Cho Yiu Chuen, which can be considered the “most beautiful public housing estate” in Hong Kong, has long been famous. Finally, I visited there with friends, including Lai Yiu and Lai King Estate, during Lunar New Year.
As a result of wandering around aimlessly, Cho Yiu Chuen became the first stop.
The stunning view in Hong Kong
Arriving at the public housing was stunning. After the Lunar New Year, it became one of my top 5 public housing estates.
Anyway, I have a bit of a connection with Cho Yiu Chuen. The reason is that I took my HKCEE and HKALE Chinese oral exams in a secondary school in it. Fortunately, I was able to get an A on both occasions. Therefore, I had already silently believed that the public housing would bring me good luck.
Beautiful Shapes with unique design
Cho Yiu Chuen’s design is comfortable, harmonious, and beautiful with orange, yellow, and white buildings. The neat lines and symmetrical structures also leave a deep impression.
Furthermore, the estate is built on a hill and has been thoughtfully designed. The residents enjoy breathtaking sunset views from Lai King to Kwai Chung Container Terminal.
Awarded Public Housing in Hong Kong
Cho Yiu Chuen is named after Sir Cho Yiu Kwan, the founding member of the Housing Society in Hong Kong. It was completed between 1976 and 1981, but the architectural design does not feel outdated. When the estate was completed, it was quite pioneering, being the first public housing estate in Hong Kong with a swimming pool.
Great Community Planning
Award-winning public space design, with scattered buildings on platforms of different heights, forms a unique visual effect.
Split Level Design
One of the most distinctive features of the estate’s building design is the staggered design of some of the buildings, such as Kai King House, Kai Hang House, Kai Min House, and Kai Chien House, where one unit consists of two flats, and each building is composed of several wings connected by open-air corridors or footbridges every three floors.
The purpose of this design was to strengthen the spirit of mutual assistance among neighbours to reduce crime, and the open lobby also enhances natural ventilation and lighting. The emphasis on public space is believed to be due to the fact that, at the time, there was not such a strong awareness of privacy and security, and the housing unit designs were not large, but each unit had a large number of residents.
The designers also anticipated a greater need for residents to use public space outside the units, and hoped to enhance residents’ sense of belonging to their neighbourhood and living spaces by designing parks, playgrounds, and wider unit corridors.
The Drawbacks of The Public Housing
While Cho Yiu Chuen has many merits in terms of its beauty and housing planning, there are some drawbacks, such as inconvenient transportation, especially for elderly people, compared to other housing estates like Lai Yiu Estate.
But if we are only talking about the experience of walking through the housing estate, Cho Yiu Chuen does live up to its reputation as the most beautiful public housing estate in Hong Kong.
Information
Location:1-5 Lai Cho Road / 2 & 3 Lim Cho Street / 2-6 Wing Cho Street, Kwai Chung, New Territories
Year of Intake: 1976/1978/1979/1981
No. of Blocks: 9
Types of Blocks: central corridor style, terrace corridor style, split-level long type, split-level cross type
Source: Hong Kong Housing Society, Wikipedia
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