Canton Road

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Road in Kowloon, Hong Kong

title: "Canton Road" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["roads-in-kowloon", "tsim-sha-tsui", "yau-ma-tei", "mong-kok"] description: "Road in Kowloon, Hong Kong" topic_path: "general/roads-in-kowloon" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_Road" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Road in Kowloon, Hong Kong ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox street"]

FieldValue
nameCanton Road
namesakeGuangzhou
native_nameyue
imageCanton Road Night View 201205.jpg
captionHarbour City (left side of the road) in the Tsim Sha Tsui section in May 2012.
direction_aSouth
terminus_aSalisbury Road
direction_bNorth
terminus_bLai Chi Kok Road
locationKowloon, Hong Kong
coordinates
former_namesMacDonnell Road
mapframe-wikidatayes
mapframe-frame-height250
::

| name = Canton Road | namesake = Guangzhou | native_name = yue | image = Canton Road Night View 201205.jpg | caption = Harbour City (left side of the road) in the Tsim Sha Tsui section in May 2012. | direction_a = South | terminus_a = Salisbury Road | direction_b = North | terminus_b = Lai Chi Kok Road | location = Kowloon, Hong Kong | coordinates = | former_names = MacDonnell Road | mapframe-wikidata = yes | mapframe-frame-height = 250

Canton Road (Chinese: 廣東道) is a major road in Hong Kong, linking the former west reclamation shore in Tsim Sha Tsui, Jordan, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok and Prince Edward on the Kowloon Peninsula. The road runs mostly parallel and west to Nathan Road. It starts from the junction with Salisbury Road in the south and ends in the north at the junction with Lai Chi Kok Road in the Prince Edward area. The southern section of Canton Road is home to many upscale retail shops, shopping centres and others business establishments, with busy traffic from both vehicles and pedestrians from morning till late at night.

Name

The road was originally named MacDonnell Road. It was renamed to Canton Road in 1909 to avoid confusion with MacDonnell Road on Hong Kong Island. The road is named after the City of Canton (now Guangzhou, ), following a pattern where roads in the area were named after cities in China and Vietnam. However, an error resulted in Canton being interpreted as referring to the Province of Canton (Now Guangdong, ), resulting in the Chinese name of the road becoming instead of the intended .

Sections and features

Canton Road is not one continuous road, instead, it is divided into four sections, interrupted by a major housing estate (Prosperous Garden) and disjointed by a traffic intersection (Jordan Road) as the result of urban development in the past hundred years. The following list follows a south-north order. (W) indicates the western side of the road, while (E) indicates the eastern side.

Tsim Sha Tsui section

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/1881_Heritage_Canton_Road_Shops_View_201506.jpg" caption="Southern end of Canton Road, along the [[1881 Heritage]] in June 2015"] ::

The section starts at Salisbury Road and ends at Jordan Road. Features include:

Jordan to Yau Ma Tei section

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Jade_monument_canton_road_kowloon_hkg.JPG" caption="Jordan Road]] in August 2009."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Old_Yau_Ma_Tei_Police_Station.jpg" caption="[[Yau Ma Tei Police Station]], at the intersection of Canton Road and [[Public Square Street]] in May 2016."] ::

The section starts at Jordan Road and ends at Public Square Street. The part of this section between Jordan Road and Kansu Street is sometimes called "Jade Street" because of the number of jewellery shops selling jade.

  • (W) Giant jade stone near the intersection with Jordan Road (north side)
  • (E) junction with Nanking Street
  • (E) junction with Ning Po Street
  • intersection with Saigon Street
  • (E) No. 578 Canton Road, a building proposed for conservation, at the intersection with Saigon Street
  • (E) junction with Pak Hoi Street
  • intersection with Kansu Street
  • (W) Yau Ma Tei Police Station, a Grade III historic building, at the intersection with Public Square Street The road is interrupted north of Public Square Street, and Prosperous Garden, a housing estate, is located in its place. The Broadway Cinematheque is located within Prosperous Garden.

Yau Ma Tei section

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/HK_CCC_WanchaiChurchKeiToPrimarySchool_2008.JPG" caption="Yau Ma Tei section in April 2008: a primary school occupies the whole eastern side of this section. The vehicles are within Canton Road."] ::

This very short section (about 30m long) starts at Tung Kun Street, north of Prosperous Garden and ends at the Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market, a Grade III historic building. This section is bordered by two schools:

  • (W) Tung Koon District Society Fong Shu Chuen School
  • (E) Wanchai Church Kei To School

Yau Ma Tei to Prince Edward section

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/1235_Canton_Road.JPG" caption="No. 1235 Canton Road in July 2010."] ::

The section starts at Waterloo Road, north of the Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market and ends at Lai Chi Kok Road. This section features a street market in the Mong Kok area.

West Rail line (Tuen Ma Line)

It was proposed that a station, Canton Road on the Kowloon Southern Link of the West Rail line, could be built beneath the Tsim Sha Tsui section of the road, outside Harbour City. The plan was put off after unsuccessful negotiation between KCRC and The Wharf on financial arrangement. Another station, Austin, near the junction of Canton Road and Wui Cheung Road in Kwun Chung opened on 16 August 2009.

In popular culture

The final shootout sequence of the 2003 film PTU, directed by Johnnie To, takes place in Canton Road. The sequence was actually shot in Ap Lei Chau.

Gallery

Tsim Sha Tsui section

Image:HK Hard Rock.JPG|Hard Rock Cafe, G/F & 1/F, Silvercord in December 2005 (closed since 24 November 2008) File:HK CantonRoadGovernmentOffices.JPG|Canton Road Government Offices in January 2008, demolished in 2011 Image:Canton Road 2.JPG|Canton Road near Silvercord in the evening, looking north in December 2005 Image:Canton Road at night.jpg|Canton Road along Harbour City at night, looking south in March 2015

References

References

  1. (19 March 1909). "Changes in Names of Streets". [[Hong Kong Government Gazette]].
  2. Bard, Solomon. (2002). "Voices from the past: Hong Kong, 1842-1918". [[Hong Kong University Press]].
  3. [https://web.archive.org/web/20071011031743/http://www.fso-tela.gov.hk/accessibility/eng/locations_details.cfm?Photo_Num=00618 Film Services Offices: Canton Road Government Offices]
  4. [http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/shopping/theme-shopping-streets.html Hong Kong Tourism Board: Theme Shopping Streets]{{Dead link. (November 2025)
  5. "Film Services Office: Canton Road (between Jordan Road and Kansu Street)".
  6. [http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=30&art_id=67663&sid=19505363&con_type=1 "Giant jade lure in survival fight"], ''The Standard''. 25 June 2008
  7. [http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/attractions/kln-jade-market.html Jade Market & Jade Street]. Hong Kong Tourism Board
  8. [http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/Monument/form/Brief_Information_on_proposed_Grade_III_Items.pdf Brief Information on Proposed Grade III Items, pp. 997–998] {{webarchive. link. (22 September 2013)
  9. (2001). "Public places in Asia Pacific cities: current issues and strategies". Springer.
  10. [http://www.openrice.com/restaurant/sr2.htm?shopid=5272 中國冰室 China Cafe]
  11. [http://hk.asia-city.com/restaurants/article/cha-chaan-chow "Cha Chaan Chow"] {{Webarchive. link. (11 June 2012 , ''HK magazine'' 18 September 2009)
  12. [http://hongkongonfilm.blogspot.fr/2012/07/fulltime-killer-china-cafe.html ''Fulltime Killer'' – China Cafe]. Hong Kong on Film
  13. [http://hk.asia-city.com/city-living/article/they-haven%E2%80%99t-torn-it-down-yet "They Haven't Torn It Down... Yet"] {{Webarchive. link. (11 June 2012 , ''HK magazine'' 11 January 2008)
  14. [https://vancouversun.com/travel/hours+cinematic+Hong+Kong/804118/story.html "48 hours in cinematic Hong Kong"], ''The Vancouver Sun'' 24 April 2008
  15. [http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/Monument/form/Brief_Information_on_proposed_Grade_III_Items.pdf Brief Information on Proposed Grade III Items, pp. 625–626] {{webarchive. link. (22 September 2013)
  16. Teo, Stephen. (2007). "Director in Action: Johnnie To and the Hong Kong Action Film". [[Hong Kong University Press]].
  17. [https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aE9y7cbVva_A&refer=asia bloomberg.com "Hong Kong Recession Cuts Jobs at Hard Rock, Retailer, SCMP Says"], Bloomberg. 15 November 2008

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