Stories behind Hong Kong street names: Canal Road, home of the devil beaters
Beneath a flyover in Causeway Bay was once not a road but a stream that became a canal. Today it is famous for the women you can pay to beat effigies of white tigers representing your enemies
The Canal Road flyover, which connects the Aberdeen Tunnel to the Cross Harbour Tunnel, is an important thoroughfare in Hong Kong. Equally bustling is the Canal Road below the flyover, located in the centre of Causeway Bay.
As its name suggests, there used to be neither road nor flyover there, but a tranquil waterway.
The Stream Under the Shade was the name given to a stream that ran from Wong Nai Chung Road through Wan Chai to Victoria Harbour. Banyan trees lined both sides of the stream and in the old days, people would while away their time there fishing or just admiring the scene.
It was such a beautiful sight that it was named one of the eight best scenes in Hong Kong, along with others such as Stanley at sunrise and Lei Yue Mun by moonlight.