Lyndhurst Terrace () is a street in the Central area of Hong Kong. It was built on a slope in southern Central district, linking Hollywood Road and Wellington Street, at its intersection with Pottinger Street. In the middle it meets Gage Street, Cochrane Street and the Central–Mid-Levels escalators.
Name The terrace was named after John Singleton Copley Lyndhurst, an Assistant Magistrate.Roads named after British Official The Cantonese name 擺花 (baai2 faa1) literally means "flower arrangement", possibly because of presence of numerous stalls in the area in the mid-19th century, selling flowersFilm Service Office. Location Library: to the customers of the nearby brothels.
History
Lyndhurst Terrace and the surrounding area were the location of some of the earliest brothels established in Hong Kong,Hong Kong Government Gazette 16 Feb 1884Hong Kong Government Gazette 22 March 1884Hong Kong Government Gazette 15 March 1884 in the mid-19th century. Western prostitutes concentrated there, while Chinese brothels were located in the Tai Ping Shan area near Po Hing Fong. They gradually moved to Possession Street and relocated to Shek Tong Tsui in 1903."Early Hong Kong Brothels", Exhibition at the University Museum and Art Gallery, 26 November 2003 to 29 February 2004 The name of the street appears in this context in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, published in 1939.Finnegans Wake, Etext, p. 351
The original Site of Xing Yan Lou Western Restaurant (杏讌樓西菜館) was located at 2 Lyndhurst Terrace. The restaurant was a historical meeting place for Dr Sun Yat-sen when he was studying at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese,Home Affairs Department, "Research on the culture and history of HK for the design of tourism routes" , Centre for Culture and Development, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 14 January 2011 from where he graduated in 1892, and a refuge for revolutionaries outside Hong Kong, who took part in the failed "1895 Guangzhou uprising" (廣州起義) against the Qing dynasty in Guangzhou.Antiquities and Monuments Office: Original Site of Xing Yan Lou Western RestaurantBrochure of the Dr Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail, "The Xing Yan Lou Western Restaurant – 2 Lyndhurst Terrace" , p. 32, Central & Western District Council, 2007 The site, located at the intersection with Pottinger Street, is part of the Central and Western Heritage Trail and the Dr Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail. It is now occupied by a commercial building (8 Lyndhurst Terrace).
The Tai Cheong Bakery (泰昌餅家) first opened at Lyndhurst Terrace in 1954.MS, "Tourists fall for distinctly Hong Kong flavours", The Independent, 24 February 2010 Their egg tarts gained fame when Chris Patten, the last Governor of Hong Kong, called them "the best Egg Tarts in the world".Hong Kong Tourism Board : Tai Cheong Bakery It later received intense media attentionAngie Wong, "Chinese Cake-away" , HK Magazine, 16 November 2006 when it closed in May 2005, citing increasing rent,Hiufu Wong, "Behind the scenes of Hong Kong's most loved egg tart bakery" , CNN, 2 August 2010Frederik Balfour, Bruce Einhorn, Simon Cartledge, "Hong Kong: It's Back!", Bloomberg Businessweek, 30 May 2005 reaching HK$80,000 per month.Richard Spencer, "Rent rise means the end of Fat Pang's tarts shop", The Daily Telegraph, 12 May 2005 It reopened at another location in the street in September 2005 and went on to open several new outlets across Hong Kong.
Intersections
References