Statue Square - Named for Statues Mostly Gone

A stop on Hong Kong: Star Ferry to the Peak, a free self-guided tour.

This open plaza was first called Royal Square. It became Statue Square after a statue of Queen Victoria was unveiled here in 1896, and over the following decades it filled with bronze British royals and colonial figures.

Then came World War II. During the Japanese occupation most of the statues were shipped to Japan to be melted down. Queen Victoria came back after the war but was moved to Victoria Park in Causeway Bay. Today only one freestanding statue remains here: Sir Thomas Jackson, a 19th-century chief manager of HSBC, whose head office rises across the road to the south.

At the north end stands the Cenotaph, unveiled in 1923 as a copy of the war memorial in London. Come on a Sunday and the square changes character completely. Since the 1980s, thousands of Filipina domestic workers have spent their day off here and in the surrounding walkways, sharing home-cooked food, cards and conversation.

Getting here: Walk inland from Pier 7 past City Hall, then cross Connaught Road Central by the pedestrian subway or crossings to reach Statue Square, about 10 minutes.

Did you know?: The square's statue of King George V was taken during the war and never came back; it was lost and never replaced.

Photo op: From the north side of the square near the Cenotaph, look south to frame the Jackson statue with the HSBC building rising behind it.

More on Wikipedia: Statue Square · Sir Thomas Jackson, 1st Baronet · The Cenotaph, Hong Kong · Victoria Park

Statue Square - Named for Statues Mostly Gone

Stops on this tour