Why Is East Point Road in the Centre of Hong Kong Island?

Crossing Yee Wo Street toward SOGO in Causeway Bay, you will find yourself on the seemingly ill-named East Point Road, which forms the junction between Lockhart Road and Great George Street. After all, Causeway Bay sits smack in the center of Hong Kong Island’s northern shoreline, and East Point Road is located in the western half of the neighborhood. Why, then, does it bear such a name?

In fact, East Point Road is one of those streets—like Boundary Street or Reclamation Street—that literally tell the story of Hong Kong. Just as Kowloon's Boundary Street marked the border between British and Chinese territory from 1860 to 1898, East Point Road marks a historic boundary, albeit not an international one.

When the British took possession of Hong Kong Island on 26 January 1841, they deliberately chose not to encroach on the existing local villages dotting the island. Instead, they built a new settlement on the northwestern shore named the City of Victoria—which corresponds roughly to today's Central and Western District, discounting subsequent harbour reclamation.

During the early years of British rule, this entire neighborhood was known as East Point, and today's East Point Road marked the easternmost boundary of the City of Victoria—until the Extension of the Boundaries of the City of Victoria Ordinance was passed in 1903. Hence, the name.