Chek Lap Kok
{{Short description|Island in New Territories, Hong Kong}}
{{About|the island in Hong Kong|the airport located on the island|Hong Kong International Airport}}
{{Infobox islands
| name = Chek Lap Kok
| native_name = {{nobold|赤鱲角}}
| native_name_lang = zh-HK-Hant
| image_name = A bird's eye view of Hong Kong International Airport.JPG
| image_size =
| image_caption = Aerial view of the airport island in 2010
| map_image = Chek Lap Kok location map.svg
| map_size =
| map_caption = Location of Chek Lap Kok in Hong Kong
| label =
| label_position =
| coordinates = {{coord|22|18|19.1|N|113|55|18.6|E|type:island_region:HK|display=inline,title}}
| location = North of Lantau Island
| pop =
| archipelago =
| waterbody =
| total_islands =
| major_islands =
| area_km2 = 12.48
| rank =
| length_km = 4
| width_km =
| coastline_km =
| elevation_m =
| highest_mount =
| country = Hong Kong
| country_capital_type =
| country_largest_city_type =
| country_capital_and_largest_city =
| country_area_km2 =
| population =
}}
{{Chinese
| order = ts
| t = 赤鱲角
| s = 赤𫚭角
| j = cek3 laap6 gok3
| y = Cheklaahpgok
| ci = {{IPAc-yue|c|ek|3|.|l|aap|6|.|g|ok|3}}
| p = Chìlièjiǎo
| l = Red Perch Cape
| w = {{tonesup|Ch‘ih4-lieh4-chiao3}}
| mi = {{IPAc-cmn|ch|^|4|.|l|ie|4|.|j|iao|3}}
| bpmf = ㄔˋ ㄌㄧㄝˋ ㄐㄧㄠˇ
}}
File:Lantau Island reclamation.png, Lam Chau and Chek Lap Kok.]]
Chek Lap Kok is an island in the western waters of Hong Kong's New Territories. Unlike the smaller Lam Chau, it was only partially leveled when it was assimilated via land reclamation into the {{convert|12.48|km2}} island for the current Hong Kong International Airport, which opened for commercial aviation in 1998. The airport is popularly referred to as Chek Lap Kok Airport to distinguish it from the former Hong Kong International Airport, now commonly known as Kai Tak Airport.
Hong Kong SkyCity, a business and entertainment complex, is also located on Chek Lap Kok. It includes AsiaWorld–Expo, a convention and exhibition centre, which opened in 2005. Cathay Pacific City, the head office of Cathay Pacific;"[http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/contactus/portcountrycontacts?countryCode=HK Hong Kong]." Cathay Pacific. Retrieved on 8 September 2010. HAECO,{{cite web|url=https://www.haeco.com/en/Contact-Us/Location-Map|title=Location Map|publisher=HAECO|access-date=2020-03-08|quote=Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Co. Ltd. (HAECO Group) 80 South Perimeter Road Hong Kong International Airport Lantau, Hong Kong|archive-date=2020-08-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802001632/https://www.haeco.com/en/Contact-Us/Location-Map|url-status=dead}} and formerly Hong Kong Airlines"[http://www.hongkongairlines.com/cms/language!dispatchModule.action?menuId=299&country_code=HK&request_locale=en_GB Contact Us > Hong Kong]." Hong Kong Airlines. Retrieved on 7 November 2011. "Headquarter Office Address: L2 CNAC House, 12 Tung Fai Road, Hong Kong International Airport, Lantau, Hong Kong" are also located on the airport platform.
Name
The name of the island may be derived from the bareness of the island ('da chek lak'), that the shape of the island resembles the Pagrus ('chek lap', {{lang|yue-HK|赤鱲}}), or that the fish was once abundant in its vicinity.{{Cite web |url=http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/Monument/en/oe_lantau_island.php |title=Antiquities and Monuments Office: Chek Lap Kok Island and its history |access-date=2011-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809053942/http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Monument/en/oe_lantau_island.php |archive-date=2011-08-09 |url-status=dead }}
Geography
The island is located north of Lantau Island off Ma Wan Chung and Tung Chung. Before the building of the airport platform, it was a small and hilly island, about {{convert|4|km}} long, with an area of {{convert|3.02|km2}}{{cite book |author1=Plant, G.W. |author2=Covil, C.S. |author3=Hughes, R.A. |author4=Airport Authority Hong Kong | title=Site Preparation for the New Hong Kong International Airport | publisher=Thomas Telford | year=1998 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NVlGrr9WOp4C | isbn=978-0-7277-2696-4}} (other sources mention {{convert|2.8|km2}}). The southern end of the island formed a small peninsula, which has been left largely undeveloped. This area is facing Tung Chung and is now named Scenic Hill.[http://hk.centamap.com/gc/centamaplocation.aspx?x=811309&y=817133&sx=811309.95751&sy=817133.36618&z=4&lg=b5 Map of Chek Lap Kok showing Scenic Hill] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719174210/http://hk.centamap.com/gc/centamaplocation.aspx?x=811309&y=817133&sx=811309.95751&sy=817133.36618&z=4&lg=b5 |date=July 19, 2011 }}[http://www.epd.gov.hk/eia/register/report/eiareport/eia_0902003/Figuresrev1/Sec_9%20(CH)rev1.htm Tung Chung - Ngong Ping Cable Car Project: Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment, March 2003] It is the site of the Ancient Kiln Park[http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/media/press-releases/pr_828.html Press release: "HKIA unveils Airport Trail and historical park", 18 March 2006] and the Airport Island Angle Station of the Ngong Ping 360 cable car.[http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr02-03/english/bc/bc04/papers/bc40331cb1-1311-1e.pdf Presentation of the Tung Chung Cable Car Project, 31 March 200]
History
The island has been inhabited on and off since the Middle Neolithic period 6,000 years ago.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the inhabitants of the island practiced farming, including rice cultivation, and quarrying.{{cite book |last= |first= |author-link= |date=August 1994 |title=Geology of Chek Lap Kok |url=http://www.cedd.gov.hk/eng/publications/sheet/sheet_g2.htm |series=Hong Kong Geological Survey Sheet Report No. 2|location=Hong Kong |publisher=Geotechnical Engineering Office, Civil Engineering Department |page= |issn=1022-6168 |isbn=|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110927043455/http://www.cedd.gov.hk/eng/publications/sheet/sheet_g2.htm|archive-date= 2011-09-27}}
At the time of the 1911 census, the population of Chek Lap Kok was 77. The number of males was 55.{{Cite journal| last = Hase| first = Patrick |author-link=Patrick Hase| title = Traditional Life in the New Territories: The Evidence of the 1911 and 1921 Censuses| journal =Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch| volume = 36| page = 82| year = 1996| url = https://hkjo.lib.hku.hk/archive/files/ecc123316b3526a31a101b3c4cf08a12.pdf| issn = 1991-7295}} The population was about 200 in the 1950s, rising sharply in the 1960s. The population later declined, with some 20 families remaining on the island when the plan for the construction of a new airport was announced in the early 1990s.{{Cite web |url=http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/Monument/en/oe_lantau_modern.php |title=Antiquities and Monuments Office: Chek Lap Kok Island and its history. Modern Period |access-date=2011-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017033403/http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/Monument/en/oe_lantau_modern.php |archive-date=2012-10-17 |url-status=dead }}
Archeological surveys and investigations were conducted on the island starting in the late 1970s. A salvage archaeology project started in October 1990.[http://www.seaa-web.org/arc-eaa-04.htm#4 Robert Esser, Chek Lap Kok: project synopsis as of 20 May 1991] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301075451/http://www.seaa-web.org/arc-eaa-04.htm#4 |date=March 1, 2011 }}
The original farming and fishing villages on the island were relocated to Chek Lap Kok New Village aka. Chek Lap Kok San Tsuen ({{zh|t=赤鱲角新村|labels=no}}) near Tung Chung on Lantau Island. A Tin Hau Temple had been built in 1823 at the north east of the island. The entire temple was built of granite quarried on the island.{{Cite web |url=http://www.cedd.gov.hk/eng/publications/sheet/doc/g2_chapter_8.pdf |title=Geology of Chek Lap Kok. Chapter 8. 1994 |access-date=2011-04-07 |archive-date=2012-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318211759/http://www.cedd.gov.hk/eng/publications/sheet/doc/g2_chapter_8.pdf |url-status=dead }} It was dismantled in 1991 and rebuilt in 1994 at its present location.{{Cite web |url=http://www.islandsdc.gov.hk/index.php?action=sight&did=2&sid=8 |title=Exploring Islands - Tung Chung |access-date=2011-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222174607/http://www.islandsdc.gov.hk/index.php?action=sight&did=2&sid=8 |archive-date=2012-02-22 |url-status=dead }} Chek Lap Kok San Tsuen is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy.{{cite web |url=https://www.landsd.gov.hk/doc/en/small-house/rv0909.pdf |title=List of Recognized Villages under the New Territories Small House Policy |last= |first= |date=September 2009 |website= |publisher=Lands Department |access-date= |quote=}}
Also, Romer's tree frog (Philautus romeri), a unique species of finger-sized frog found only in Hong Kong, was relocated from Chek Lap Kok to new habitats on Lantau Island before construction of the airport.
A third runway at Hong Kong Airport is being built as part of the Hong Kong International Airport Master Plan 2030.
File:20091002 Hong Kong Ngong Ping 360 Skyrail 6420.jpg|View of the Airport Island Angle Station of the Ngong Ping 360 cable car system built on Scenic Hill, the unlevelled peninsula in the south of Chek Lap Kok.
File:Scenic_Hill_Pavilion.jpg|Scenic Hill Pavilion
File:HK ChepLapKokTinHauTemple.JPG|Rebuilt Tin Hau Temple in the new Chek Lap Kok Village.
Climate
{{Weather box|width=auto
|location = Hong Kong International Airport (Averages and extremes, 1998–present)
|metric first=yes
|single line=yes
|Jan record high C = 27.2
|Feb record high C = 29.6
|Mar record high C = 31.4
|Apr record high C = 33.5
|May record high C = 37.6
|Jun record high C = 36.6
|Jul record high C = 38.3
|Aug record high C = 37.8
|Sep record high C = 37.4
|Oct record high C = 34.2
|Nov record high C = 33.4
|Dec record high C = 29.6
|Jan high C = 19.4
|Feb high C = 20.9
|Mar high C = 23.5
|Apr high C = 27.2
|May high C = 30.3
|Jun high C = 32.0
|Jul high C = 33.0
|Aug high C = 32.9
|Sep high C = 32.0
|Oct high C = 29.8
|Nov high C = 25.8
|Dec high C = 21.2
|year high C = 27.3
|Jan mean C = 16.3
|Feb mean C = 17.8
|Mar mean C = 20.2
|Apr mean C = 24.0
|May mean C = 27.2
|Jun mean C = 29.0
|Jul mean C = 29.8
|Aug mean C = 29.6
|Sep mean C = 28.7
|Oct mean C = 26.5
|Nov mean C = 22.5
|Dec mean C = 18.0
|Jan low C = 13.7
|Feb low C = 15.3
|Mar low C = 17.7
|Apr low C = 21.6
|May low C = 24.7
|Jun low C = 26.6
|Jul low C = 27.2
|Aug low C = 26.9
|Sep low C = 26.2
|Oct low C = 24.1
|Nov low C = 19.9
|Dec low C = 15.2
|Jan record low C = 2.9
|Feb record low C = 6.0
|Mar record low C = 7.7
|Apr record low C = 12.2
|May record low C = 17.5
|Jun record low C = 20.4
|Jul record low C = 23.6
|Aug record low C = 23.5
|Sep record low C = 20.2
|Oct record low C = 15.9
|Nov record low C = 8.8
|Dec record low C = 4.8
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 29.6
|Feb precipitation mm = 34.2
|Mar precipitation mm = 65.8
|Apr precipitation mm = 155.5
|May precipitation mm = 246.6
|Jun precipitation mm = 426.2
|Jul precipitation mm = 272.5
|Aug precipitation mm = 335.5
|Sep precipitation mm = 214.5
|Oct precipitation mm = 38.4
|Nov precipitation mm = 41.8
|Dec precipitation mm = 41.2
|Jan humidity = 67
|Feb humidity = 73
|Mar humidity = 74
|Apr humidity = 76
|May humidity = 75
|Jun humidity = 76
|Jul humidity = 74
|Aug humidity = 75
|Sep humidity = 71
|Oct humidity = 65
|Nov humidity = 65
|Dec humidity = 61
|unit rain days = 0.5 mm
|Jan rain days = 3.3
|Feb rain days = 4.7
|Mar rain days = 6.7
|Apr rain days = 8.3
|May rain days = 12.4
|Jun rain days = 16.5
|Jul rain days = 15.3
|Aug rain days = 13.6
|Sep rain days = 9.8
|Oct rain days = 3.6
|Nov rain days = 3.7
|Dec rain days = 3.8
|source 1 = Hong Kong Observatory{{cite web
| url = http://www.weather.gov.hk/aviat/amt_e/monthlymean_e.htm
| title = Monthly Means of the Meteorological Elements at Hong Kong International Airport January 1998 - December 2014
| publisher = Hong Kong Observatory
| access-date = April 5, 2016}}{{cite web
| url = http://www.weather.gov.hk/cis/region_climat/HKA/HKA_statistic_e.htm
| title = Monthly Means of Meteorological Elements for Hong Kong International Airport, 1998-2015: Cold/Hot Weather and Rainfall statistics
| publisher = Hong Kong Observatory
| access-date = April 5, 2016}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.hko.gov.hk/en/wxinfo/dailywx/dailywx.htm|title = Daily Weather Summary and Radiation Level|publisher=Hong Kong Observatory}}
}}
Education
Most of Lantau Island, including Chek Lap Kok New Village, is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 98, which contains multiple aided schools on Lantau Island; no government primary schools are in this net.{{cite web|url=https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/edu-system/primary-secondary/spa-systems/primary-1-admission/school-lists/2023dpnet-98b.pdf|title=POA School Net 98|publisher=Education Bureau|accessdate=2022-09-12}}
See also
{{portal|Islands}}
- {{Portal inline|Hong Kong}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category|Chek Lap Kok}}
- [https://www.had.gov.hk/rre/images/village_map1922/T/t-tc-08.pdf Delineation of area of existing village Chek Lap Kok (Tung Chung) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)] (Chek Lap Kok New Village)
{{Islands District}}
{{Islands of Hong Kong}}
{{NTTaxi}}
{{Lantautaxi}}
{{HKIA}}
Category:Artificial islands of Hong Kong