November 27, 2017

3206 CHINA (Hong Kong) - Double-deck tramcar in front of Western Market


Hong Kong Tramways, which has served the territory since 1904, covers the northern parts of Hong Kong Island. Owing to strong passenger demand, the first double-deck tramcar was introduced in 1912. It had an open top design, fitted with garden-type seats. The first class occupied the upper deck and one-third of the lower deck. Ten new tramcars were constructed, and 18 were rebuilt from single deck cars.

The current fleet stands at 164 double-deck trams which is the world's largest fleet of double-deck trams still in service. It is also the only one in the world operated exclusively with double-decker trams, and is one of only three non-heritage tram systems in the world that use double-deck cars the others being Blackpool Tramway, United Kingdom and Alexandria Tram, Egypt.

Western Market, which came into business in September 1844, is one of the oldest structures in Sheung Wan. The current structure was the North Block of the original Western Market, and is the oldest surviving market building in the city. This building, of the Queen Anne Revival style of the Edwardian period, was built in 1906 as an extension of the then existing Western Market. It was the former site of Harbour Office that had been moved to a reclamation area in Central District.

The brickwork on the four corner towers is "bandaged", giving a polychromatic effect. It was blue, but was later painted red to suit the architectural style. It operated as a food market until 1988. The building was damaged during the construction of Sheung Wan Station, and remediation works were undertaken afterward. In 1990, it was declared a historical monument and the renovated market building re-opened as "the Western Market" in 1991. Further refurnishment work was conducted in 2003.

About the stamp


The stamp, designed by Jason Chum, was issued on June 20, 2017 to mark The 20th Anniversary of the Stationing of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in Hong Kong.

References
Western Market - Wikipedia
Hong Kong Tramways - Wikipedia

Sender: Pumipat
Sent from Hong Kong (Hong Kong / China), on 23.10.2017

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