Taikoo Shing or Tai Koo Shing (), is a private residential development in Quarry Bay, in the eastern part of Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. It is a part of Swire's property business, along with Taikoo Place, the adjacent Cityplaza retail and office complex and EAST, a lifestyle business hotel. Etymology Taikoo is the Cantonese pronunciation of Swire's Chinese name, while Shing can be literally translated as City. Thus, Taikoo Shing can be loosely translated as Swire City. According to Swire, its Chinese name Taikoo was chosen by Thomas Taylor Meadow, the British Consul in Shanghai when Swire's Shanghai office opened in 1866. Area The entire Taikoo Shing estate covers 21.5 hectares (53 acres), and consists of 61 residential towers, with a total of 12,698 apartment flats that ranges anywhere between to . History The Taikoo Shing estate was once the site of Taikoo Dockyard, whose foundation stone now lies beside Cityplaza. The dockyard moved to United Dockyards at the west shore of the Tsing Yi Island in the late 1970s, and Taikoo Shing was constructed over the site in stages, with constructions of all main residential buildings complete by the early 1990s. As part of the business strategy, Swire Properties was established in 1972 immediately after the closing of the dockyard. Taikoo Shing became one of Hong Kong's first major private housing estates. Completing in 1986, Swire immediately became one of the largest property companies doing the construction themselves. The area was designed to maximise middle-class residential capacity. Development of commercial areas still continues today. After the completion of Cityplaza 3 and 4 as office buildings, the original Cityplaza 1 was demolished in the mid-90s for redevelopment. As of 2007, the food market that was originally constructed was demolished to make room for a hotel. Population and demographics In the 2011 census, Taikoo Shing recorded 36,796 residents. The median monthly rent among rental households was $18,000. Apartment flats in Taikoo Shing are popular amongst buyers and speculators, and for a significant time in the 1980s and 1990s, Taikoo Shing's housing price is a general indicator of the Hong Kong's housing market health in general. Although in recent years, newer housing developments have eroded a bit of Taikoo Shing's once prominent status. The estate is also a very sought-after place to live for the Japanese and Korean expatriate communities in Hong Kong, most of which are staffed in multinational corporations