THE MANY FACETS OF SHAM SHUI PO
深水 面面觀
Electronic products, whole sale apparel and toys, mom and pop shops, and outdoor dai pai dongs—sham Shui Po has it all. With a treasure trove of cultural heritage, it's a favourite place for travellers and locals to visit. But its well developed facilities and transport network actually make it a nice area to live too.
As one of Hong Kong's oldest neighbourhoods, Sham Shui Po naturally has a large number of aged buildings, many of which are home to the notorious subdivided flats. But you would be wrong in thinking that's all Sham Shui Po has to offer. In fact, beyond the old neighbourhood, the Sham Shui Po district covers a large area including Nam Cheong Station (which serves two MTR lines), luxury estates such as Mount Beacon and Beacon Heights, as well as Cheung Sha Wan, Lai Chi Kok, Shek Kip Mei and Yau Yat Chuen.
Given its expansiveness, Sham Shui Po's living environment is very diverse and varies from place to place. Deciding which neighbourhood is a good fit for you largely depends on your needs. There are a lot of walk-ups in and around Sham Shui Po's old area, and although it doesn't have the cleanest or most comfortable environment, it's brimming with shops and restaurants and is less than 30 minutes from Central, thanks to the MTR station, making daily life and work commutes very convenient. Nam Cheong Station, on the other hand, is an interchange station for the West Rail Line and the Tung Chung Line, and its surrounding area boasts great proximity to West Kowloon railway station. Such connectivity makes it easy for residents to travel to Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, Territories, the airport as well as mainland China.
Luckily, urban conveniences are not robbing Sham Shui Po of its abundance of green spaces. Tung Chau Street Park and Nam Cheong Park are star attractions for locals, particularly in spring, when the parks are covered in beautiful blossoms. Located next to historic building Mei Ho House, Garden Hill—an increasingly popular destination for short hiking trails—is another place to relax and exercise. The district also has a number of sporting facilities and dog parks. Currently, Dragon Centre is the main shopping mall in the district. Meanwhile, the V Walk mall, located underneath residential development Cullinan West at Nam Cheong Station, is expected to open in mid 2019.
According to sales data from Gohome.com. hk, Sham Shui Po district saw ten property sales in July, with the average per-squarefoot price at HK$14,327. Cullinan West II is the newest development available in the area, and the secondary market is dominated by Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) sales.
電子產品、時裝及玩具批發、民生食店及露天排檔，構成深水 的特色面貌。濃厚的舊區味道，令人聯想到深水是遊逛的好地方，卻不曾想過這個配套完善的市區也有優厚的居住條件。
舊區自然多舊樓，而很多舊樓單位被分間成 房，難怪當提及到深水 置業，就好像除了 房，再沒其他選擇。事實上，深水 區範圍很廣，為人熟悉的深水舊區並非整個區域的全部，坐擁雙鐵優勢的南昌站、位處半山的豪宅如畢架山峰和畢架山花園、以至長沙灣、荔枝角、石硤尾及又一村，均屬於深水 區。
所以說，深水 的社區環境很多樣化，地段之間的優與劣，很難一概而論，視乎生活需求。鄰近舊區一帶以唐樓居多，環境雖然較烏煙瘴氣，但樓下有一系列的商店及食肆選擇，加上鄰近多個地鐵站口，不用半小時可抵達中環，生活與上班同樣方便。至於靠近南昌站一帶，則距離高鐵香港段西九龍總站僅咫尺之遙，加上該站是西鐵線及東涌線的轉乘站，無論到港九、新界、機場以至內地，皆四通八達。
深水 坐享市區便捷的同時，亦有充裕的綠化空間，其中主要有通州街公園及南昌公園，後者每逢春天更吸引無數市民前來賞花。至於近年成為熱門短途行山路線的嘉頓山，就在二級歷史建築美荷樓旁邊，也是個舒展身心的好地方。區內亦有數個體育場館及寵物公園。深水 目前主要大型商場有西九龍中心，坐落於南昌站上蓋的匯璽，將於基座開設V WALK商場，預計最快明年中開業。
根據Gohome.com.hk成交數據，深水區7月住宅成交宗數為10宗，呎價平均為14,327元。區內新盤有匯璽II，二手市場焦點集中於居屋成交。