Take an Alternative Hong Kong Architecture Tour #3

29/08/2017

Image: BWPI

​barryshares                                    

Hong Kong has a totally unique growth and development situation that is complex and surprising to arriving visitors and students of urbanisation. Once the initial “wow” of the usual first-time tourist has been overcome, I like to get them to rapidly understand the historical and cultural influences that have so shaped the city today. To do that, we need to get away from the lecture theatre and to walk the streets, tracks and squares of the ‘alternative city’. 

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​#3 Bike Sharing Heritage

Sample "Punti" Culture by cycling in the New Territories. (image: BWPI)

Bike sharing has really taken off in the last year, and this opens up all sorts of new opportunities to cover lots of new ground outside of the urban city areas. The third in my series of ‘alternative tours’ is not only great for Architects, students, and historians but a fun day out for all and just as interesting to anybody who just wants to get out of shopping malls, away from neon signs and sample the traditional flavour of the New Territories. This trip we wander back in time, meandering through ancient villages, sampling open hillside and observing the dramatic changes in Hong Kong’s rural hinterland.

The metro station at Fanling new town is just a short hop to the Hong Kong border with China. But whilst Fanling may be considered a new town, it was one of the local areas first settled more than a thousand years ago, and is rich in local ‘Punti’ culture. The Tang clan were recorded to have settled in the area as early as 973AD. Pick up a “Go-bee Bike” at Fanling station and you are on your way.​

Development in the Fanling and Sheung Shui area was once concentrated on the market areas of Luen Wo Hui in Fanling and Shek Wu Hui in Sheung Shui. The surrounding hinterland was one of the most fertile agricultural areas in the Territory, hence its early settlement, and the Sha Tau Kok Valley in particular provided the bulk of produce that was sold daily in the thriving markets. Areas surrounding the markets were once characterized by paddy fields, and clusters of farmsteads.
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Fanling is a good place to start a bike trip. It has designated bicycle paths, including dedicated bridges and subways. Head east out of the town, leaving behind the dense towers of Cheung Wah Housing Estate, the first public housing in Fanling inaugurated in 1984 and crossing Jockey Club Road to pass through On Lok Tsuen Industrial Area.

Preliminary land-use plans for the Fanling / Sheung Shui area were prepared by the then Town Planning Office in 1971 and the Government then embarked upon a large-scale housing programme which subsequently transformed many rural areas. The housing programme became the foundation of ambitious new town programmes.

In 1987, the first statutory draft Fanling/Sheung Shui Outline Zoning Plan No. S/FSS/1 established the broad land-use zonings and major road network for the new town. During the 70’s and 80’s Hong Kong had been a manufacturing hub and needed expansion areas for Chinese migrant labour to live and work. Planning concepts were based around ‘Municipal Management’ concepts, with local areas meeting their own needs with provision of local amenities meeting minimum standards. Abundant industrial land was provided for utilising cheap labour to fuel Hong Kong’s development. By the new millennium the Hong Kong economy had completely transformed, the manufacturing base had removed itself across the border to China and planning become strategic within the Pearl River Delta. The jobs in Fanling have gone and it’s now a commuter town. The vast industrial estate of On Lok Tsuen industrial area covering an area of 34 ha is underutilised, now contributing to cross-boundary trade by providing extensive floor space for logistics and warehousing. Its unnervingly quiet.

​​We cross the Ma Wat River and follow the riverside path, shrouded and tree lined and enter another world, green and cool before reaching “Tsung Kyam Church”, a grade III historic ecclesiastical building built in 1927 and part of a long standing Lutherian community living in this agricultural location. When a further new church building was built on the left of the village entrance in 1983, the old church was preserved. This is private property and is not open to the public however a graveyard for the congregation, first consecrated in 1931, is situated at the back of the village.

Shek Lo as photographed in the 1950's. (image: Lawrence Tsui.)

Barely a stone’s throw to the north is “Shek Lo”, a grade II historic building built in 1924 by Mr Peter Tsui Yan-sau founder of Wah Yan College. Due to the lack of a suitable church in the North District, Peter Tsui allowed Catholic Mass to be said at Shek Lo for the local Catholics. However, in 1935 Tsui took a concubine and the local priest had to write to the Bishop to tell him there would be scandal if they continued to use the house for Mass. The problem was solved when Tsui and his concubine moved to a new house nearby at Ma Wat village and left Shek Lo to his wife, which remained a family residence until the late 1980’s when it was sold by the executors of Peter Tsui's estate. 

Sadly falling into disrepair; Shek Lo in 2014. (image: BWPI)

​The building is in desperate need of repair and restoration, having sat abandoned since this time, whilst the present owner appears to seek other development rights in exchange for handing it over to Government. It was until recently open to access with the land in front maintained clear, however it has now been fenced off and rapidly enveloped in woodland undergrowth. At some point soon it will become beyond salvation and presumably then be redeveloped, although it would make a perfect building to house a museum for the Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail after its restoration[1]. 

​LUNG YEUK TAU HERITAGE TRAIL

• Tsung Kyam Church Grade III historic building.
• Shek Lo Grade II historic building
• Ma Wat Wai walled village. The Entrance Tower is a declared monument.
• Lo Wai walled village. The Entrance Tower and Enclosing Walls are declared monuments
• Tin Hau Kung Temple. Declared monument.
• Tang Chung Ling Ancestral Hall. Declared monument
• Tung Kok Wai aka. Ling Kok Wai walled village. Grade I historic building.
• Wing Ning Tsuen 
• Wing Ning Wai walled village. Grade II historic building 
• Sin Shut Study Hall Grade II historic building
• San Wai aka. Kun Lung Wai walled village. Gate Tower, Enclosing Walls and Corner Watch Towers are declared monuments. 
• Siu Hang Tsuen 

Traditional culture of the Tang clan is maintained through the ages. (image: BWPI.)

So now we can take back to the saddle and follow the 2.6km Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail, inaugurated by the Government in 1999 to provide an opportunity to learn more about the traditional life of the area known as Lung Ku Tau or Lung Ling (Mountain of the Dragon). Many traditional Chinese buildings and structures have been preserved in their original stage, demonstrating the life of the early inhabitants of the new territories. The Tangs of the area still practice traditional village customs, including communal worship in the annual festivals. In addition, a lantern lighting ceremony is held for new-born boys on the 15th day of the lunar month and an ancestral worship ceremony and vegetarian feast held on the 1st day of the second lunar month. The Taiping Qingjiao Festival (The Purest Sacrifice Celebrated for Great Peace) is held once every decade and celebrated by the whole Tang clan as well as neighbouring villages[2].

San Wai is a typical local Walled village with watchtowers at the four corners. The moat has been filled however the Entrance Tower, Enclosing Walls and Corner Watch Towers have been restored and are declared monuments. (image: BWPI)

The history of the area has led to a unique architecture for the villages of the region. Harassed by bandits and pirates over the centuries, particularly in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties through the end of the 17th Century, villagers built walls along their boundaries and relied on guards and patrols. Features of the walled villages (Wai) include watchtowers, wells, moats, gun platforms and firing holes, all in evidence still even today. Villages are typically square, with rows of houses separated by alleys. The bases of walls are if granite with the walls of green brick. Richer villages had iron chain-link gates, which were later confiscated by the British after the Tai Po uprising following signing of the Second Convention of Peking, granting the British a 99-year lease of the New Territories as part of Hong Kong. Feeling abandoned by the Qing government and fearing for their traditional land rights and land use, the Punti mobilised the clan militias and attempted to resist the British takeover of the territory.[3] 

Some village entrances and gate towers use imported red sandstone, also adopted in Ancestral Halls and other important buildings, which had to be imported being as it is not a local material. Shrines are constructed in and around villages to protect villagers. Those at entrances are generally formal, formed from brick and concrete whilst other locations around villages such as under fung shui trees are often more spontaneous.  Stone tablets to ward off evil spirits are erected at unfavourable places engraved with the characters “Tai Shan Shek Kam Dong” the stone from Tai Shan dares to defend).

Local surprises are always in store when you get off the beaten track! (image: BWPI)

We are able to leave the Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail and follow the north bank of the Ng Tung River, also known as River Indus towards the west. Make sure to bring a packed since eating opportunities are limited along the route. The river is a major part of flood control for the area and has been massively altered and canalised in recent years, turning it into little more than a concrete ditch. However upper sections of the River have recently been altered to include more sustainable design measures promoting habitat creation and greening and once hopes such treatments may in future make their way to this lower section. 

​​To the north, the upper sections of the landmark towers of KK100 and the Diwang Building in Shenzhen lurk incongruously close over the rolling green hilltops of the border area. It’s hard to image as you pedal along happily in this open green space that you are just 2kms from the hustle and bustle of Shenzhen’s Luohu Central Business District.

Sustainable lighting installed along the Ng Tung River. (image: BWPI)

​Notice the use of solar powered LED lighting along the bank, the first project of its kind in Hong Kong consisting of 143 posts along a 2.6km stretch of embankment. Each post includes an LED lamp, PV panel, controller and back up battery, negating the need for underground cabling and grid connection.

​Time to go back across the river before you end up at the China border, and a bridge at Fu Tei Au Village leads you back to Sheung Shui. Cycling up Chuk Wan Street leads you directly into a park with “Wai Lot Tsuen” in Sheung Shui Village clearly facing you across the remnants of its moat. Park up your bike outside the main entrance to the village, with its chain-link iron gates reinstated, and wander inside, noticing the unusual fact that the dense village is in the form not of a square but uniquely a pentagon.

Shek Wu Hui has managed to retain its traditional street scale and ambience. (image: BWPI)

Sheung Shui Village (literally village above the water) in fact comprises eight separate villages next to the Ng Tung River originated by members of the “Liu clan” originating in the 14th Century. The separate villages are clearly evidenced even today. Enjoy the nearby “Liu Man Shek Ancestral Hall“ built in 1751, a declared monument regarded as one of the largest and most richly embellished Chinese traditional buildings still in existence in Hong Kong. With sharp eyes you will notice that the Village also exhibits residences with the distinctive “Wok Yee” (wok shaped handle) extruded gable walls. They are in fact the shape of gold blocks and influence the fung shiu of the building.

Local food at Luen Wo Hui Market and Cooked Food Centre. (image: BWPI)

The final stop on the tour, adjacent to Sheung Shui Village and nearby to Sheung Shui metro station is “Shek Wu Hui”, the traditional market of the area. Following big fires in the 1950’s the area was rebuilt and the buildings have been replaced seldom since, allowing the area to retain its aging charm, low rise development and narrow market streets. Even though there has been continual alteration to buildings, the hustle and bustle of traders making the short journey across the border to China charmingly still prevails. 

Time for a local dinner before locking up your bike and jumping back on a train!

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Gobee Bike

​Gobee.bike is Hong Kong's first station-less bike sharing company aiming to solve last mile destination problems by making bicycles easily accessible and affordable in users' locality. At the tap of a button, user can simply unlock one of the bright green bikes spotted and ride to destination of choice and drop it off there. Convenience, fitness and leisure can now be integrated into daily commute. With Gobee's latest technology, cycling has once again been made fun and cool again!
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Stone tablets
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A number of stone tablets engraved with the characters “Tai Shan Shek Kam Dong” (“the stone from Tai Shan dares to defend”) have been erected at environmentally unfavourable places. Additionally, others with the characters “lam mo au li to fat” (Namo Amitabha, in homage to Buddha) have been set up at locations where traffic accidents and other serious incidents frequently occur. In both instances, they are designed to protect against and ward off evil spirits. The tablets also serve to alert pedestrians and drivers in the area.
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​Tsung Kyam Church 

In 1903, Mr Ling Qilian, a retired pastor from the Basel Mission Society, preached the Christian Gospel in Fanling. As most of the worshippers lived in the neighbourhood, a village, named Shung Him Tong gradually sprung up. An old house named “Kin Tak Lau”, constructed in 1910 and once used as a church, still survives today. As the congregation grew, he founded the Tsung Kyam Church and a new building was constructed in 1927 in front of the village which was extended to two storeys in 1951. 
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Shek Lo

The two-storey building is a blend of Chinese and Western architectural styles comprising a main building and an annex block. Despite its colonial-style characteristics in the walls, balcony and stone columns, the building has a traditional Chinese pitched roof supported on wooden purlins and battens and is covered by Chinese clay tiles. Another notable feature includes the courtyard, as well as the layout of the rooms, which resembles that of traditional Chinese residences. Located in the middle of the roof parapet is a semi-circular pediment engraved with the characters “Shek Lo”.
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Ma Wat Wai

Located northwest of Lo Wai, Ma Wat Wai was built by the Tang Clan during the Qianlong reign (1736 - 1795) of the Qing dynasty. At the entrance tower there is a red sandstone lintel engraved with the two characters “Wat Chung”, which denote the flourishing growth of spring onions. This evidence supports the supposition that the original name of the village was Wat Chung Wai. 

The village was originally enclosed by walls, with a watchtower on each of the four corners. The two-storey main entrance was made of granite and grey bricks, and installed with two chained-ring iron gates. All the houses in the village are built along orderly rows, and a communal altar resides at the end of the main alley. Unfortunately, most of the enclosing walls and all four corner towers have been demolished. 

The entrance tower of Ma Wat Wai was declared a monument in 1994. 
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Lo Wai

The five renowned walled villages in Lung Yeuk Tau, Fanling were built by the Tang clan, whose ancestors branched out from the main Tang settlement in Kam Tin in the 14th century. Lo Wai was the earliest walled village among the five. The Tangs subsequently established 11 villages in the area, known as the ‘Five Wais (walled villages) and Six Tsuens (villages)’. 

Lo Wai is a village enclosed by brick walls on all four sides. The original entrance tower was located on the north side of the village but was later relocated to its present position facing east for fung shui reasons. The walled village still maintains its original layout after several renovations, with most of the village walls intact. 

Repairs to a portion of the wall were undertaken in 1991 with funds provided by the North District Office. The full restoration of the entrance tower and the enclosing walls of Lo Wai was completed in 1998.

Tin Hau Temple

Situated between the Tang Chung Ling Ancestral Hall and Lo Wai, Lung Yeuk Tau, Fanling, the Tin Hau Temple is the main temple in the area, and the construction year of which is not known. 

This Temple is a traditional two-hall building with a central courtyard. The facade of the temple is exquisitely decorated with plaster mouldings and murals of auspicious motifs. The main hall of the temple is devoted to the worship of Tin Hau and her guards, Chin Lei Ngan (who is believed to see things a thousand li [Chinese miles] away) and Shun Fung Yi (whose ears can hear sounds as far away as from heaven). The oldest relics surviving in the temple are two cast iron bells which are kept in the east chamber of the rear hall. One of the bells was cast in 1695 as a gift from the Tang clan to thank Tin Hau after having their sons adopted by her. The other bell was cast in 1700 as an offering to Tin Hau so that the young men of the clan could be blessed during their journey to the city for taking the provincial examinations. The temple was declared a monument on 15 November 2002.
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​The Tang Chung Ling Ancestral Hall is one of the largest ancestral halls in Hong Kong. It is reputed to have been built around 1525 in honour of the founding ancestor, Tang Chung-ling (1302-1387), and became the main ancestral hall of the Tang clan at Lung Yeuk Tau.

The magnificent ancestral hall is a three-hall building with two spacious internal courtyards. An annex, which serves as the kitchen, is attached to the right side. The whole building is exquisitely decorated with fine wood carvings, elaborate plaster mouldings, ceramic sculptures and murals of auspicious Chinese motifs, reflecting the superb craftsmanship of the period. 

Full restoration of the ancestral hall was completed in the middle of 1992 under the supervision of the Antiquities and Monuments Office and the Architectural Services Department.
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Tung Kok Wai

Tung Kok Wai (Eastern Walled Village) was established by the 13th generation ancestor Tang Lung-kong (1363 - 1421). The village has a history of more than 500 years and received its name due to its location in the east of the Lung Yeuk Tau area. 

Tung Kok Wai was constructed on a raised platform to protect it against flooding. The houses inside the village are primarily arranged in four rows and face northwest. Originally, the village was enclosed by a moat and grey brick walls with watchtowers at the four corners and an altar at the end of the main alley, but only the entrance tower and part of the enclosing walls still survive. The existing entrance tower was reconstructed in 1953. Inside the tower are four red sandstone column bases and two large granite square blocks. According to local legend, these are the remains of a temple that was built around the time that the village was constructed. 
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Wing Ning Tsuen

A branch of Wing Ning Wai and located to the northwest of that village on what it is said used to be Red Sand Hill, which got its name from the red soil in the area, Wing Ning Tsuen is also known as Tai Tang and has a history dating back some 300 years. The houses in the village face northeast and are mainly in three rows, with those at the front lower than those at the back in order to generate good feng shui. A fish pond that was once situated in front of the village has now been replaced by a playground.
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​Wing Ning Wai

Wing Ning Wai is said to have a history dating back 400 years. It originally had enclosing walls, but only part of them still survives. Inside the village are three rows of houses facing northeast, many of which have been rebuilt or vacated. The altar situated at the end of the main alley was disappeared. The entrance tower was built in 1744 with red sandstone blocks.
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Shin Shut Study Hall

The Shin Shut Study Hall, situated in San Uk Tsuen, was built in 1840 to commemorate Tang Wan-kai, the 19th generation ancestor of the Tang Clan. The building was used for ancestral worship and educating the clan members, and is the only existing study hall along the Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail. The hall had been used as a school before 1938 and ancient weapons such as long-bladed knives, swords, halberds, bows and arrows were also kept there. It housed a kindergarten after the Second World War. 

The building features two halls and a courtyard flanked by covered aisles. A kitchen is located on one side of the entrance hall, while outside the main entrance is a threshing ground with small chambers on both sides.
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San Wai is also known as Kun Lung Wai with the characters “Kun Lung” and “the jiazi year of Qianlong reign (1744)” engraved on the stone lintel of the entrance to the village. 

San Wai is a typical local walled village which is enclosed by grey brick walls with loopholes. A watchtower was constructed at each of the four corners of the enclosing walls to defend the village. The exterior of the tower was made of granite while two chained-ring iron gates were installed at the front entrance. The moat that originally surrounded the walled village has been filled in. Houses inside the village are laid out along the central axis with a communal altar situated at the end of the main alley. Unfortunately, most of the old houses have been replaced by new buildings. 

The entrance tower and the walls, including the watchtowers, were declared monuments in March 1988 and April 1993 respectively. 
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​Kun Lung Walls
    
Some years after the declaration of the gate house of Kun Lung Wai as a monument, the managers of the walled village further agreed to the protection of the enclosing walls and corner watch towers under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance. The walls and watch towers were then in a dilapidated condition, which were subsequently fully restored in 1994 with funding from the Government.
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Kun Lung Wai, presently known as San Wai, is one of the eleven Tang villages in Lung Yeuk Tau, Fanling. Although this village was reportedly settled by members of the Tang clan during the 14th century, the walls of San Wai were believed built in 1744 as the stone lintel above the main entrance to the village is engraved with 'Kun Lung, dated this Jiazi of the Qianlong reign'. Kun Lung Wai is enclosed with brick walls on all four sides. It is the most authentic and undisturbed walled village left in the area. The gate house of the walled village was declared a monument in 1988 and has since been properly restored.
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Siu Hang Tsuen

Situated northwest of San Wai, Siu Hang Tsuen has a history of about 200 years. The Tang Clan of Siu Hang Tsuen originally came from Lo Wai, but a lack of living space later prompted them to move to Lung Tong. When they first settled in Lung Tong, it was said there were only 10 houses. After living in Lung Tong for three generations, the clan moved back to Lung Yeuk Tau as the village was frequently harassed by bandits, and established the present-day Siu Hang Tsuen. 

The wall in front of the village, together with the archway at the eastern entrance, was built around 1960 to generate feng shui that was better suited for producing male offspring. A small temple called Fuk Tak Tsz, dedicated to worshipping the Earth God, is situated outside the archway. 
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