Jardine's Lookout

Jardine's Lookout
View of Jardine's Lookout and Tai Hang
Chinese	渣甸山
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhādiàn Shān Wade–Giles Ch'a-tien Shan Yale Romanization Jādyàn Shān IPA [ʈʂátjɛ̂n ʂán] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization já dìn sáan IPA [tsáːn tîːn sáːn] Jyutping zaa1 din1 saan1

Jardine's Lookout (Chinese: 渣甸山; Jyutping: zaa1 din1 saan1; Cantonese Yale: ja din saan) is a mountain and a residential area on the Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located Southeast of the Wan Chai district and South of the Tai Hang area, at an altitude of about 433 metres. Nearby hills include Mount Nicholson, Violet Hill and Mount Butler etc.

It is named after William Jardine, founder of Jardine Matheson. It was from here, in the days of the sailing ships, that a watch was kept for the first glimpse of the sails of the firm's clippers coming from India and London. As soon as a vessel was signalled, a fast whaleboat was sent out to collect Jardines' mails. The correspondence was rushed back to the office so that the directors could have the first possible information on the world's markets. (This practice saved the company on at least one occasion, in 1866, when it learnt of the collapse of the discount house Overend, Gurney and Company, about one hour before others did, and quickly withdrew its balances at a local bank before anyone else had heard of the news.)

Jardine's Lookout was the sight of fierce conflict in the Battle of Hong Kong and particularly, the Battle of Wong Nai Chung Gap. The Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps and Middlesex Machine gunners manned two pillboxes and other areas defending the pass around Jardine's Catchwater, as well as Canadian Winnipeg Grenadiers defending the adjacent Mount Butler. Japanese forces, after landing on the North Shore of Hong Kong Island; used Sir Cecils Ride and moved up to this pass mid-way up the lookout and were engaged by Commonwealth forces. The fighting was the preliminary conflict in the Battle of Wong Nai Chung Gap.