Possession Street, Hong Kong

Possession Street is often associated with the moment when Hong Kong officially came under British possession, marks the boundary between Queen’s Road West and Queen’s Road Central.

On 20 January 1841, the Convention of Chuenpi was negotiated between Charles Elliot of Britain and Qishan of the Qing dynasty, outlining preliminary terms for the cession of Hong Kong Island. Shortly afterward, naval officer Edward Belcher arrived with a British fleet to survey the area. His team identified an elevated flat ground above the shoreline as a suitable place to set up camp. A path was created from the beach up to this temporary encampment, and that path eventually evolved into what is now Possession Street. The elevated plain they chose is today known as Hollywood Road Park.

On 26 January 1841, Commander James John Gordon Bremer, head of the Far East Fleet, arrived and conducted the official possession ceremony. Flags were raised, guns were fired, and Hong Kong was formally proclaimed under British rule. The landing site became known as Possession Point, a name that survives in local memory even though the shoreline has since been pushed outward through reclamation.

By the late 19th century, Possession Street took on a very different character. It became an area known for its licensed brothels, a reputation shared with several neighboring streets. In 1903, these establishments were relocated to Shek Tong Tsui, transforming that district into a thriving entertainment quarter frequented by wealthy Chinese merchants. Possession Street, meanwhile, shifted toward residential use and gradually lost its red-light associations.

Today, although much of the original shoreline has disappeared beneath reclaimed land, Possession Street remains a quiet reminder of Hong Kong’s earliest colonial chapter—one of the few places where you can stand close to the site of the island’s first official British landing. Visitors walking along the street today will find local shops, traditional dried-goods stores, and cafes. At the northern end, Hollywood Road Park, the former Possession Point, features plaques and displays explaining the 1841 landing, along with shaded paths and sculptures that commemorate the area’s past.