Nam Cheong Street


Nam Cheong Street is a street in Shek Kip Mei and Sham Shui Po, Sham Shui Po District, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It begins in the north at Lung Ping Road and Yan Ping Road in Shek Kip Mei and terminates in the south at Tung Chau Street and Boundary Street in Sham Shui Po. At first, it was known as Nan Chang Street, and later Nanchang Street.

Etymology

Nam Cheong Street takes its name from Nanchang, a city in China. Most streets in Sham Shui Po are named after Chinese cities. A map from 1920 showed new urban development in Sham Shui Po, with a section of the street from Apliu Street to the reclamation frontage of Tung Chau Street named Nan Chang Street. At the seafront junction, it was also intended to connect with the junction of Boundary Street and Chung King Street in Fuk Tsun Heung.
Its Cantonese and current English names are very similar to that of Chan Nam Chong, a tycoon and philanthropist in Hong Kong. There has been some speculation attributing the name’s origin to him, although this is not supported by historical records.
A section of Nam Cheong Street at Ki Lung Street has wholesale, retail, ribbon, and zipper shops. Therefore, it is called lace street.
Parkone, Nam Cheong Estate, Nam Cheong station, Nam Cheong Place and Nam Cheong Park are all named after the street. Apart from Parkone, all of these features are located south of the southern end of Nam Cheong Street.

History

Nam Cheong Street was laid out in the 1920s, although its appearance in a 1920 map suggests that it might be earlier. The British obtained a lease for the New Territories from Imperial China in 1898. British Kowloon was poised for expansion across the boundary into the New Kowloon. In 1906, the Hong Kong government began constructing a new town, Sham Shui Po, adjacent to Fuk Tsun Heung, through reclamation. The works were completed in the 1910s, including the construction of Nam Cheong Street.

Overview

Nam Cheong street features many old Chinese-style buildings and shops. From Un Chau Street to Tung Chau Street, there are only six parking spots among its two lanes.
The section from Wai Lun Street to Cornwall Street is a big slope. There is also a Transport Department center at Nam Cheong Street.

Redevelopment

Developers had already acquired or own tenement buildings/tong lau and would demolished them and turn them into luxury residential or commercial buildings. Buildings currently under construction are Parkone, Nam Cheong Street and Berwick Street and Yiu Tung Street etc. The view of the street has changed over time.

Features

Features from south to north include:

Intersections

Intersections from south to north:

In popular culture

"The Prince Near You" is a song by Fiona Sit composed and written is Terence Lam and Wyman Wong, respectively. There are not a lot of new buildings in this street. Most are tenements or tong lau. This is why The Prince in Nam Cheong Street may not live in a castle.