty on Hong Kong Island—Admiralty became a massive, four-line interchange station connecting the Tsuen Wan, Island, South Island, and East Rail lines.

Phase 1 of the project was delayed by 11 months after construction workers discovered historic artefacts beneath the site of Sung Wong Toi Station. Similarly, during excavation for the expansion of Admiralty Station in Phase 2, workers salvaged 29 large granite blocks dating back to around 1902.

Before land reclamation pushed Hong Kong Island’s shoreline further north, the Admiralty area housed the Victoria Barracks and naval dockyards. These granite blocks were originally laid during the late 19th and early 20th centuries as part of a coastal seawall to stabilise the harbour shoreline and support military dockyard operations.

All 29 blocks were carefully preserved and installed in Harcourt Garden directly above the station, creating a stylized recreation of successive land reclamations since British rule began on Hong Kong Island in 1841.

It is noteworthy that, much like the delays at Sung Wong Toi and Admiralty, construction at Exhibition Centre Station in 2018 was also halted following the discovery of historic hazards—namely, three unexploded American bombs dating back to the Second World War.