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{{short description|Housing estate in Lai Chi Kok, Hong Kong}}
'''Mei Foo Sun Chuen''' is a large residential estate in [[Kowloon]], [[Hong Kong]], built in stages from [[1965]] to [[1978]] on land formerly used for petroleum storage by [[Exxon Mobil|Mobil]]. When completed, the 99-tower complex was considered the largest private housing development in the world, accommodating up to 80,000 people in 18,000 apartments.
{{redirect|Mei Foo|the MTR station in the area|Mei Foo station}}
It was considered "grand" in the old days and every apartment includes a balcony, at least two rooms and one bathroom. The sizes of the apartments varied from 800 feet to about 1500 feet. Mei Foo Sun Chuen has several schools such as Delia School of Canada, and several kindergartens for the people living there. It also accomidates a mall, several resturants such as Good World, New World etc.
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
It also has a salon, several newspaper stands, a local market, a park,a supermarkert (Parknshop - the one of the biggest supermarkets in Hong Kong) several carparks and a gas station.
Mei Foo Sun Chuen also has several poduims in which children can play. It also has a private clinic for the sick. Mei Foo also has taxi stands, a bus station, and the MTR and the KCR for transport.
Mei Foo is mostly inhabited by the eldery who take morning walks around the poduim, and have "chu chia", or morning tea in the local resturants.


{{Use Hong Kong English|date = January 2025}}
Dogs are prohibited to from Mei Foo.


{{more citations needed|date=September 2011}}

{{Chinese
|c=美孚新邨
|y=Méih fū sān chyūn
|j=Mei5 fu1 san1 cyun1
|p=Měifú Xīncūn
|l=Mobil New Estate
|pic=Mei Foo Sun Chuen 2008.jpg
|piccap=Regular blocks of Mei Foo Sun Chuen
}}
[[File:Mei Foo Sun Chuen Map.svg|thumb|right|Map of Mei Foo Sun Chuen]]

'''Mei Foo Sun Chuen''' or simply '''Mei Foo''' is a large private [[housing estate]] in [[Lai Chi Kok]], [[Kowloon]], [[Hong Kong]]. Mei Foo Sun Chuen was the first large scale private housing estate in Hong Kong and at the time of completion, the 99-tower complex was considered the largest private housing development in the world,<ref name="Community"/> accommodating some 70,000 – 80,000 people in 13,500 apartments.<ref name="Community"/> It is considered to be one of the world's largest privately financed residential condominium projects.<ref name="Community"/>

==History==
The 40-acre Mei Foo Sun Chuen, with a total of ninety-nine blocks, was completed from 1968 to 1978 in eight separate but interconnected stages.<ref name="Community"/> It is located on the [[Land reclamation in Hong Kong|reclamation]] that had been a large [[Oil terminal|petroleum-storage]] facility of [[Mobil]] (now part of [[ExxonMobil]]) in Hong Kong (Mobil's Chinese trading name in Hong Kong is {{zh|c=美孚|labels=no}}; Mei Foo) from the 1920s. The redevelopment was carried out by Mei Foo Investments Limited, a subsidiary company of Mobil Oil (Hong Kong) Limited.<ref name="Community"/> The name, Mobil, was translated into 無比 ( mou <sup>4</sup> bei<sup>2</sup>) before the Sun Chuen (Estate) completed.

Mei Foo Sun Chuen was conceived to meet the housing needs of Hong Kong's middle-income families, an emerging and growing group at the time.<ref name="Community">Chan, Chi-kau, Johnnie Casire, [http://hub.hku.hk/bitstream/10722/29067/1/FullText.pdf "Community development and management of private sector housing estates in Hong Kong"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024133703/http://hub.hku.hk/bitstream/10722/29067/1/FullText.pdf |date=24 October 2013 }}, [[University of Hong Kong]], August 1995</ref> At the time, a flat in Mei Foo cost around [[Hong Kong dollar|HK$]]40,000.{{Citation needed|date=August 2007}}

When built, the estate was adjacent to the sea and to [[Lai Chi Kok Bay]], with a waterfront walkway and flats with waterfront balconies. However, this changed due to the West Kowloon reclamation scheme (starting in 1990) and the estate now borders [[Lai Chi Kok Park]].<ref>{{cite web |title=West Kowloon Reclamation . ---- .. – Construction Enyironmental Impact Assessment Report |url=https://www.epd.gov.hk/eia/register/report-bc/eia001/ceiar.pdf |website=Environmental Protection Department |access-date=8 February 2021}}</ref>

==Buildings==
The residential complexes of Mei Foo were considered very affluent for the standards at the time they were built; every flat offers a balcony, at least two rooms and one bathroom. The apartment sizes vary from {{Convert|600-1,800|sqft|m2|abbr=}}. Every apartment complex has a 24-hour uniformed, unarmed security force. Entry to a residential block requires a key card.

Mei Foo Sun Chuen has several schools, medical clinics, beauty salons, newspaper kiosks, supermarkets, shopping arcades, restaurants and food markets within its vicinity, making the area very convenient for residents. The private secondary schools in particular were notable for academically poor students. However, some schools have evolved into multicultural ones.

The once largest owners' corporation with legal status in Hong Kong, the Incorporated Owners of Mei Foo Sun Chuen – Stage I, was formed in 1997. The founder of the corporation, Yiu Chi-Wai, served as the Chairman of the Management Committee from 1997 to 2000. The other seven stages' owners' corporations were also formed during the period.

==Demographics==
In the [[Population Census in Hong Kong|2016 by-census]], the population of Mei Foo Sun Chuen was recorded as 37,303. The median age of the estate's residents was 42.7.<ref name="2016majorhousing">{{cite web |title=Major Housing Estates |url=https://www.bycensus2016.gov.hk/en/bc-dp-major-hosing-estates.html |website=2016 Population By-census |publisher=[[Census and Statistics Department]]}}</ref>

==Transport==
Mei Foo is on the crossroad between [[Kowloon]] and [[Tsuen Wan]]. It is also considered part of the west border of urban Kowloon. [[Kwai Chung Road]] and [[Lai Chi Kok Bridge]] are the major roads in the area. A major [[bus terminus]] is located under the [[Kwai Chung Road]] underpass. serving as a terminus for multiple bus routes. The [[MTR]] rapid transit railway services [[Mei Foo station]] is connected to the [[Tsuen Wan line]], completed in 1982, and to the [[Tuen Ma Line]], operational since 2003. Alternate forms of public transport like [[minibus]]es and [[Taxicab|taxi]]s also service the estate.

In 2009, the new [[Route 8 (Hong Kong)|Route 8]] tunnels opened near Mei Foo, providing a much more direct road link to the eastern New Territories.

==Events==
* [[DBS Bank (Hong_Kong)#Safety deposit box fiasco (2004)|DBS Bank safe deposit box destruction incident]] (2{{nbsp}}October 2004)

==Gallery==
A collection of photos pertaining to Mei Foo Sun Chuen is shown below:
<gallery>
File:Mount Sterling Mall Interior 200806.jpg|Mount Sterling Mall before renovation (2008)
File:Mei Foo Sun Chuen Shopping Arcade Atrium 201304.jpg|Mei Foo Sun Chuen shopping arcade atrium (2013)
File:Mei Foo Sun Chuen Podium 2011.JPG|Podium (2011)
File:Mei Foo Sun Chuen Waterfront 2011.JPG|Former waterfront (2011)
Image:Mei foo sun chuen04.jpg
Image:Mei foo sun chuen06.jpg
Image:Mei foo sun chuen07.jpg
Image:Mei foo sun chuen08.jpg
</gallery>


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Mei Foo (MTR)]]
* [[Mei Foo station]]
* [[List of buildings, sites, and areas in Hong Kong]]
* [[List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong]]
* [[List of places in Hong Kong]]
* [[Wong Tung & Partners]]
* [[Mei Foo Ferry Pier]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Mei Foo Sun Chuen}}
* S.K. Hui, A. Cheung, J. Pang, [https://web.archive.org/web/20150301084501/http://www.umac.mo/fba/irer/papers/current/vol13n1_pdf/01.pdf "A Hierarchical Bayesian Approach for Residential Property Valuation:Application to Hong Kong Housing Market"], ''International Real Estate Review'', 2010 Vol. 13 No.1: pp.&nbsp;1 – 29
* Yu, Pui-kwan, Robin, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120322231359/http://hub.hku.hk/bitstream/10722/52819/1/FullText.pdf "A study on quasi-public space in large scale private residential development, case in Hong Kong"], [[University of Hong Kong]], 2007
{{Sham Shui Po District}}
{{Private housing estates in Hong Kong}}


{{coord|22.3380|N|114.1390|E|source:zhwiki|display=title}}


[[Category:Housing estates]]
[[Category:Private housing estates in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Apartment buildings in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Lai Chi Kok]]
[[Category:1968 establishments in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:ExxonMobil history]]
[[Category:Housing estates with centralized LPG system in Hong Kong]]

Latest revision as of 13:37, 2 January 2025

"Mei Foo" redirects here. For the MTR station in the area, see Mei Foo station.

Mei Foo Sun Chuen
Regular blocks of Mei Foo Sun Chuen
Chinese美孚新邨
Literal meaningMobil New Estate
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinMěifú Xīncūn
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationMéih fū sān chyūn
JyutpingMei5 fu1 san1 cyun1
Map of Mei Foo Sun Chuen

Mei Foo Sun Chuen or simply Mei Foo is a large private housing estate in Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Mei Foo Sun Chuen was the first large scale private housing estate in Hong Kong and at the time of completion, the 99-tower complex was considered the largest private housing development in the world,[1] accommodating some 70,000 – 80,000 people in 13,500 apartments.[1] It is considered to be one of the world's largest privately financed residential condominium projects.[1]

History

[edit]

The 40-acre Mei Foo Sun Chuen, with a total of ninety-nine blocks, was completed from 1968 to 1978 in eight separate but interconnected stages.[1] It is located on the reclamation that had been a large petroleum-storage facility of Mobil (now part of ExxonMobil) in Hong Kong (Mobil's Chinese trading name in Hong Kong is 美孚; Mei Foo) from the 1920s. The redevelopment was carried out by Mei Foo Investments Limited, a subsidiary company of Mobil Oil (Hong Kong) Limited.[1] The name, Mobil, was translated into 無比 ( mou 4 bei2) before the Sun Chuen (Estate) completed.

Mei Foo Sun Chuen was conceived to meet the housing needs of Hong Kong's middle-income families, an emerging and growing group at the time.[1] At the time, a flat in Mei Foo cost around HK$40,000.[citation needed]

When built, the estate was adjacent to the sea and to Lai Chi Kok Bay, with a waterfront walkway and flats with waterfront balconies. However, this changed due to the West Kowloon reclamation scheme (starting in 1990) and the estate now borders Lai Chi Kok Park.[2]

Buildings

[edit]

The residential complexes of Mei Foo were considered very affluent for the standards at the time they were built; every flat offers a balcony, at least two rooms and one bathroom. The apartment sizes vary from 600–1,800 square feet (56–167 m2). Every apartment complex has a 24-hour uniformed, unarmed security force. Entry to a residential block requires a key card.

Mei Foo Sun Chuen has several schools, medical clinics, beauty salons, newspaper kiosks, supermarkets, shopping arcades, restaurants and food markets within its vicinity, making the area very convenient for residents. The private secondary schools in particular were notable for academically poor students. However, some schools have evolved into multicultural ones.

The once largest owners' corporation with legal status in Hong Kong, the Incorporated Owners of Mei Foo Sun Chuen – Stage I, was formed in 1997. The founder of the corporation, Yiu Chi-Wai, served as the Chairman of the Management Committee from 1997 to 2000. The other seven stages' owners' corporations were also formed during the period.

Demographics

[edit]

In the 2016 by-census, the population of Mei Foo Sun Chuen was recorded as 37,303. The median age of the estate's residents was 42.7.[3]

Transport

[edit]

Mei Foo is on the crossroad between Kowloon and Tsuen Wan. It is also considered part of the west border of urban Kowloon. Kwai Chung Road and Lai Chi Kok Bridge are the major roads in the area. A major bus terminus is located under the Kwai Chung Road underpass. serving as a terminus for multiple bus routes. The MTR rapid transit railway services Mei Foo station is connected to the Tsuen Wan line, completed in 1982, and to the Tuen Ma Line, operational since 2003. Alternate forms of public transport like minibuses and taxis also service the estate.

In 2009, the new Route 8 tunnels opened near Mei Foo, providing a much more direct road link to the eastern New Territories.

Events

[edit]
[edit]

A collection of photos pertaining to Mei Foo Sun Chuen is shown below:

  • Mount Sterling Mall before renovation (2008)
    Mount Sterling Mall before renovation (2008)
  • Mei Foo Sun Chuen shopping arcade atrium (2013)
    Mei Foo Sun Chuen shopping arcade atrium (2013)
  • Podium (2011)
    Podium (2011)
  • Former waterfront (2011)
    Former waterfront (2011)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Chan, Chi-kau, Johnnie Casire, "Community development and management of private sector housing estates in Hong Kong" Archived 24 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine, University of Hong Kong, August 1995
  2. ^ "West Kowloon Reclamation . ---- .. – Construction Enyironmental Impact Assessment Report" (PDF). Environmental Protection Department. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Major Housing Estates". 2016 Population By-census. Census and Statistics Department.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mei Foo Sun Chuen.

22°20′17″N 114°08′20″E / 22.3380°N 114.1390°E / 22.3380; 114.1390

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