Editing Wan Chai (section)

===British Colony (from 1842)===
With the growth of the [[British Empire|British]] [[History of Colonial Hong Kong (1800s - 1930s)|Hong Kong]] administration, centred in old [[Victoria, Hong Kong|Victoria]] (modern Central), Wan Chai attracted those on the fringes of society, such as "coolie" workers, who came to live on [[Queen's Road, Hong Kong|Queen's Road East]]. A focal point of development at that time was [[Spring Garden Lane|Spring Gardens]], a [[Red-light district|red-light zone]].<ref>[http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=7624abf540dcc110VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&ss=Hong+Kong&s=News 24-site heritage tour for Wan Chai, SCMP, 6 Oct 2008], quoting Ho Pui-yin, Chinese University historian</ref>

By the 1850s, the area was already becoming a Chinese residential area.<ref name="Wordie" /> There were dockyards on [[Ship Street, Hong Kong|Ship Street]] and [[McGregor Street]] for building and repairing ships. The edge of [[Sun Street]], [[Moon Street]] and [[Star Street (Hong Kong)|Star Street]] was the original site of the first power station in Hong Kong, operated by the [[Hongkong Electric|Hongkong Electric Company]], which began supplying power in 1890.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hec.com.hk/hehWeb/MajorGroupCompanies/TheHongKongElectricCompanyLimited/Generation/Index_en.htm|title=Hong Kong electric company generation|publisher=Hong Kong Electric|date=27 July 2007|access-date=28 August 2007}}</ref>

One of the first waterfront hospitals was the [[Seaman's Hospital]], built in 1843, which was funded by the British merchant group Jardine's. It was then sold to the [[Royal Navy|British Royal Navy]] in 1873 and subsequently redeveloped into the [[Royal Naval Hospital]]. After the [[Second World War]], the hospital was revitalised as the [[Ruttonjee Hospital]] and became one of the main public hospitals in Hong Kong.<ref name="davis">{{cite web|url=http://www.pdavis.nl/RN_Hosp.htm|title=Hong Kong royal navy|publisher=private website citing Harland, Kathleen, The Royal Navy in Hong Kong since 1841, Maritime Books, Liskeard, Cornwall, undated; and Melson, Commodore P.J., White ensign – red dragon, Edinburgh Financial Publishing, Hong Kong|date=1 January 1997|access-date=28 August 2007}}</ref>

The district was home to several well-known schools. One of these schools was established by the famous traditional teacher, [[Mo Dunmei]] ({{lang-zh|t=莫敦梅|labels=no}}). Started as a ''[[shushu]]'' ({{lang-zh|t=書塾|labels=no}}) in 1919, the school was renamed [[Dunmei School]] ({{lang-zh|t=敦梅學校|labels=no}}) in 1934 after him.<ref name="hku.hk">{{cite web|url=http://www.hku.hk/sociodep/oralhistory/2/2.2.2.4.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702185033/http://www.hku.hk/sociodep/oralhistory/2/2.2.2.4.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 July 2007|title=Hong Kong Dunmei school history|publisher=Hong Kong university|date=1 January 2007|access-date=28 August 2007}}</ref><ref name="oralhistory">{{cite web|url=http://www.hku.hk/hkcsp/oral_wanchai.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301182609/http://www.hku.hk/hkcsp/oral_wanchai.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 March 2007|title=The Hong Kong Oral History Archives Project|publisher=University of Hong Kong Centre of Cultural studies|date=1 January 2007|access-date=28 August 2007}}</ref> It taught [[classical Chinese]] writings and [[Confucianism|Confucian]] ethics.

In 1936, the Chinese Methodist Church ({{lang-zh|t=香港基督教循道衛理教會|labels=no}}) moved its building from [[Caine Road]], [[Mid-Levels|Mid-levels]] Central, to [[Hennessy Road]] ({{lang-zh|t=軒尼詩道|labels=no}}), Wanchai, a thoroughfare of the district running from west to east.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.methodist.org.hk/about/|title=香港基督教循道衛理聯合教會之歷史|website=www.methodist.org.hk|access-date=19 March 2018}}</ref> This church building became the landmark of the district. In 1998, this building was demolished and replaced by a 23-storey building.