~ HonG KonG ~

[Alfred.Jones]

Amazing work

Simply beautiful

[bat]

Great start there of your MD!

And fantastic pictures and mosaics of your beautiful city!!!!

Looking forward to more of your Hong Kong.

[kelis]

|| Tsing Ma Bridge ||

• Tsing Ma Bridge is a bridge in Hong Kong, China. It is the world's seventh longest span suspension bridge.
The bridge was named after two of the islands in Hong Kong, namely Tsing Yi and Ma Wan. It has two decks
and carries both road and rail traffic, which also makes it the largest suspension bridge of this type.
The bridge has a main span of 1377 metres (4518 ft) and a height of 206 metres (676 ft).
The span is the largest of all bridges in the world carrying rail traffic •

•  The 41 metres (135 ft) wide bridge deck carries six lanes of automobile traffic, with three lanes in each direction.
The lower level contains two rail tracks. There are also two carriageways on the sheltered lower deck for maintenance
access and as backup for traffic when particularly severe typhoons strike Hong Kong. Though road traffic would need
to be closed in that case, trains could still get through in either direction •



|| History ||

• Construction of the bridge was carried out by a Costain / Mitsui / Trafalgar House joint venture .
Construction work of the bridge began in May 1992 and ended in May 1997. It cost HK $ 7.2 billion.
The Lantau Link, of which the bridge is an integral part, was opened on April 27, 1997.
The ceremony was inaugurated by the former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher •



|| Operation ||

• The Tsing Ma Bridge links Tsing Yi Island on the east to Ma Wan island on the west over Ma Wan Channel.
It is part of the Lantau Link, which, with two long span bridges links the New Territories and Lantau Island,
and eventually leads to the Hong Kong International Airport on Chek Lap Kok via North Lantau Highway.
The other bridge is the Kap Shui Mun Bridge linking Ma Wan to Lantau Island over Kap Shui Mun.
The two bridges are connected by over Ma Wan Ma Wan Viaduct •

•  The Tsing Ma Bridge has been an important gateway to Lantau Island. It will become part of the planned
Route 8 expressway, which will connect the Lantau Link, the West Kowloon expressway, Cheung Sha Wan and Shatin.
The rail line is part of MTR's Tung Chung Line and Airport Express •

•  The bridge, together with other highway, bridge and tunnel connections in the area, are part of the Tsing Ma Control
Area under the Tsing Ma Control Area Ordinance (Cap. 498) in Hong Kong Law. The control area has been managed
by Tsing Ma Management Limited since opening. The control area's traffic management system was developed by
Delco Corporation of Toronto. Special regulations and by-laws are carried out in the area •

• Along with the Ting Kau Bridge and Kap Shui Mun Bridge, the bridge is closely monitored by the Wind and Structural
Health Monitoring System (WASHMS). Surveillance cameras are also installed over the bridge to record traffic conditions.
The video is available at the government website. [2] It is updated every two minutes •



| | Design | |

• The bridge was designed by Mott MacDonald •

[warszawa]

  Wow! A brilliant MD! The city centre looks terrific at night time.

[art128]

Oh my god 

takes his glasses
OMG this is amazing 
I can't guess the time passed to created this 
absoluty splendid 
can't wait to see more

Arthur

[kelis]

|| Ma Wan island ||

• Ma Wan is an island of Hong Kong, located between Lantau Island and Tsing Yi Island. The island belongs to Tsuen Wan district.
It has an area of 0.96 sq km. It is today more well known as Island Park (a private housing estate on the island) •

•  Two separate channels Ma Wan and other major islands. To the east is the Ma Wan Channel, separating it from Tsing Yi Island,
to the South West is Kap Shui Mun, separating it from Lantau Island. The north is opposite seafront Tsing Lung Tau on the
mainland New Territories. The South is facing Tang Lung Chau island •

•  Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach is located on the island •

•  Temples of the goddess Tin Hau are found on the island. One has been rebuilt on the northern beach and was originately built
by the local pirate Cheung Po Tsai, who often looked after the locals. Another one is located at the old Tin Liu village site •

•  The prehistoric island had late neolithic inhabitants as proved by recent excavations. There were also inhabitants here during
the Han Dynasty. More recently in the last 250 years it was a small fishing village named Liu Tin, only accessible by boats or ferries.
It was founded by a family from Chan Tsing Yi island. As part of the Hong Kong Government's Rose Garden plan, the Lantau Link was
constructed in the mid-1990s to connect the new Hong Kong International Airport to the city centre. The highway link was to pass through
Ma Wan, and plans to develop the island began to emerge. Today, a large part of the island is occupied by the Island Park apartment complex.
A theme park, named Ma Wan Park was proposed to accompany the housing project, and the first phase was opened on July 1, 2007 •




|| History ||

• Remains have been found from the Mid-Neolithic Age (about 3000 BC), the late Neolithic Age (about 2000 BC), the early Bronze Age (about 1000 BC),
the Han Dynasty (206 BC -220 AD), the Tang Dynasty (618 -917 AD) and the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911 AD). Complete Neolithic human skeletal
remains were found in tombs at Tung Wan Tsai in 1997. (Ref. The Antiquities and Monuments Office of the Home Affairs Bureau)
• 24 housing units donated by Americans in 1965 (to see them on top of a hill near to the Fishermen's Association)
• Eleven had a Customs house, still recorded by a stone monument named "Kowloon Gate" monument. (see it near to the old Rural Committee).
It ceased activity on October 4th, 1899 (Ref. the book Voices from the Past: Hong Kong, 1842-1918)
• 250 years old village, quite empty as of 2007 - The new Tin Liu Village has been built a bit on top of it.
• Foreign visitors in 1794. See "A Reconnaissance of Ma Wan and Lantao Islands in 1794"



| | Transportation | |

• Although the Hong Kong Government originally claimed that it would be "materially impossible" to give the island a
road through connecting Lantau Link, this proved possible, after all, as part of Island Park
The island is connected to Tsing Yi of the Tsing Ma Bridge (suspension bridge)
and Lantau Island for the Kap Shui Mun Bridge (a cable-stayed bridge). Both bridges are part of the Lantau Link •

• Island park Transportation Co. Ltd operates bus services between Park and the island of Tsing Yi MTR Station,
Park Island and Kwai Fong (Metro Plaza), Park Island and Hong Kong International Airport; Park Island and Tsuen Wan
(near the MTR station), and also ferry services between Island Park and Central Park and between the island and
Tsuen Wan West (next to the station KCR) •

• Private vehicles are generally not allowed to enter the island, an agreement that also exists in the nearby
Discovery Bay on Lantau Island, however, a permit can be requested from the Department of Transportation
Hong Kong. Minibuses and taxis are not allowed, but the Island Park management company operating vehicles in case of emergency
or special situations, but its availability is not guaranteed. Lorrie can enter the island between 10 am to 4 pm
daily without a special permit •

• A number of ferry piers are on the island. One in Island Park in the northeast, one in the former
Liu Tin village in the West (former host of Sham Tseng ferries), one in the south of the island opposite Tang Lung Chau,
one in the north of the island used for garbage collection, one in the South Eastern side •





|| Ma Wan island / HonG KonG / China ||

[Nikolaï]

Amazing !!!!!!!!!!!! 
It's so beautiful and so Realistic ! 

[Manny]

OMG !
It's enormous, incredible, fantastic  !
Great work for a great city !

[art128]

wow    it's very amazing 
i like the over view of the island 
where did you get the little boat?

Arthur

[bat]

Really beautiful two mosaics there of your Ma Wan island there! And the overview is fantastic, too!
Great work!

[rooker1]

Fantastic updates. 
I love the way you used the Tsing Bridge.  It seems to fit in perfectly beside the small island city.
I hope to see you jam in a lot of buildings on that small island  (Just my view in my mind)  I'll just have to sit back and see what you come up with. 
Robin 

[Une_ame]

Nothing to add, this city is just amazing !!

Keep going .

[Sciurus]

THAT is a city

[oyd]

it cant get more Hong Kong than this...
I love Hong Kong and i love your MD.....great work....

[dmscopio]

just went through the Tsing Ma Bridge yesterday.  just love what you did with the Ma Wan island, lovely details there. also thanks for the descriptions keep it up my friend!

[kelis]

|| HonG KonG DaiLy News ||



• The Hong Kong government wants to boost the image of the city as a centre for international arbitration.
To that end, the Department of Justice has recently published the first draft of the new Arbitration Law of Hong Kong
The reforms are intended to improve the legal infrastructure for administering these services •



• Hong Kong is taking positions to become a city WiFi, expanding and facilitating the connection to the Internet
wirelessly anywhere on its territory and communications businessmen or students •



• The secretary of Finance of Hong Kong, John Tsang, has announced today the removal of tax on wine and beer
and other alcoholic beverages not spirit, during the presentation of the budgets for 2008. The surplus of over 115,000
million dollars hongkoneses (9,920 million) recorded in the previous year, has prompted the Government to
introduce a series of measures to strengthen Hong Kong's competitiveness in international markets •



• Greetings and thank you very much •

[Une_ame]

One of the best CJ I've seen so far (the pics of your city are awesome!!!!!)...

[art128]

It's real picts ?  it's very beautiful  what I said......it's AMAZING 

[bat]

Some great looking pictures there! It's wonderful!

[paroch]

Hi Kelis,

Great work you are doing here.  It is hard for me to say anything that has not already been said.  So I'll just say that I am impressed with your results - particularly the small island - that is my personal favourite.