Generic Sha Tin estate City One gets some colour from mainland students
City One in Sha Tin looks as drab as its name. But an influx of mainland students has lent it a measure of youthful energy
City One could have come straight out of George Orwell's , with its setting in a place called Airstrip One. With 51 towering white-and-green blocks, the residential complex in Sha Tin is as nondescript as its name.
City One is one of the largest high-density private housing developments, and was built in 1980. At the time, it joined Taikoo Shing on Hong Kong Island and Mei Foo Sun Chuen in Kowloon to serve the emerging middle class.
The estate - now home to 15,799 residents, according to a census last year - sits on reclaimed land at the foot of Lion Rock along the bank of the pencil-straight Shing Mun River Channel.
A characterless neighbourhood it may seem, but district councillor William Wong Ka-wing, a resident since 1984, says it reflects the economic and social transformation of the city.
He recalls that when the first phase of City One was built, the economy was on its last legs as a manufacturing powerhouse.
"It was a time when you could make money as long as you worked hard; even if you didn't do well in school, you could make extra money by putting in a few more hours at the factory," Wong says. "Most residents of City One were people who benefitted from those golden days. I myself earned HK$1,500 a month in my first teaching job, and soon bought a home here for HK$270,000 in 1984."
