StoneCutter Island

Yesterday morning I was out for a run from Hung Hom to Tsien Wan.  At the junction of Sham Mong Road (深旺道) and Hing Wah Street West (興華街西) I found a pedestrian ramp leading south west along Hing Way Street West.  That was generally in the direction of StoneCutter Island and the container terminals.  I was intrigued and decided to explore.  I figured that I might come upon some dead-end and have to turn back.  I would still be able to run a satisfactory distance and learn something.  That started my half-day tour of StoneCutter Island.  

Soon I came to the waterfront where I could see StoneCutter Island.  It used to be a real island where there were barracks of the British Army in the Colonial Days.  Now it is connected to Kowloon because huge areas of the waters between the island had been reclaimed.  The barracks are still there but they are now occupied by the People’s Liberation Army.  

Entering the island from the north-east, I came upon the Government Dockyards.  Here is a water-selling station.  I suppose this is where the ocean-going ships buy their drinking water?

The smell of rotting garbage started getting rather unpleasant although not yet overwhelming.  

Surely enough, I soon found the entrance where garbage trucks continuously file in and out of the loading area.  Where is the garbage being taken?  To the landfills, perhaps?  

Soon I came upon the boundary between the government dockyard and the (eastern part of the) military compound.  

I ran around the outside of the barracks, and arrived at the main entrance on other (western) side of the barracks.  I couldn’t get in, of course. 

Beyond the barracks is the beginning of the the container terminals.  Here huge trucks drop off their cargo, to be loaded onto the barges.  

This is also the eastern end of the StoneCutter Island.  There appears to be no way to get on the bridge.  So I tried to run underneath it, to see how far I could go before being stopped by the water.  

While I concentrated on finding my way, I almost stepped on a dog!  It sprung up and barked fiercely.  Fortunately it was chained.  I don’t blame it for being upset.  It was completely my fault for running into its territory.  

So I turned back, giving up running under the bridge.  Instead I tried to run along the container terminals, despite the exhaust from the heavy trucks, the dangerous traffic, and the thick dust on the pavement.  

At one point, I spotted customs officers checking on some cargo containers. 

Eventually, however, I decided that it was too hazardous and returned to my normal route, ran past the hospitals on the hills, and arrived safely in Tsuen Wan.