Boundary Stone of Zhongying Street

Boundary Stone of Zhongying Street

The Boundary Stone of Zhongying Street is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Boundary Stone of Zhongying Street in Shenzhen is located in Sha Tau Kok Town, Shenzhen. Originally, this area was a dried-up riverbed next to the Sha Tau Kok market. It got its name because the boundary stone stands in the middle of the street, with China and the British Hong Kong government each controlling one half. The street is 250 meters long and 5 meters wide at its broadest point. Both sides of the street are lined with shops. In 1840, during the First Opium War between China and Britain, the result was that Britain forced the Qing government to sign the humiliating Treaty of Nanking, ceding Hong Kong Island. In 1856, the Second Opium War broke out, resulting in the Qing government being compelled to sign the Sino-British Beijing Convention, ceding the area south of Boundary Street at the southern tip of the Kowloon Peninsula. In 1898, the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory was signed, through which the British forcibly leased the land north of Boundary Street and south of the Shenzhen River in the northern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, along with over 230 nearby islands. These areas were collectively referred to as the "New Territories," leased for 99 years. After both parties surveyed and demarcated the boundary, 20 boundary stones were erected on what is now known as "Zhongying Street." Taking Boundary Stone No. 2 as an example, it is square-shaped, tapering from a smaller top to a larger base. The British side is inscribed in English with “RNSLD CHINESE BOUNDARY 1898 N02,” while the Chinese side is inscribed in Chinese with “中英地界第二号，光绪二十四年.”

In 1993, China and Britain jointly renovated the street and installed a drainage system.

In September 1984, the Shenzhen Municipal Government designated the Sha Tau Kok “Boundary Stone of Zhongying Street” as a municipal-level cultural relics protection unit; in June 1989, the Guangdong Provincial Government listed the “Boundary Stone of Zhongying Street” as a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit.

On October 7, 2019, the Boundary Stone of Zhongying Street was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units