Overview of Fire Hydrants in Hong Kong

Before continuing, please keep this in mind: Most of what I know about Hong Kong fire hydrants is from online sources, and I would like to thank and acknowledge these people for generously sharing their knowledge online. Without them, I would not even know about all these types of fire hydrants in Hong Kong. Sources are listed below (the link opens a non-javascript popup), and also in the individual pages for each hydrant type.

[Sources for this page]

When it comes to fire hydrants in Hong Kong, most people will probably think of the two common types, Round Head and Swan Neck. Some may also recall seeing the older Octogonal Prism hydrants, which still exist in some parts of the city. But do you know there are actually nine types of fire hydrants (fourteen if you consider variants as individual types) you can find in Hong Kong right now (as of the time of writing)? And just because Round Heads and Swan Necks are common doesn't mean there aren't interesting examples of them, but I have made several pages talking about individual types in detail, you can check those out later.

Round Head / Pig Head

Known officially as the Round Head in English but "Pig Head" in Chinese, this is probably the most recognisable type of fire hydrant in Hong Kong. Round Heads are commonly found in red (which means the hydrant uses fresh water) and yellow (uses sea water), but Round Heads painted in other colours do exist:

red
yellow
green
teal
lavender
silver
grey

While many online media and blog posts claim that they know the type of water green Round Heads use, I have not been able to find official sources regarding the type of water used by hydrants painted in colours other than red or yellow, so I will not talk about the water types here as I do not want to spread misinformation. I have a feeling all these media and posts are just following the crowd and echoing what others said about green hydrants without doing any research into this. I do have a theory regarding the water used by lavender Round Heads (and I have some official sources to support my theory).

More details on Round Heads in this page

Swan Neck

Known officially known as the Swan Neck (or Swan-neck) in English and "goose neck" in Chinese, this type is also relatively easy to find. Swan Necks are usually found in red and yellow. Silver Swan Necks definitely existed at some point somewhere before they were painted, but I have yet to encounter one in person, maybe someday. There are also several Swan Necks only painted primer grey without proper paint since their installation a few years ago.

red
yellow
I have not found one myself so no photo here, maybe someday
silver
grey

More details on Swan Necks in this page

AVK Model 2700

AVK Model 2700 is a hydrant type manufactured by multinational company AVK. Most AVK Model 2700 found in Hong Kong differs from the stock model in that they have a flat top lid (known as a weather shield), rather than the stock weather shield with an operating nut on top. So far, I've been able to locate sixty extant red AVK Model 2700s in Hong Kong. More details about this type in this page.

"Octagonal hydrant"

I am yet to find an official document that mentions the official English name of this type, but a plaque at the North Point Fire Station referred to this type as the "Octagonal prism hydrant / Octagonal pedestal hydrant" (in Chinese). There are currently twenty two extant Octagonals that I am aware of. More details about this type in this page.

red
green

"Prototype Pedestal"

I don't know about the official name of this type of hydrant. It looks like a Round Head but with a seemingly detachable big lid on top secured onto the hydrant with hexagonal bolts, a small cap on top of the lid, and exposed nuts, while a Round Head don't have any of these features. I am only aware of four extant red "Prototype Pedestals", all of which are on the Hong Kong Island. More details about this type in this page.

Heavy Draw-off hydrant

Known officially as the Heavy Draw-off hydrant in English, I am yet to find official documents that mentioned the Chinese name of this type. There used to be a dozen or so Heavy Draw-off hydrants, but now there are only five extant red one that I am aware of, and one of them might be removed soon. More details about this type in this page. Alternatively, check out CityUnseen's article about the history of these big hydrants: https://cityunseen.hk/huge-fire-hydrants/

"Hydrants on long viaducts and flyovers"

I don't know about the name of this type of hydrants, but they can be found on viaducts. As far as I am aware, they seem to be made of modular fire service-related water pipe parts that are used in many other places, such as in buildings as fire service inlets or indoors fire hydrants. Indoors hydrants and fire service inlets have different caps, while these outdoors ones on viaducts have fire hydrant caps with handles, this is how you can tell them apart. Some of these hydrants do show up in the GeoInfo Map and might even have hydrant numbers + markings painted onto them. There are five variants:

single nozzle tilted upwards
two nozzles, goggles-like
two nozzles, V-shaped
two nozzles tilted upwards, V-shaped
two nozzles, opposite sides

More details about this type in this page.

Double Head Swan Neck

Even though it is referred to as a variant of Swan Neck, it doesn't really look like a Swan Neck. There are two variants:

standard
extended nozzles
no photo because no examples seem to have survived
extended nozzles (L-shaped extension)

The standard ones have only been found on Mount Davis so far, but there might be more. The ones with extended nozzles have only been found on viaducts so far. More details about this type in this page.

A. P. Smith O'Brien (one-piece model)
Tai Tam Tuk Raw Water Pumping Station
Photo taken in Y2026-M08

A. P. Smith O'Brien (one-piece barrel model)

The only known O'Brien in Hong Kong that I am aware of is behind a fence at the Tai Tam Tuk Raw Water Pumping Station. It was manufactured by the defunct United States company A. P. Smith - the initials APS is visible on the hydrant. However, it differs from other O'Brien found in the United States in that it has a sleeve-like attachment in the middle, allowing Hong Kong spec fire hydrant caps to be screwed on (but I am not sure if these are Type I and II caps). Unlike modern Hong Kong fire hydrants, the front nozzle of this O'Brien still retains the older traditional type of hydrant cap - nut only with no handles, which require a wrench to unscrew the caps. The caps on the side nozzles have no nut and only handles. A book about Hong Kong waterworks history referred to this hydrant as the "1923 fire hydrant", which means it might be manufactured and/or installed in 1923. It is more than 100 years old!

In case anyone wants to walk there themselves but is afraid that they would somehow get lost during the six-minute walk, I have a 1st-person-PoV video of myself walking from the nearest bus stop to the Pumping Station: https://youtu.be/8vdQSzUWF-s

Custom private hydrants at the Lutheran Theological Seminary

If you happen to be on To Fung Shan Road for some reason, you will see three custom fire hydrants at the Lutheran Theological Seminary, all of which are unnumbered. One of them looks like a Swan Neck and is painted black (I say look like because I am not sure if it really is a Swan Neck), the other two looks like ordinary water pipes with Type II hydrant caps attached at the tip. For some reason, the Swan Neck-like black hydrant does not show up in GeoInfo Map while the other two do. If you check Google Map street view, you will see that it used to be another one of those random pipes with hydrant caps at the Swan Neck-like black hydrant's location.

an unnumbered black custom hydrant that looks like a Swan Neck
50 To Fung Shan Road at the entrance of Lutheran Theological Seminary
Photo taken in Y2026-M04
an unnumbered custom hydrant
between 50 To Fung Shan Road and Dao Guang Tai
Photo taken in Y2026-M04
an unnumbered custom hydrant
To Fung Shan Road near Dao Guang Tai
Photo taken in Y2026-M04