Statue Square once stood on the edge of Victoria Harbour, in fact Statue Square itself was reclaimed from the murky depths of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. Those who’re wondering where the iconic Star Ferry Pier which once stood on the northern side of the square has gone, it’s another victim of land reclamation.
The city has, over its whole life, continually reclaimed land from the harbour to provide more flat land to build on. To give you an example of Hong Kong’s insatiable appetite for more land, both Hong Kong Disneyland and the massive Hong Kong airport were built on reclaimed land. Amazingly, Hong Kong’s original Victoria Harbor coastline once ran along what is now Queen’s Road East (near the Bank of China Tower).
In recent years Land Reclamation of Victoria Harbour has become more controversial, as activists believe that the harbour has already shrunk too much. Could we one day walk from Kowloon to Central?
