City One

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City One
Chinese:		第一城
Mandarin
Mandarin	Hanyu Pinyin:	Dì Yī Chéng
Cantonese
Cantonese	IPA:	[tɐɪ₂₂ jɐt₅₅ sɪŋ₁₁]
	Jyutping:	dai6 jat1 sing4

City One (Chinese: 第一城) is a residential area in Sha Tin, Hong Kong, China built by a consortium of New World Development, Henderson Land Development, Sun Hung Kai Properties and Cheung Kong Holdings. Because it is located in Sha Tin, it is usually referred to as "City One, Sha Tin" (Chinese: 沙田第一城).

1 Overview
2 Construction
3 Recreation and shopping
4 Transportation
5 Health and education

[edit] Overview

City One is the largest residential estate in the Sha Tin District. There are a total of 52 blocks of residential buildings. These buildings each tower about 30 storeys with units ranging from an area of 395 sq feet to an area of 1018 sq feet. It has been dubbed by leading architectural journals as the 'green lung' of Shatin.

[edit] Construction

The construction of the City One Residential Apartments was completed in seven stages. Stage One, the construction Blocks 1 through 14, was completed in August 1981. The success of Stage One led to the completion of Blocks 15 through 23 in June 1982, Blocks 29 through 33 in September 1983, Blocks 37 to 45 in June 1985, Blocks 27 to 28 and 46 to 52 in November 1985, and Blocks 24 through 26 in September 1986. The final stage of construction, Stage Seven, was finished in January 1988 with the construction of Blocks 34 through 36.

The property was developed by 4 major developers led by Henderson Land Development Company Limited

The developer of Stage 1 and 2 was Sun Hung Kai Properties.

In the summer of 2006, rumour was rife that international 'starchitect' Daniel Libeskind was planning an extension building to the existing City One Plaza. However, due to the excessive use of green tinted glass on his sharp trademark shards led to the disagreement of City One's Goon Ley Chu (Building Management). Libeskind was furious at their 'naive, childish and ridiculous' claim that green was not visually and aesthetically consistent with the residential complex when their main shopping plaza was clad in the same green tinted glass. Many residents, especially the 'see lais' (housewives) support Libeskind's architectural intentions.

[edit] Recreation and shopping

City One encapsulates two shopping arcades, a wet market, a swimming pool, a park, three basketball courts and six tennis courts.

Local restaurants including Kim-Wo-Court and Dun Lai Lo (Boiling Milk Dude) offer cheap casual local cuisine. Major fast food chains: McDonald's, Cafe de Coral, Fairwood and KFC have their outlets here. 4 Cantonese restaurants, such as Fok Choi Restaurant, are good places for Yum Cha and family dinners. Another great eatery is Saigoon Star, a prize-winning restaurant serving great value SE-Asian cuisine. The bakeries of Circle K, Kee-Hueng, Maxim's, A-1 and Maria's attracts teenagers and adults alike every morning for their hot and fresh breakfast.

Shopping is another big plus for people considering a move to City One Shatin. 2 Park'n Shop Supermarkets offer most of daily necessities. Mannings and Waton's, together with some local pharmacies, provide the residents great choices of healthcare and personal care produts. In addition, 2 Circle K Convenient Stores plus 2 Seven-Eleven Convenient stores offer 24-hour services. From little trendy boutiques selling lady's clothing to wet market stalls parading the fleshy carcasses of innocent farm creatures, one can buy anything in City One.

Every morning on the basketball courts, a group of senior citizens play a chinese version of hackey sack, providing hours of entertainment for old and young alike. All are welcome to join in this delightful and casual game, and it is usually tradition to eat siu ma and drink soya bean milk after to cap off a successful day playing gianzu. Unfortunately, as the day slowly becomes evening, the basketball court that appears so serene with peaceful residents playing gianzu in the morning turns into a breeding ground for wannabe ballas who think they're the Shaquille O'Neals and LeBron James of City One. The atmosphere on these courts may seem intimidating at first to passersby, but an in-depth look (don't stare as you may get beaten up by these wannabe ballas)will reveal that many of these scrawny 'playas' are actually bad if not miserable at 'da lam kau' (playing basketball).

[edit] Transportation

City One contains a bus terminal and is in proximity to the KCR Ma On Shan Rail station. As with all areas of Hong Kong, City One is also accessible by taxis.

Bus stops include (Source: http://www.kmb.com.hk): City One Plaza, City One Shatin, City One Shatin Bus Terminal, Po Shing Street City One Shatin, Ngan Shing Commercial Centre, S.L.Y. Bowling Greens, Siu Lek Yuen Rd. Playground