The Wai
 The Wai on its opening day | |
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| Location | 18 Che Kung Temple Road, Tai Wai, Sha Tin, Hong Kong |
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| Coordinates | 22°22′20″N 114°10′47″E / 22.37222°N 114.17972°E |
| Opening date | July 22, 2023[1] |
| Developer | MTR Corporation[2] |
| Management | MTR Corporation |
| Owner | MTR Corporation |
| Architect | Structure: Ronald Lu and Partners Internal design: P&T Group |
| No. of stores and services | 150[2] |
| Total retail floor area | 650,000 square feet[2] |
| No. of floors | 4[2] |
| Public transit access | Tai Wai station[2][3] |
| Website | The Wai |
| The Wai | |||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 圍方 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 围方 | ||||||||||
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The Wai (Chinese: 圍方; Jyutping: wai4fong1) is a shopping centre in Tai Wai, Hong Kong, which opened on 22 July 2023.[1] The mall is managed by the MTR Corporation, and is the third largest shopping mall in eastern New Territories.[4]
The mall is located directly under private estate the Pavilia Farm, also a property managed by the MTR Corporation. It is connected to Tai Wai station.[2][3]
Design
The shopping centre structure was designed by Ronald Lu and Partners, while P&T Group was responsible for interior design. The Wai has four storeys with a total floor area of 650,000 square feet (60,000 m2), including a 50,000-square-foot (4,600 m2) outdoor green area, an indoor car park with 390 parking spaces, and the largest bicycle parking lot in Hong Kong, with 330 bicycle parking spaces.[5] Among the 150 shops in the mall, notable tenants include the largest of the 43 Market Place supermarkets in Hong Kong at the time of its opening, covering an area over 20,000 square feet (1,900 m2)[6] and the Emperor Cinemas Plus+ cinema, the only cinema in Tai Wai, with six theatres and a total of 912 seats.[5] There are eighteen electric vehicle charging stations and solar power facilities.[7]
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Bicycle parking lot
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Outdoor green area
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Artwork exhibition
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Fourth and fifth floors
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Exhibition area on the second floor
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Connections
The shopping mall is connected to three footbridges: one to northern Tai Wai near Che Kung Temple and Sun Chui Estate,[8] one to a complex footbridge,[9][10] and one directly connected to Festival City, a private estate also owned by the MTR Corporation.[8]
Transport
Directly below the shopping mall is a public transport interchange with numerous bus and minibus routes in addition to a taxi station.[9] The mall is also connected to Tai Wai MTR station's exit B,[2] while exit H directly connects the third floor of the mall to the elevated platform 3.[3]
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Public Transport Interchange
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Tai Wai station exit B connected to the mall
Controversy on the demolition of a footbridge branch
There is a complex footbridge located above a roundabout joining Mei Tin Road, Che Kung Temple Road and Hung Mui Kuk Road, connecting four sides of the junction.[9] The government announced a plan to demolish one of the branches of the footbridge due to the construction of the mall, redirecting citizens into the mall in order to cross the footbridge.[11] When the demolition began in 2022, councilors of the Sha Tin District Council criticized the MTR Corporation and the government for the demolition, as the time to get on the footbridge from the ground was increased from 20 seconds to more than one minute.[12] However the demolition continued and was eventually completed in August 2023.[13]
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Entrance from the Sun Chui Estate footbridge
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Footbridge users are redirected into the mall
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Preparing for demolition
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After the demolition
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Incident
On 24 July 2023, the third day of the mall's opening, a 64-year-old woman was attacked by two people, who later escaped and have not been arrested. The woman sustained an injury near her eye and sustained injuries to her chest.[14]
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