NEW TOWNS
5
Medical and Health will be assigned to the new towns to deal with the problems relating to their particular fields. Voluntary welfare agencies are also being called upon to play a part in the fabric of the new towns.
Tsuen Wan: Tripartite Growth
Lying to the north-west of Kowloon, Tsuen Wan New Town covers an area of approx- imately 2,700 hectares and comprises the three main districts of Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and Tsing Yi Island. "Tsuen Wan' derives its name from an earlier appellation, Ch'ien Wan, meaning 'shallow bay' in Cantonese; Ch'ien Wan is listed in very old Chinese gazetteers of the area and it is also inscribed on a bell found in the local Tin Hau temple, which is dated 1744. Archaeological finds suggest that aboriginal people lived in the area more than 2,000 years ago, with Chinese settlement beginning during the Tang Han Dynasty (25 to 220). The notable Lei Cheng Uk Tomb, discovered in 1955 at Cheung Sha Wan a nearby district in Kowloon, was probably constructed during this period.
At the end of 1978, Tsuen Wan New Town's population was 553,000 and it is planned to ultimately grow to 900,000. The development of Tsuen Wan Central and of Kwai Chung, where Hong Kong's container terminal is located, has been sub- stantially completed; the bulk of the new population is to be concentrated in Tsuen Wan North and Tsing Yi Island, where major engineering works are now taking place. Before Tsuen Wan gained new town status, there already was a large built-up area in existence. It was here that most of Hong Kong's important textile mills and clothing factories were established by businessmen who left Shanghai when a change of government seemed inevitable in the late 1940s. In those days, the needs of workers in Hong Kong were basic and many of the older areas of Tsuen Wan have lacked amenities such as parks, sufficient schools, adequate transport and cultural centres. Under the new town programme thorough surveys of every street, lane and corner have been undertaken in the older built-up areas and this is being followed up by a careful schedule of tree-planting, upgrading of markets and making the best use of any open space. Older housing blocks are being improved. The Tai Wo Estate, con- structed in 1961 to accommodate 46,000 people, is currently being redeveloped under a 10-year programme, bringing it into line with modern standards and reducing its population to 30,000.
The decision to extend the underground Mass Transit Railway to Tsuen Wan has necessitated the replanning of urban areas to accommodate stations, transport inter- changes and a depot. The railway extension, scheduled for completion in 1982, will provide a much-needed transport link for the area but the necessary acquisition of land has caused problems where people have bought their own flats, or where long- established squatter factories have had to be moved. The Tsuen Wan extension comprises five stations within the new town area, near the largest public housing estates. A private housing development to be built over the railway's maintenance depot will accommodate 20,000 people.
An extensive programme of school building is forging ahead in Tsuen Wan. At least 20 more secondary schools are needed and 16 will be built by 1982. Six secondary schools and the Kwai Chung Sportsground were completed during the year and construction work was proceeding on six other secondary schools. A 1,300-bed