Wan Chai is emerging as convenient residential area with broad price options on top of Hong Kong's entertainment heart

WAN CHAI IS BETTER known as a red-light, late-night drinking spot than a residential zone.

It began as a dockland on the edge of the harbour and evolved into a 19th century haunt for carousing sailors and women of the night. There was a great deal of action over the years but by the time the extension to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre was built to mark Hong Kong's 1997 handover, the tone had changed slightly.

The bars and restaurants still throb, although many are more upmarket than in the past. There is a plethora of older residential buildings and the apartments are mostly individually owned. But demand is growing for upmarket residential space to cope with an overflow from Central and Admiralty.

'Wan Chai has great potential. A lot of commercial buildings are moving to the area as Central and Admiralty are saturated. There is a need for new residential buildings,' said Justin Fung, senior property consultant at Ricacorp.

There are options at both ends of the spectrum, with lower-budget older units or newer, more expensive places at the upper end.

Michelle Lee, associate director for marketing and residential leasing at First Pacific Davies, said: 'Wan Chai mainly belongs to people who want to live in the lower-budget range. There is a scarcity of good quality properties'.