Chungking Mansions
Chungking Mansions is a building located at 36–44 Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Though the building was supposed to be residential, it is made up of many independent low-budget hotels, shops and other services. As well as selling to the public, the stalls in the building cater to wholesalers shipping goods to Africa and South Asia. The unusual atmosphere of the building is sometimes compared to that of the former Kowloon Walled City.
| Chungking Mansions | |
|---|---|
重慶大廈 | |
The front of Chungking Mansions in August 2013 | |
| General information | |
| Address | 36–44 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong |
| Coordinates | 22°17′46.94″N 114°10′20.89″E |
| Completed | 11 November 1961 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 5 blocks, 17 floors |
| Chungking Mansions | |||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 重慶大廈 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 重庆大厦 | ||||||||||||
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Chungking Mansions features guesthouses, curry restaurants, African bistros, clothing shops, sari stores, and foreign exchange offices. It often acts as a large gathering place for some of the ethnic minorities in Hong Kong, particularly South Asians (Indians, Nepalese, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans), Middle Eastern people, Nigerians, Europeans, Americans, and many other peoples of the world. Peter Shadbolt of CNN stated that the complex was the "unofficial African quarter of Hong Kong".
The building was completed on 11 November 1961, at which time Chinese residents predominated. Now, after more than five decades of use, there are an estimated 4,000 people living in the complex.