Pak Nai () is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

area, partly mud-bank, surrounded by mountain ranges, in the

Yuen Long District Yuen Long District (Hong Kong Government Cantonese Romanisation, formerly Un Long) is one of the districts of Hong Kong, districts of Hong Kong. Located in the northwest of the New Territories, it had a population of 662,000 in 2021. Geogra ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

facing Deep Bay (aka. Shenzhen Bay). Pak Nai makes up the coastline as Sheung Pak Nai () and Ha Pak Nai () geographically. Pak Nai is famous for its

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

which comes with rich

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

, with rare species found offshore. In recent years, the public has paid concern to a controversial development proposal, which eventually was dropped under objections. Besides its rich ecosystem, Pak Nai is known for its sunset views and historically-significant sites dating back to a couple thousand years ago. For electoral purposes, Ha Pak Nai and Sheung Pak Nai are part of the

Ha Tsuen Ha Tsuen ( zh, t=厦村), or Ha Tsuen Heung ( zh, t=厦村鄉, labels=no) is an area at the west of Yuen Long Town in Hong Kong. Administratively, it belongs to Yuen Long District. History During the Hongwu Emperor, Hongwu era (1368-1398) of ...

constituency.

Ecology

Ha Pak Nai's shoreline is where

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s, wetlands and mud banks are found. The mangroves in Ha Pak Nai harbour various species and are highly conserved by environmentalists. The rich

of this area has prompted the government to designate it a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Ha Pak Nai used to be an

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

bed, thus, There are still remains of oyster shells all over the

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

. Some species of

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...

s such as '' Perisesarma bidens'', '' Ilyoplax tansuiensis'', '' Uca arcuata'' and '' Sesarma sinensis'' are commonly found in the offshore

mud flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal f ...

. Among all the

s found in the Ha Pak Nai area, the

horseshoe crab Horseshoe crabs are arthropods of the family Limulidae and the only surviving xiphosurans. Despite their name, they are not true crabs or even crustaceans; they are chelicerates, more closely related to arachnids like spiders, ticks, and scor ...

is one of the most highly conserved species. Horseshoe crabs originate from 450 million years ago and are called "

living fossil A living fossil is a Deprecation, deprecated term for an extant taxon that phenotypically resembles related species known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the fossil species must be old relative to the time of or ...

s". Because of the

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

in their

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood is com ...

, which can be extracted to be applied in detecting

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

, horseshoe crabs are highly valued in medicine.

Archaeology and monument

There are two major relics and one historical site found around the Pak Nai area, which are the

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

of the Chen's homeland, Wu's homeland and a fortified structure. The

Antiquities and Monuments Office The Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) is a Hong Kong government organization established in 1976 under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance to protect and preserve historic monuments. Housed in the Former Kowloon British School, the AMO ...

found the Chen's relic in May, 1997, featuring a sand dune containing two culture levels. The excavation team found 4

posthole This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains. A B C D E F ...

s, 9 stone stoves, 3

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or Chemical Changes, chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects m ...

s and 1

grave A grave is a location where a cadaver, dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is burial, buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of buria ...

which it was the first time for Hong Kong excavating sun and moon utensils. The Wu's relic was found in September, 1997 by the same excavation team. They found culture levels in three time periods, having rammed earth foundations, stone artifacts and more. A fortified structure at No.55 Ha Pak Nai, which is a declared monument owing to its connection to the revolutionary movement of modern China under the leadership of Dr. Sun Yat-sen. Hsing Chung Hui (

Revive China Society The Revive China Society (), also known as the Society for Regenerating China or the Proper China Society was founded by Sun Yat-sen on 24 November 1894 to forward the goal of establishing prosperity for China and as a platform for future 19 ...

) members, who were KMT, stationed at Lower Pak Nai for preparation of overturning the ruling of

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

authority and conducted

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

tests. (Luo 1971:37) The structure was built by a core member of Hsing Chung Hui named Tang Yam-nam around 1910. It was the only solid evidence correlating the

1911 revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China (ROC). The revolution was the culmination of a decade ...

and its movement leader

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...

and his comrades. The structure served for the surveillance across the Deep Bay coast under the Qing authority.

Sunset

Ha Pak Nai ("Ha" means "lower") is known as one of the best places for viewing

sunset Sunset (or sundown) is the disappearance of the Sun at the end of the Sun path, below the horizon of the Earth (or any other astronomical object in the Solar System) due to its Earth's rotation, rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth, it ...

, making it a beloved place of many photographers, tourists and dating couples. The best sunset-viewing spots are the shores along Ha Pak Nai and the junction of Deep Bay Road and Nim Wan Road. Nim Wan Road is a popular 5 km cycling route for locals.

Withdrawn development plans

Former Heung Yee Kuk chairman

Lau Wong-fat Lau Wong-fat, Grand Bauhinia Medal, GBM, Gold Bauhinia Star, GBS, Order of the British Empire, OBE, Justice of the peace, JP (; 15 October 1936 – 23 July 2017) was a Hong Kong businessman and politician. He had been the long-time chairman of ...

applied for the development of Ha Pak Nai in 2007, but vigorous opposition led to withdrawal of the application. In 2010, Lau hope to pass the assessment of the

Town Planning Board The Town Planning Board () is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Government tasked with developing urban plans with an aim to ensuring the "health, safety, convenience and general welfare of the community through the process of guiding and co ...

by sharply reducing the scale of development and gave up building a golf course, as well as adding in more conservation features, in which the

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

-protection area was on the government's land instead of his, showing little commitment to conservation. The Ha Pak Nai village representative complained that poor transportation arrangements ought to be fatal to the plan. The government has already built facilities to introduce the fortified structure's information. In 2009 a

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

official noted that the construction of the Western Express Line, a proposed railway linking the Hong Kong and Shenzhen airports, might stop in Sheung Pak Nai. However, the proposal has been shelved as a consultant hired by the Transport and Housing Bureau found that the line would cost "well in excess" of HK$110 billion and had poor financial viability and poor market demand.

Transportation

Located in the very west of

New Territories The New Territories (N.T., Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: ) is one of the three areas of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of H ...

, Pak Nai can be reached by

minibus A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is us ...

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...

. Minibus number 33, from Tai Fung Street in the center of

Yuen Long Yuen Long is a town in the western New Territories, Hong Kong. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu (), Tin Shui Wai, Lau Fau Shan and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin (), and to the north Nam Sang Wa ...

, drops off at Pak Nai, beside the mud-bank.

References

External links

Delineation of area of existing village Pak Nai Tsuen (Ha Tsuen) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)

Delineation of area of existing village Ha Pak Nai Tsuen (Ha Tsuen) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)
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