Place names in original | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Place names in original

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Submitted by Alex Wong on Mon, 2013-07-01 22:31

Everyday we pronounce place names out of our mouth. But what those place names actually mean? So after a little research, here it is - be it for amusement, for discovery, for the love of the place we live.

Feel free to share your view / comments..

Cheers

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Submitted by David on Tue, 2013-07-02 03:19.

Thanks Alex, that's an interesting map. If you find out any more, I hope you'll let us know. eg I'd be interested to see the earliest known use of a given name, and where it originated, to see which ones pre-dated the arrival of the British.

It would also be good to see the names as they're currently shown on maps, eg I guess Deep Water Jetty is Sham Shui Po?

Regards, David

Submitted by Alex Wong on Thu, 2013-07-04 01:51.

Thanks David. I'm working on the map of HK Island now, of courese will share it when done. 

When trying to "translate" place names, I was indeed trying to trace back to their earlier names. Let's take Sham Shui Po as example, nowadays we commonly write as 深水埔 (Plain next to Deep Water), while in MTR stations and pre-computer-era handwritings we see 深水埗 (Deep Water Jetty), in earlier texts dated (18-19 centuary when there was not yet jetty) we see 深水莆 (can mean "Village next to Deep Water" or "Huts next to Deep Water" however historical proof is lacking). I would pick the one which most Hongkongers can recognise after a bit of deliberation, for this map aims to attract readers' interest. For in depth etmylogical / historical origin, we have to go back to books then... 

Cheers

Submitted by David on Thu, 2013-07-04 05:12.

Great, I'll look forward to seeing the map of the island.

Regards, David