| Haiphong Road | |||||||||||
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| Chinese | 海防道 | ||||||||||
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Haiphong Road is a road south of Kowloon Park, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. The road links Canton Road and Nathan Road.[1]
It was initially named as Elgin Street but its name changed in 1909 to Haiphong,[2] a city in Vietnam to avoid confusion with another Elgin Street on the Hong Kong Island. As such, it is one of the few streets in Hong Kong not named for a Chinese or English subject. Along with Nathan Road it was one of the first two streets laid out in Tsim Sha Tsui.[3] Indian merchants, mostly Hindus from the province of Sindh, began establishing shops on the street in the 1920s, supplying Indian goods to soldiers stationed in the adjacent Whitfield Barracks.[4]
Significant locations along this street include the Fok Tak Temple, a century-old temple site that was "once the centre for worship for Kowloon residents";[3] the Kowloon Masjid and Islamic Centre;[4] and the Haiphong Road Temporary Market, thought to be the oldest such market in Hong Kong.[3][4]
