History of Victoria Peak
Victoria Peak is an upper class residential area with
shopping and dining facilities now. But 200 hundred years
ago, there lived a notorious pirate Cheung Po Tsai. The
Peak was his lookouts where he could signal his guys when a ship
came into the harbour. Peace regained only after 1810 when
the pirate had accepted to be the captain of the Ching
government's imperial navy. People also believe that he
hid his treasures all over HongKong and one famous place is in
Cheung Chau Island called 'Cheung Po Tsai Cave'.
Anyway, in 1848, a sanatorium was built for sick soldiers.
Patients were carried up the peak by sedan chair. However,
soldiers stayed there often got diarrhea or some other
infections so it's not exactly very effective.
There wasn't many people live there until around 1876 when
the Peak became a popular place as a resort. More people
moved in during the next 20 years until they started to have
their own police station, school and chapel. The rich
Europeans all had two, four or even eight-coolie (depends on
his/her weight!) sedan
chair to take them up and down the hill.
Today The Peak remains a select residential area for the
wealthy, as well as a great tourist destination.
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