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 [zh], 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]
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 WaiMTR station's exit B,[2] while exit H directly connects the third floor of the mall to the elevated platform 3.[3]
Public Transport Interchange
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]
Entrance from the Sun Chui Estate footbridge
Footbridge users are redirected into the mall
Preparing for demolition
After the demolition
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]
^"港鐵大圍站商場命名為「The Wai圍方」 新界東第三大商場" [Shopping mall near MTR Tai Wai station is named as "Tai Wai Wai Fong" (Chinese name) Becoming the third largest shopping mall in east New Territories]. Hong Kong Economic Times. 2021-05-20. Archived from the original on 2021-05-20. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
^"大圍八爪魚天橋駁商場拆舊路 街坊:要兜個大圈真係激死人" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Hong Kong Independent Press. 2023-01-14. Archived from the original on 2023-03-12. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
^"大圍站道路工程刊憲". 香港政府新聞網. 2011-11-11. Archived from the original on 2019-06-10. Retrieved 2012-02-04.