Chapter 958: A visit to Yuen Long District

On the first day the Kowloon Museum opened, many bigwigs were there, and for security reasons, there were significant restrictions on the number of people allowed in. And a lot of time was wasted in the morning, but even so, 11,231 visitors were still received.

On the second day, Sunday, there were no bigwigs present, and the Kowloon Cultural Museum had fewer restrictions on the number of people entering, and as a result, it received more than 20,000 visitors that day.

Although the museum was packed, it did not reach its maximum capacity.

According to the design when the museum was built, the maximum number of visitors the Kowloon Cultural Museum can receive in a day is 60,000, and a reasonable number is about 30,000 to 40,000.

However, the Jiulong Museum of Culture has only just opened to the public, and the management is still relatively inexperienced. For safety reasons, it is impossible to completely open it up.

Perhaps after half a year or a year of operation, the Jiulong Museum of Culture will consider lowering the maximum number of visitors to a minimum.

Of course, the prerequisite is that there are enough enthusiastic visitors at that time, and the Jiulong Museum of Culture is still attractive enough to visitors.

Xia Yu had heard in a previous life that the Palace Museum, which is similar in size to the Jiulong Museum of Culture, had a record of receiving 120,000 visitors per day at its peak!

I don't know if the Kowloon Museum of Cultural History will ever reach that number, but maybe it won't. After all, the Palace Museum not only has the support of 1.3 billion people, it also attracts tourists from all over the world...

The third to seventh days of the free opening were weekdays, so the number of visitors dropped significantly, but even so, the number of visitors per day exceeded 10,000.

The eighth day was also a Saturday.

It was the first day after the free opening for a fee.

Even though the admission fee for adults was HK$10 and for children half price at HK$5, it still could not dampen the enthusiasm of the public for the HK$40 million national treasure.

On that day, the number of visitors reached 23,228, and the admission revenue reached more than HK$206,500.

The daily turnover of Wellcome Supermarket and 7-Eleven convenience store outside the Kowloon Cultural Museum exceeded HK$300,000.

A street in the vicinity developed by the Jiuding Real Estate Development Company was fully let, with all the shops except for those of a sister company already rented out, and various catering and other service industry shops appeared.

A large landmark museum directly led to the rise of a small business district.

...

Sunday, April 11th.

Xia Yu, who should have been resting at home, appeared with Li Qian at the Xiliu Fushan in Haicun Township, Yuen Long District, New Territories.

And standing next to him was none other than the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Murray MacLehose, and his wife, Lady MacLehose.

In addition, the security personnel brought by Xia Yu and MacLehose were all nearby.

The reason for coming here today was because MacLehose had invited Xia Yu to take advantage of the fact that it was a non-working day to go out for a stroll and privately discuss the Xiangjiang Science and Technology Industrial Park with Xia Yu.

As I said, although MacLehose is the Governor of Hong Kong and the construction and planning of Xiangjiang is his right, Xia Yu has an extraordinary social status. Moreover, Xia Yu proposed this plan and will be the main force in the construction of the Science and Technology Industrial Park. Therefore, MacLehose still wants to get Xia Yu's opinion in private to avoid repeated changes in policy after it is announced.

'Mr Xia, we are here now. What do you think of building the Science and Technology Industrial Park here?'

While selling Deng Liting and Li Qian chatting, MacLehose pointed to the location on the map and said to Xia Yu: 'Mr. Xia, we are here now. What do you think of building the technology industrial park here?'

Xia Yu looked carefully at the location roughly circled by MacLehose, combined with the impression in his mind, and said with a smile, 'Governor, your choice is very wise. I think this is the most suitable place to build the industrial park.'

After saying that, Xia Yu looked up and looked at the endless expanse of undeveloped wilderness in front of him, and a look of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

As Xia Yu had said, this was indeed the most suitable place to build an industrial park.

In Xia Yu's original plan, the most suitable place for industry in the New Territories was Yuen Long District, followed by Tai Po District, where there was now a large industrial park. However, no suggestion had been made as to the exact location of the planned technology industrial park.

After all, Yuen Long District had a total area of 138 square kilometres, which was three times the size of Kowloon and 1.8 times the size of Hong Kong Island. A technology industrial park simply did not need such a large area.

Just think of the Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan, which has a planned area of only 21 square kilometres, and it seems that even in the future, only a little more than 6 square kilometres will be developed and utilised.

Back to the topic.

Yuen Long can be said to be one of the 18 local administrative regions in Hong Kong with the longest history. It is the district with the most northerly location among the 18 districts in Hong Kong. It is located in the northwestern part of the New Territories, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with a flat terrain. It extends from Chau Tau in the east, adjacent to Ma Tso Lung in the North District, to Hung Shui Kiu in the south, connecting with Lam Tei in the Tuen Mun District.

Yuen Long is a plain. Originally, this was a continuous stretch of farmland. In the mountainous Xiangjiang, this is the only flat and vast plain. In ancient times, this was a rural gathering place based on fishing and farming. Residents made a living by farming fields or raising fish in fish ponds.

Although the history of Yuen Long District can be traced back to the Qin Dynasty, it seems that Yuen Long District is the most backward area in Hong Kong, and is synonymous with slums. Tin Shui Wai and Nam Sang Wai are in Yuen Long District. Here, transportation is extremely backward, the development rate is very low, and most of the area is fields, fish ponds or wilderness.

In terms of internal administrative divisions, Yuen Long District is composed of Ha Tsuen Heung, Ping Shan Heung, Shap Pat Heung, Kam Tin Heung, Pat Heung, and San Tin Heung.

Nam Sang Wai, which is well known, is in Shap Pat Heung, and Tin Shui Wai is in Ping Shan Heung.

The place where Xia Yu and the others are currently located is Ha Tsuen Heung in the southwest of Yuen Long District.

MacLehose was also pleased with Xia Yu's nonchalant praise, and he said with a smile, 'Although the Yuen Long plain is large enough, the reason why we have given priority to this area is that it is adjacent to Tuen Mun District and has many advantages.'

'Tuen Mun District has a population of nearly 400,000, and there is the Castle Peak Power Station in the south of Tuen Mun District, and the Black Point Power Station under construction in the west. Tuen Mun District can guarantee the supply of electricity and human resources for the Science and Technology Industrial Park.'

'Oh, I remember that both the Castle Peak Power Station and the Black Point Power Station were constructed and operated by your power company, right?'

Looking at MacLehose smiling at him, Xia Yu nodded with a smile, 'I remember.'

'By the way, Governor, how large does the Hong Kong government plan to build this technology industrial park?'

Facing Xia Yu's question, MacLehose did not hide it: 'At present, the Hong Kong government has not yet reached a conclusion internally. The key is that it is uncertain how many companies can be attracted to move in.'

'This technology industrial park was proposed by you, Mr. Xia. The most advanced company to move in will definitely be your company. What are your more detailed views on the planning of this park?'

Xia Yu pondered for a moment, and asked MacLehose, 'Governor, you should know about the Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan, right?'

MacLehose nodded without hesitation and said, "Of course, it was the first science and technology industrial park in Taiwan. I remember that the planned area reached 21 square kilometres.'

At this, MacLehose raised an eyebrow and said, "Are you suggesting that Hong Kong's science and technology industrial park should follow the example of the Hsinchu Science Park in Taiwan?'

Xia Yu shook his head and laughed, 'Governor, it's not a question of following the Hsinchu Science Park, my suggestion is to surpass it, because compared to the industrial positioning of the Hsinchu Science Park, the industrial positioning and planning of Hong Kong is broader.'

'The Hsinchu Science Park is modelled on the American Silicon Valley, and its positioning is the electronics and semiconductor industries, with the aim of creating Taiwan's Silicon Valley.'

'But the positioning of our Hong Kong Science and Technology Industrial Park is electronic high-tech, heavy machinery manufacturing and the petrochemical industry.'

'The petrochemical industry chain with oil refineries at its core and the heavy machinery manufacturing industry chain with automobile manufacturing at its core both have a huge demand for land. If our Xiangjiang Science and Technology Industrial Park is comparable in size to the Hsinchu Science and Technology Industrial Park, then it won't be a problem at the beginning of development, but later on, the shortage of space in the industrial park will become apparent.'

'But by that time, if you want to expand, the cost will be much higher than if you do it now when the land is still wild.'

'Even then, the development of the industrial park will drive the development of the surrounding residential areas, making it impossible to expand.'

'So my suggestion is to plan as much as possible at the very beginning.'