The district has the second-highest educationally qualified residents with the highest-bracket incomes, the second-lowest population and the third-oldest quotient.

In May 2009, 300 guests and staff members at the Metropark Hotel Wanchai were quarantined, suspected of being infected or in contact with the H1N1 virus during the 2009 swine flu pandemic.

Today Wan Chai is sometimes described as the heart of the city, representing the epitome of the Hong Kong lifestyle – it has a well-established arts centre, the large exhibition and conference complexes, luxury apartments, five-star and non-five-star hotels, shopping malls, metropolitan office towers and a large government building cluster.

Five minutes away from the noisy polluted streets is Bowen Drive, popular for jogging and walking by politicians, movie stars, and government officials.

There are numerous bars and strip joints in the red-light district part of Wan Chai catering to tourists.

Within this Fenwick Pier the Fleet Arcade hosted the only McDonald's that served alcohol and pizza in Hong Kong until 2004 when it was closed; its replacement was an up-market restaurant.

Prior to the handover of Hong Kong, Fenwick pier was regularly visited by vessels, with numbers ranging from 37 to 99 annually.

Spring Garden Lane and Tai Wo Street are lined with stalls selling for vegetables, fruit and household items.

This is a popular tourist spot in Hong Kong for mainland visitors and also the location of the flag-raising ceremony which occurs daily and in a special form on Chinese National Day and other occasions.