Happy Valley, Hong Kong
| Happy Valley | |||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 跑馬地 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | 跑马地 | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | horse-racing ground | ||||||||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 快活谷 | ||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | happy valley | ||||||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Pǎomǎdì |
| Yale Romanization | Pǎumǎdì |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Paaú màh deí |
| IPA | [pʰǎːu ma̬ː těi] |
| Jyutping | paau2 maa5 dei2 |
| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Kuàihuogǔ |
| Yale Romanization | Kwàihwogǔ |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Faai wuht gùk |
| IPA | [fāːi wʊ̀t kʊ̂k] |
| Jyutping | faai3 wut6 guk1 |
Happy Valley is an upper-income residential area in Hong Kong, located on Hong Kong Island. Administratively, it is part of Wan Chai District.
The area is sometimes known as Wong Nai Chung Kuk (黃泥涌谷) or Wong Nai Chung Valley because of the Wong Nai Chung (黃泥涌, lit. yellow mud stream) that leads into the area.
The area is home to the Happy Valley Racecourse, Hong Kong Racing Museum, Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital, and a number of cemeteries including the Hong Kong Cemetery.
Happy Valley is often a hot spot in Hong Kong. On August 8, 2015, Happy Valley recorded a temperature of 37.9 Celsius, making it the highest temperature recorded in Hong Kong.
The area now known as Happy Valley was formerly known as Wong Nai Chung Valley, where the Wong Nai Chung referred to is a mud-filled river collecting waters from the Wong Nai Chung Gap and surrounding area. The river nourished the rice paddies until the construction of Happy Valley Racecourse in 1846.
In early 1840, the British Army set a military camp in the area. However, the camp was later closed due to the increasing number of soldiers succumbing to malaria. The cause of malaria was unknown at the time and the soldiers apparently suffered a then-unknown fever. Early settlers had suggested the area to be used as a business centre, but the idea was shelved due to the valley's marshy environment, which was causing fatal diseases. The death rate in the area and Victoria City was high in the early colonial days, and the valley became a burial ground for the dead. As a result, the valley was renamed as Happy Valley, a common euphemism for cemeteries. In 1846, the British felt that the valley terrain was ideal for horse-racing, and thus cleared the paddy fields and developed the Happy Valley Racecourse. For this, the Wong Nai Chung river was redirected to the Bowrinton Canal, known as Ngo Keng Kan (鵝頸澗) locally, concurrent with reclamation of Wan Chai. The canal is now covered by Canal Road.
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