Portland Street

Portland Street
Hanyu Pinyin		Bō lán Jiē
Wade–Giles	Po1-lan2 Chieh1
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Būt làahn gāai
Jyutping	But1 laan4 gaai1

Portland Street is a popular street in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The street is the location of the business and retailing skyscraper complex, Langham Place, numerous restaurants and its red-light district.

Geography

Running north–south and parallel to (and west of) Nathan Road, a main thoroughfare up the Kowloon peninsula, Portland Street extends through the districts of Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok in Kowloon. Approximately three-quarters of a mile in length, it spans between Boundary Street in the north and Man Ming Lane, at one block past Waterloo Road in the south. The street is directly accessible by the Prince Edward, Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei station of the MTR, Hong Kong's subway system.

Except for a few small parks, the entire two-lane street is highly urbanised with dense pedestrian and motor traffic throughout most of the day.

Character

A section of Portland Street, particularly between

activities.

Langham Place, a 167,000 square meter (1.8 million square foot) shopping centre, theatre, hotel and office tower complex opened on Portland Street near the Nelson Street intersection in July 2004. The complex has its own MTR station access (Mong Kok station exit C3). Outside one of the complex's east entrances is a large 'jumbotron' broadcasting news and entertainment shows for pedestrians below. Since its opening, Langham Place and surrounding areas has become a popular night-time destination for both locals and tourists. Some had predicted the massive upscale development would gentrify the area and drive away the Portland Street sex trade. However, after several years of operation, Langham Place's impact on the nearby sex industry remains minimal.

The Portland Street segment between

is home to over 50 retailers selling home renovation materials and supplies such as toilet utensils, tiles, and wallpapers.

Other establishments along Portland Street includes fast-food restaurants,

players plying their trades. Further south, there is a small public playground at the Changsha Street intersection.

History

Portland Street was named after

.

There is a street in London named Great Portland Street. There is also a street in Edinburgh named Portland Street which is not far from Pitt Street and Dundas Street (as mentioned above, Hong Kong's Portland Street is also nearby Pitt Street and Dundas Street). In both cases it is not clear if there is any relation or relevance to the Hong Kong Portland Street.

Photo gallery

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Transportation

Mong Kok station Exit C2, C4, E1

See also

• List of streets and roads in Hong Kong
• Portland Street Blues, a 1998 Hong Kong film
• Prostitution in Hong Kong

References

External links

• Map of Portland Street
• About name (in Chinese)

22°19′05″N 114°10′08″E / 22.31815°N 114.16898°E / 22.31815; 114.16898