![]() If you live around Mong Kok or consider yourself a wildlife buff, you’ll be familiar with the Kadoorie name, which graces the exclusive residential estate by Prince Edward and the sprawling farm and botanic garden in Tai Po’s Lam Tsuen. Photo credit: The Last Kings of Shanghai 2 Sir Elly Kadoorie Through Hongkong Land’s “Praya Reclamation Scheme,” Chater added between 59 to 65 new acres of land to the modern-day Central & Western District-on which you’ll find many of Hong Kong Land’s commercial buildings (including Chater House!). However, the most tangible reminder of Chater’s influence is perhaps the Hong Kong Island coastline. Though he did not have any children-and all that remains of his stately home in Mid-Levels is the gatekeeper’s lodge-Chater’s legacy lives on in the electricity that powers our city, the transport we take, and the malls we shop at. In 1896, Chater joined the civil service as a member of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, where he helped form government policy until his death in 1926. We also have Chater to thank for his help in establishing Dairy Farm, Hong Kong Telephone, and the Star Ferry, which he later acquired. ![]() In his middle age, Chater had a finger in innumerable pies-he founded Kowloon Wharf and Godown Company (now Wharf Holdings, the owner of Harbour City and Times Square), which put Kowloon on the map as a port Hongkong Land and Hong Kong Electric (after surreptitiously building the first power station in Hong Kong in an old graveyard on Star Street). The brokerage proved to be a success for the young entrepreneur, who accrued enough wealth to buy his first plot of land at the age of 24 and become a millionaire by 30. After two years at the bank, Chater quit to become a money broker with the support of the Sassoons, a dynastic Baghdadi Jewish family known as “the Rothschilds of the East,” who patronised the bank. Upon his graduation in 1864, the 18-year-old moved to Hong Kong to live with one of his sisters, whose husband helped him find a job at the Bank of Hindustan, China, and Japan. He proved intelligent from a young age, attending an elite private school on a scholarship after his parents passed away. The “father of Hong Kong,” as he was later known, touched almost every sphere of modern life-land, transport, power, produce, governance-and did it all in the nineteenth century, when there wasn’t much of the city to speak of.īorn Khachik Pogose Aswachatoor in 1846 in Calcutta, Chater was the tenth of 13 children in a middle-class Armenian family. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons 1 Sir Paul Chaterĭespite Chater Road, Chater Garden, and Catchick Street all bearing his name, Sir Paul Chater’s accomplishments are not known to many Hongkongers-but they should be. Three taipans in particular-William Jardine, Sir Paul Chater, and Sir Elly Kadoorie-have made an outsized impact on the territory. Read on for an overview of their lives and careers, and how their actions affect life in Hong Kong today. Taipans (大班), magnates, tycoons-whatever you want to call them, these titans of industry were instrumental in shaping the city.įrom establishing the financial, real estate, and educational institutions that give Hong Kong its world city status to influencing the very legislature by which the city was governed, it is impossible to downplay the impact that taipans have had on Hong Kong. We don’t mean the expat bankers milling in and out of ICC and Exchange Square-we’re talking about the people who paved the way for modern-day Hong Kong during (and prior to) the city’s days as a crown colony. Like it or not, Hong Kong as we know it today would not exist without foreign businessmen. It also features a relaxed, roomy cut for added comfort and ideal protection from wind, cold and deep powder.Header image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons / The Last Kings of Shanghai Designed to offer high performance and features mesh vents and multiple pockets ideal for your lift pass, accessories and mobile phone. These snow bib tights feature a warm 2L shell, DWR water repellent treatment, 10k/10k water resistant membrane that offers insulation and maintains an optimal body temperature. Made with an exclusive technology that keeps you warm and dry and with compartments to keep your personal items safe, to enjoy your days on the mountain. ![]() The Rip Curl Taipan Snow Bib is a great men's outerwear piece that offers high breathability and ideal warmth.
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