View source for Old Wan Chai Post Office

{{short description|Building in Wan Chai, Hong Kong}}
{{Use Hong Kong English|date=December 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox building
| name = Old Wan Chai Post Office
| native_name = 舊灣仔郵政局
| native_name_lang = zh
| logo =
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| image = Old Wan Chai Post Office.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| image_caption = The building's exterior.
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| former_names = Wan Chai Post Office
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| status = [[Declared monuments of Hong Kong|Declared monument]]
| topped_out =
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| address = 221 [[Queen's Road East]], [[Wan Chai]]
| location_country = {{HKG}}
| current_tenants = [[Environmental Protection Department]]
| groundbreaking_date =
| est_completion = 1912/1913
| completion_date =
| opened_date = 1 March 1915
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{{Infobox Chinese
| t = 舊灣仔郵政局
| s = 旧湾仔邮政局
| y = Gauh wāan jái yàuh jing guhk
| j = Gau<sup>6</sup> waan<sup>1</sup> zai<sup>2</sup> jau<sup>4</sup> zing<sup>3</sup> guk<sup>6</sup>
| p = Jiù Wān Zǎi Yóuzhèngjú
|hide=yes
}}
[[File:Old Wan Chai Post Office Interior2 2019.jpg|thumb|The building's interior]]
[[File:Old Wan Chai Post Office Interior1 2019.jpg|thumb|Mailboxes]]
[[Image:Old Wan Chai Post Office Courtyard 2019.jpg|thumb|Courtyard]]

The '''Old Wan Chai Post Office''' is the oldest surviving post office building in Hong Kong.<ref name="lcsd">[http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Monument/en/monuments_40.php Antiquities and Monuments Office – Old Wan Chai Post Office]</ref> It is situated at No. 221 [[Queen's Road East]], at the junction with [[Wan Chai Gap Road]].

==History==
The building was erected between 1912 and 1913, and opened on 1 March 1915 as the Wan Chai Post Office.<ref name="lcsd" /> It is not known whether the building was originally built and designed for such purpose. The post office ceased to operate in 1992, after having served the Wan Chai community continuously for 77 years.{{cn|date=December 2017}}

==Features==
The Old Wan Chai Post Office is an L-shaped building. It is a simple pitched-roof structure with attractive gable ends and mouldings.{{cn|date=December 2017}}

==Environmental Resource Centre==
The building was operated by the [[Environmental Protection Department]] as an Environmental Resource Centre (環保軒) in 1993.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-05-20 |title=香港估估吓：邊度有間最歷史悠久郵政局 |url=https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/lifestyle/20200520/bkn-20200520120004848-0520_00982_001.html |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=on.cc東網 |language=zh-hk}}</ref> From 2024, it has been repurposed as the ‘kNOw Carbon House’ (識「碳」館) to promote carbon neutrality in Hong Kong. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Environmental Resource Centres {{!}} Hong Kong Tourism Board |url=https://www.discoverhongkong.com/us/interactive-map/environmental-resource-centres.html |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=Discover Hong Kong |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=GovHK (www.gov.hk) |title=GovHK: Environmental Exhibition & Resource Centres |url=https://www.gov.hk/en/residents/environment/public/activities/envcentres.htm |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=www.gov.hk |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=識「碳」館開幕 教育實踐低碳生活 |url=https://orientaldaily.on.cc/content/%E8%A6%81%E8%81%9E%E6%B8%AF%E8%81%9E/odn-20240923-0923_00176_244/%E8%AD%98%E3%80%8C%E7%A2%B3%E3%80%8D%E9%A4%A8%E9%96%8B%E5%B9%95--%E6%95%99%E8%82%B2%E5%AF%A6%E8%B8%90%E4%BD%8E%E7%A2%B3%E7%94%9F%E6%B4%BB |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=東方日報 |language=zh-hk}}</ref>

==Conservation==
The Old Wan Chai Post Office became a [[Declared monuments of Hong Kong|declared monument]] on 18 May 1990.<ref name="EPD">[http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/eia_planning/sea/annex_i.html Environment Protection Department – List of Declared Monuments as on 1 January 1999] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091228001449/http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/eia_planning/sea/annex_i.html |date=28 December 2009 }}</ref> It is the only building declared as a monument in the Wan Chai area.{{cn|date=December 2017}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Architecture|Hong Kong}}
* [[Declared monuments of Hong Kong]]
* [[List of buildings and structures in Hong Kong]]
* [[Wan Chai District]]
* [[Wan Chai Heritage Trail]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline|Old Wan Chai Post Office}}
*[http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/envir_education/envir_resourcectr/resource_ctr01.html Wan Chai Environmental Resource Centre]
*[http://www.fso-tela.gov.hk/accessibility/eng/locations_details.cfm?Photo_Num=00240 Film Service Office]

{{Heritage conservation in Hong Kong |state=autocollapse}}
{{Wan Chai District}}
{{Queen's Road}}
{{Coord|22.27434|114.17324|display=title}}

[[Category:1913 establishments in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Declared monuments of Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Government buildings completed in 1913]]
[[Category:History museums in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Nature centres in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Post office buildings in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Queen's Road East]]
[[Category:Wan Chai]]
[[Category:British colonial architecture in Hong Kong]]

{{HongKong-museum-stub}}