Shau Kei Wan or Shaukiwan is a neighborhood in the Eastern District of Hong Kong Island.

Shau Kei is the Chinese word for a basket used to wash rice, much like a colander,[1] and Wan means "bay".

[2] The name, which appeared at least as early as the Ming dynasty in the book The Great Chronicles of Yue (Chinese: 粵大記, albeit written as Chinese: 稍箕灣),[3] refers to the former shape of the nearby bay, which is now named Aldrich Bay, after a British Army major who improved troop discipline.

By 1860, piracy became a serious issue, and Colonial Governor Richard Macdonnell began to crack down on crime and revitalise the area.

After World War II, Shau Kei Wan gradually developed into a fish-trading market (a position it still holds today).

Also, many Mainland China refugees began to settle into the area at this time, and built around 13 mountain villages in the ensuing years.

In the 1960s, the Hong Kong Government began to replan the area once more, building public housing estates and beginning landfill projects.

Hidden amidst the high-rise residential towers of the Eastern District is a trail that will showcase the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the area.

Visitors can discover vestiges of Hong Kong's seafaring past at the A Kung Ngam Shipyards and the Shau Kei Wan Wholesale Fish Market.

The historical trail starts at the tram terminus and heads along Shau Kei Wan Main Street East towards the waterfront before ending at the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence.

Today, restaurants and groceries handed down from the past still operate along the street while the old houses have been replaced by modern high-rises.

A famous tourist attraction of Shau Kei Wan is the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence.

Fresh marine fish are distributed to outside retail market after wholesaling in Shau Kei Wan Wholesale Marine Fish Market [zh], which is located at 37 Tam Kung Temple Road, Shau Kei Wan (22°17′00″N 114°13′57″E / 22.28339°N 114.23263°E / 22.28339; 114.23263).

The structure and the interior design of these shopping centres are different from those found in Central; the emphasis is placed on the internal function and practical space rather than detailed decoration or facade.

In earlier times, Shau Kei Wan, along with the rest of the Island, did not have a good transportation system.

This, coupled with the relative distance of Central and Wan Chai (other population centers of the time), made transportation rather inconvenient.

For most of its modern history, Shau Kei Wan's major connection with the rest of the island was King's Road (英皇道).

After World War II, Hong Kong experienced a population boom, and factories, along with people, started to move into Shau Kei Wan.

This created considerable congestion, and public buses began to serve the area in an effort to alleviate the problem.

Their efforts proved to be ineffective, and congestion continued up until the point where the MTR and the Island Eastern Corridor were completed and introduced to the region.

To further alleviate congestion problems, ferry companies began a service from Shau Kei Wan to Central to get people to work on time.

Nowadays, as different means of transportation are well developed, one can travel between the two places within very short time, even if one takes the slow tram.

Shau Kei Wan is served by the station of the same name on the Island line of the MTR metro system.