Sheng Wan is a district in Hong Kong, located in the north-western part of the island, between Central and Sai Ying Pun. Administratively, it is part of the Central and Western District. Its name is variously interpreted as either Upper District or Wharf District (possibly related to the place where the British first landed).
Sheng Wan was one of the first places settled by the British and belonged to the historic part of Victoria Town. The first property occupied by British troops in 1842 was between Queen Road and Hollywood Road, as evidenced by a plaque in Hollywood Road Park at the top of the street.
Western, or Western Market, built in 1991 and converted into a shopping complex, is a modern building with shops selling arts and crafts and fabrics. The merchants are the owners of the stalls, which were originally located in the old alleys of the Central neighbourhood. The present structure is on the site of the northern part of the Western Market, established in September 1844. It consisted of two separate blocks, the South Block (demolished) and the North Block. The South Block on Queen Road was built in 1858, in 1980 the traders were evicted and the market demolished. The North Block has been somewhat compacted, preserved and renovated by the Land Development Corporation.
The surviving old Edwardian Queen Anne style building was erected in 1906 to serve as a food market, which it was until 1988. The building was damaged during the construction of the Sheng Underground line and reconstruction work was carried out later. In 1990, the building was declared a historical monument, renovated and opened as the Western Market in 1991.
The four-storey building is made of red brick, the masonry of the four corner towers is interspersed with white stone, giving a polychrome effect, and the entrance is adorned with a massive granite arch. The structure was once blue, but was later repainted red to match the architectural style.
Today, the Western Market in Sheng Wan is a fine example of Hong Kong's colonial past.
