Kwai Tsing: Port of call

Hong Kong has long been a global shipping hub and most recently Kwai Tsing has been at its container port heart.

Hong Kong’s principal port was once located in Yau Ma Tei, before land reclamation poached that waterfront. But in September 1972, the first container berth opened in Kwai Tsing. In the years that followed, Hong Kong’s commercial cargo handling would gradually move over to form the Kwai Chung Container Terminals.

Today stacks of red, blue, green and yellow shipping containers stretch into the distance. Row upon row is punctuated by armies of large cranes there to transport the containers from boat to berth and back. Beyond, glimpses of the western end of Hong Kong Island’s concrete jungle can be seen, while out in the waters low-slung ships await their cargo calling or, loaded up, chug up the channel and out to sea.

Ships are not the only transport to service Kwai Tsing. Roads skirt the port area, their myriad turn-offs offering access to residential neighbourhoods located on Tsing Yi Island, or connecting to the arterial bridges that make the area such an excellent logistics and transportation hub. As well as function, these arterial bridges boast form — they are major feats of engineering that have become Hong Kong landmarks — and are part of the Lantau Link.

You can admire the bridges from the Viewing Platform at the Lantau Link Visitor’s Centre, which also provides a wealth of information about the bridges themselves. Adjacent to the Visitor’s Centre is a model train shop and the Hobby NaNa Railway Cafe, both popular with model train enthusiasts.

Kwai Tsing district is made up of two parts, with Tsing Yi Island putting the “Tsing” in Kwai Tsing. As well as container terminals, its significant residential population is centred around its MTR station and Maritime Square, a shopping mall situated above the station, with a green balcony and roof garden.

Across the Ting Kau Bridge, the industrial area of Kwai Chung lends the district the “Kwai” in its name, and it is from here that several creative businesses operate. Kwai Chung’s MTR stations include Kwai Hing and Kwai Fong, which along with Tsing Yi, are less than 26 minutes by train to Central.

Those who call Kwai Tsing home for business value the convenience of the neighbourhood. "The great thing about the area is that it's actually very close," says Elaine Ng Yan Ling who runs The Fabrick Lab, a contemporary textiles studio in Kwai Hing. “What I really like about this compared to other industrial areas is that it has kept a lot of the old character.” Ng extols the space afforded by the older industrial buildings in the area for the heavy machinery required in her work, but also appreciates the accessibility of the location for both her own travel and that of clients.

Calls are being made to develop the Kwai Tsing port and its surroundings. Identified as prime real estate, it has potential for new residential developments that could ease Hong Kong’s housing shortage — one suggestion is to construct a podium on top of the terminal. Whatever happens to this area, it is an increasingly desirable location where infrastructure and connectivity are central to its appeal.