Possession Street

In Sheung Wan on Hong Kong Island lies a short lane called Possession Street.

View large image The Chinese name on the sign has no connection to the word possession; it has something to do with drainage.

Granted, Possession Street is a better name than Sewer Street or Runoff Road. The story behind the name is that the lower corner of Possession Street is the point where the British flag was planted in Hong Kong for the first time. Captain Edward Belcher of the HMS Sulphur placed it there at 8.15am, January 26, 1841.

Still, it's a lousy name; it sounds like you need either an exorcist or a credit card to go there.

Couldn't they have called it something like Flag Street or Union Jack Way?

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