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], a property also 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
Controversial demolition of footbridge branch
Prior to the mall's construction, a complex footbridge located above a roundabout joining Mei Tin Road, Che Kung Temple Road and Hung Mui Kuk Road connected four sides of the junction.[9] However, one of its branches was called for demolition by the government's construction plan for the mall, which would have redirected pedestrians into the mall for accessing the footbridge.[11] This increased the time to reach the footbridge from the ground, from 20 seconds to more than a minute. The plan was subsequently protested by councilors of the Sha Tin District Council.[12] However, demolition works continued, beginning in 2022 and eventually completing in August 2023.[12][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.[when?][needs update] 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. 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
^"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. 14 January 2023. Archived from the original on 12 March 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
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