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Queen’s Road is a collection of roads along the northern coast of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong, within the limit of Victoria City.
It was the first road in Hong Kong, constructed by the British between 1841 and 1843, spanning across Victoria City from Shek Tong Tsui to Wan Chai.
At various points along the route, Queen’s Road marks the original shoreline before land reclamation projects permanently extended land into Victoria Harbour.
The four sections of the roads, from west to east, are respectively: Queen’s Road West, Queen’s Road Central, Queensway, and Queen’s Road East. History
The road was originally 4 miles (6.5 km) long.

The Royal Engineers built the first section to Sai Ying Pun with the help of 300 coolies from Kowloon (Hong Kong), then a territory of China. This section of Queen’s Road ran parallel to the beach where Sir Henry Pottinger set up his tent in 1842.
Originally named Main Street, it was officially renamed Queen’s Road in March 1842 after Queen Victoria of the British Empire. It was mistakenly translated into Chinese as 皇后, meaning “queen consort”.
When Hong Kong was founded as a British Crown Colony in 1842, Queen’s Road was the hub of the island’s activity.
The development of this island had been haphazard: winding paths connected the Hong Kong Club for tai-pans and ran along squatter huts, military encampments and taverns.
The first governors built their homes along Queen’s Road; subsequently, the first post office and Christian churches soon arrived. Instead of a properly paved road, newcomers to Hong Kong found Queen’s Road as a pocked dirt path that was prone to dust clouds and puddles of mud. On Christmas Day 1878, a fire broke out and destroyed a large area of the slums along Queen’s Road.

An eyewitness account was recorded by Constance Gordon-Cumming in his 1886 book Wanderings in China. The fire raged for 17 hours and burnt down 400 houses across a 10 acres (4.0 ha) area. Thousands of residents were left homeless. Nevertheless, the devastated ruins were recycled for reclamation adjacent to the area (modern-day Bonham Strand).
After the Great Fire of 1878, Queen’s Road has shrugged its past and become home to some of Hong Kong’s most expensive land and famous buildings at that time.

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皇后大道是香港開埠之後的第一條建築的沿海市中心主要道路,位於香港島。分為皇后大道西、皇后大道中及皇后大道東(可簡稱為大道西、大道中及大道東),由中西區的石塘咀,一直延伸至灣仔區的跑馬地,全長約5公里。

歷史
1841年,香港政府在香港島西營盤至中環之間以移山方式建造第一條大馬路,於1842年2月落成通車,全長4英里。這亦是香港最早的填海工程。其英文原名「Queen’s Road」原是紀念當時的英國維多利亞女皇,理應譯作「女皇大道」,但被華人師爺誤譯為「皇后大道」,「後」於遠古有君王之意。雖然當局曾於1890年澄清錯處,但道路的錯誤中文名稱最後還是將錯就錯沿用至今。香港日治時期,皇后大道曾被改名為「明治通」。

後來皇后大道向東及西伸展,是由中環德輔道中交界至上環水坑口街稱為皇后大道中。西面伸延,由上環水坑口街至石塘咀卑路乍街命名為皇后大道西;而由德輔道中交界到跑馬地黃泥涌道伸延的稱為皇后大道東。當中由德輔道中至灣仔軍器廠街一段皇后大道東在1960年代末改建後,改成為金鐘道。

皇后大道今天仍然為香港市區的中心。香港上海匯豐銀行總行一直位於皇后大道中1號,而渣打銀行香港總行則一直位於皇后大道中3號。皇后大道亦曾被稱為「大馬路」,而大道東亦在1982至84年間成為通往香港仔隧道之主要通道,相對之後興建的堅尼地道為「二馬路」,寶雲道則為「三馬路」。

2007年,國際時裝品牌H&M在卡佛大廈開設首間分店後,皇后大道中逐漸成為國際時裝品牌新晉的集中地,亦帶動該處租金急升。國際品牌COACH、Hugo Boss、GAP、Abercrombie & Fitch、ZARA及Brunello Cucinelli先後進駐該處。2012年12月,明報報道英國著名時尚品牌TOPSHOP2013年5月將進駐香港,於泛海大廈開設大中華首個旗艦店。該店為雙層商舖,總面積1.2萬平方呎,市傳月租高達380萬元。

2013年,路政署建議於同年年底起在皇后大道中介乎萬邦行至卡佛大廈一段長90米的行車道進行增高工程,以拉短與兩邊行人路的高度差距。施工期間,將會分為3階段實施臨時交通安排,包括全面封路、局部封路和交通改道等。首階段皇后大道中介乎戲院里至域多利皇后街一段行車道完全封閉,屆時原本經由皇后大道中西行的車輛將會改行干諾道中或者士丹利街,工程預計需時6至8日;次階段涉及重置行車道上的公用事務檢修井,預計需時一至兩個月,期間最多封閉一條行車道;第三階段則重置兩邊行人路石壆,預計進行兩至三個月,毋須封路。工程時間均安排於人流及車流比較少的星期一、二或者四晚上9時至翌日早上6時進行,之後道路就會解封。同年11月7日,路政署向中西區區議會作出諮詢。

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