MacDonnell Road (, formerly ) is a street in the Mid-Levels area of Hong Kong Island.
MacDonnell Road is one of the most expensive roads in Central Mid-Levels, together with Old Peak Road, Magazine Gap Road, Tregunter Path, Bowen Road, Borrett Road, and May Road.
Starting at Garden Road, the road runs westward through the Mid-Levels before terminating at Kennedy Road.
MacDonnell Road is named after former Hong Kong Governor Richard Graves MacDonnell, who was in office from 1866 to 1872. MacDonnell developed Victoria Peak during his tenure.
Several streets in Kowloon, built in the second half of the 19th century, were given names that were duplicates of street names on Hong Kong Island. To avoid confusion, their names were changed in 1909, and MacDonnell Road in Kowloon was renamed Canton Road.
The 1904 book English Made Easy written by Mok Man Cheung, and published in Hong Kong, listed MacDonnell Road as 'Mac Donald Road'.
The Chinese name for the fast food chain McDonald's () is identical to the Chinese transliteration of this road (), where "" means "Road". The first McDonald's restaurant was opened in Hong Kong in January 1975, and the name was chosen because it represented a "well-known local street".
Construction of MacDonnell Road started in 1891 and its first section was completed the following year. The road was extended eastward in 1899, where it formed a junction with Bowen Road at its eastern end.
Crown land lots at MacDonnell Road were let by public auction for 999-year leases as early as 1896. The colonial government ceased offering such long leases after May 1898, and only a limited number of plots on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon have a lease term of 999 years.
In 1903, parts of MacDonnell Road were infested with anopheles, and malaria was rife there. Nullahs in the area were cleared as a preventive measure.
Before World War II, the area below Victoria Peak was home to people from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Wealthy Japanese were living as high up as MacDonnell Road.
During the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941, the headquarters of the 2/14th Battalion, Punjab Regiment was located on MacDonnell Road. The 2/14 Punjab were part of the West Brigade, and their tactical area of responsibility stretched along the northwestern shore of Hong Kong Island from Causeway Bay to Belcher's Point, including the defence of the Governor's House and of Major General Maltby's headquarters.
In April 1957, the Chinese name of the road was changed from "" to "", likely because of the negative connotation of "" meaning "slave". Since 2023, it became a point of interest for Chinese tourists, posing in front of the street sign with food purchased from McDonald's, as both share the same Chinese name.
Features along the road include:
Several buildings along MacDonnell Road have been cited in books and research articles. They include:
The western half of MacDonnell Road is part of the Central Route of the Central and Western Heritage Trail of the Hong Kong Tourist Association. The Route includes the First Church of Christ Scientist Hong Kong and St. Paul's Co-educational College.
MacDonnell Road is served by a Peak Tram stop and two bus routes: Citybus Route 12A running from Admiralty, and public light bus Route 1A running from Star Ferry in Central.