LCQ22: Adding historical interpretations to street signs
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Question:
There are views that street signs are not only road identification signs, but also historical carriers recording the city's evolution. While some old T-shaped street signs are still retained in Hong Kong for heritage conservation reasons, merely preserving the materials may not enable the public to fully and accurately understand their historical significance. As Hong Kong enters a new stage from stability to prosperity, the Government should take the initiative to provide explanations on street signs to establish a correct historical perspective. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether, as some streets are named after British officials, the Government will install additional interpretation facilities at the relevant locations to give an objective account of the relevant historical context through words and images; with the development of smart cities, whether the Government will consider installing QR codes next to the street signs with historical value to link them to official national education databases or web pages (such as the National Education One-stop Portal);
(2) whether the Government will shortlist streets in Hong Kong with significant historical transitions (such as streets related to the background of the Opium Wars, relics of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression or the process of our return to the motherland), incorporating elements of national education into the explanations on street signs to enable members of the public and tourists to gain an in-depth understanding of the journey of national rejuvenation through city walks; and
(3) whether the Government has formulated policy guidelines with a macroscopic vision when planning the streets in the Northern Metropolis and naming the streets in other new development areas, with the aim of incorporating elements of the outstanding traditional Chinese culture, achievements in national development and education on patriotism into the street naming mechanism, with a view to broadening the criteria for consideration of naming?
Reply:
President,
In consultation with the Development Bureau and the Transport and Logistics Bureau, the consolidated reply to the question raised by the Hon Chan Cho-kwong is as follows:
The Lands Department is responsible for the naming of streets in Hong Kong pursuant to the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132). When streets have to be named, the Lands Department will consult the relevant government departments regarding the naming proposals put up by it, other government departments or members of the public and consult the local community/organisations and district councils through the District Offices of the Home Affairs Department.
Street names could be linguistic symbols representing the geographical, historical, cultural and architectural characteristics of the places. The Lands Department has long incorporated virtues promoted by traditional Chinese culture, such as loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness, as one of the considerations for street naming. As there will be more new streets alongside the development of the Northern Metropolis and other new development areas, the Development Bureau and the Lands Department would certainly take into account the background and characteristics of the relevant places when taking forward these work.
The Highways Department (HyD) is responsible for installing street name plates (SNPs) on named public roads under its purview, and carries out maintenance and repair works for them. Generally speaking, SNPs should be designed to be simple, clear and not causing inconvenience to road users. The HyD will actively co-operate with the requests of the relevant policy bureaux/departments to discuss suitable designs and custom-make new SNPs, if necessary.
The Government has been adopting a multi-pronged approach in introducing the history of Hong Kong to the public. Regarding the work of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), the Department, from time to time, adopts diverse channels and media (e.g. permanent and special exhibitions organised by the museums, performing arts events based on historical background and stories, book recommendations from the public libraries, community workshops etc.) and uses various entry points related to daily life to introduce the collection and historic relics related to the history of Hong Kong to the general public. Where necessary, the LCSD can also provide extra historical information relevant to streets within its historical resources to responsible policy bureaux/departments for consideration in naming and display.
Ends/Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Issued at HKT 10:46
Issued at HKT 10:46
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