Hong Kong Central Library

Hong Kong Central Library

Hong Kong Central Library (English: Hong Kong Central Library), located at 66 Causeway Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, sits between MTR Tin Hau Station and Causeway Bay Station, at the boundary of the Wan Chai District Council and Eastern District Council. It lies to the north of Victoria Park. The Hong Kong Central Library has 12 floors, offering views that stretch as far as West Kowloon and Lion Rock. Covering an area of 9,400 square metres, the library building spans 33,800 square metres in floor space, making it the largest public library in Hong Kong. With a collection of over 2,300,000 books, it accounts for one-fifth of the Hong Kong Public Libraries system’s total of 12,480,000 volumes. The Hong Kong Central Library opened on 17 May 2001, replacing the City Hall Public Library as the main branch of the 66 public libraries, and stands as the largest public library in Hong Kong, as well as the third public library in the Wan Chai District.

Inside the library, there are scenic lifts connecting the ground floor to the 10th floor, along with multiple escalators linking the various levels. There are also two scenic lifts that go directly from the ground floor to the 10th and 11th floors. Restrooms are available for readers within the library premises. Except for the 7th floor, the entire library area provides free Wi-Fi access through the Hong Kong Government WiFi service, with a total of 63 wireless access points available for public use.

Architectural Features

The design of the building sparked controversy. In 1997, then Urban Council Chairman Andrew Leung Ting-bun engaged in a public dispute with Director of Urban Services Betty Tung Chung-kwan over the design of the Central Library. Although Tung’s proposed high-tech design was rejected because construction had already begun, the “neo-classical style” and “Roman-style” architectural design were mocked by Urban Council members as resembling “foreign-style villas in mainland China.”

The stairway from the ground to the podium features inscriptions of famous quotes from ancient and modern classics and figures from around the world, which some criticized as disrespectful to the literary heritage and ancestors.

Geometric patterns combining circles, squares, and triangles can be seen throughout the interior and exterior of the Hong Kong Central Library, symbolizing both the concept of “the round sky and square earth” and the idea of “knowledge accumulating like a tower.” Since the original design was for a Central Library under the Urban Council, which later became a library under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the elevator doors and main entrance handrails still bear the Urban Council emblem. Although the Urban Council has been disbanded, authorities have retained the emblem on the grounds that it is an abstract representation of Hong Kong’s city flower, the Bauhinia.

History

In the 1990s, the Urban Council decided to build a Central Library as a flagship library for Hong Kong, giving rise to the planning of the Hong Kong Central Library. In library science, the definition and naming of a “Central Library” are based on the population size of the community it serves. However, to emphasize the status of the “Hong Kong Central Library,” the Leisure and Cultural Services Department renamed the five existing Central Libraries at the time—the City Hall Central Library, Kowloon Central Library, Sha Tin Central Library, Tsuen Wan Central Library, and Tuen Mun Central Library—to the City Hall Public Library, Kowloon Public Library, Sha Tin Public Library, Tsuen Wan Public Library, and Tuen Mun Public Library, aligning their names with those of district libraries.

The site of the Hong Kong Central Library at Moreton Terrace, Causeway Bay, was originally the only outdoor basketball court in Hong Kong Island. On Sundays, it became a gathering and recreational spot for the increasing number of Indonesian domestic helpers in the Causeway Bay area. When the government decided to build the Central Library there, it sparked controversy among local residents who worried that foreign domestic workers would lose a place to meet.

The construction cost of the Central Library building was HK$690 million, drawing criticism from Legislative Council Finance Committee members. The addition of Roman-style decorative columns was labeled a waste of public funds and likened to a replica of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Betty Tung Chung-kwan and Andrew Leung Ting-bun clashed publicly in 1997 over the exterior design of the Hong Kong Central Library, and Tung was demoted amid accusations of unilaterally altering the library’s design.

Originally scheduled to open in December 2000, the opening was delayed due to computer system issues. It finally debuted on 17 May 2001, with the unveiling ceremony presided over by then Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Tung Chee-hwa, and officially opened to the public on 18 May.

Transportation Guide

Address: 66 Causeway Road, Wan Chai District, Hong Kong.

Transport options: Take air-conditioned buses 2A, 8, or 10.