Walled villages of Hong Kong

Most of the walled villages of Hong Kong are located in the New Territories.

History

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the shore of Guangdong suffered from pirates, and the area of present-day Hong Kong was particularly vulnerable to pirates' attacks. Winding shores, hilly lands and islands and remoteness from administrative centres made the territory of Hong Kong an excellent hideout for pirates. Villages, both Punti and Hakka, built walls against them. Some villages even protected themselves with cannons. Over time, the walls of most walled villages have been partly or totally demolished.

Names

In Punti Cantonese, ''Wai'' (, Walled) and ''Tsuen'' (, Village) were once synonyms, hence most place names which include the word 'wai', were at some point in time a walled village.

Conservation

Two heritage trails of Hong Kong feature walled villages:
* Ping Shan Heritage Trail. One walled village: Sheung Cheung Wai ().
* Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail. Five walled villages: Lo Wai (), Ma Wat Wai (), San Wai (, also called Kun Lung Wai ), Tung Kok Wai (, also known as Ling Kok Wai), Wing Ning Wai ().Antiquities and Monuments Office
Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail
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Features

Walled villages in Hong Kong are characterised by row houses arranged in a square or rectangular block, where the parallel rows of houses are separated by narrow lanes.

File:HK NamBinWai.jpg, Entrance gate of Nam Pin Wai
File:HK SheungCheungWai CentralAxle.JPG, Central axis of Sheung Cheung Wai
File:Tsing Chuen Wai 10.jpg, Tu Di Gong shrine within the entrance gate of Tsing Chuen Wai
File:Lam Tei Tsuen 11.jpg, A narrow lane in Lam Tei Tsuen, typical of Hong Kong walled villages
File:Mong Tseng Wai village shrine 02.jpg, Village shrine of Mong Tseng Wai, at the end of the central axis


File:覲龍圍.jpg, Wall of San Wai aka. Kun Lung Wai
File:HK KamTin KatHingWai 2014 (brighter version).jpg, Wall of Kat Hing Wai
File:20180305 151716 HDR.jpg, Wall of Fui Sha Wai, Tai Hang
File:Lo Wai, Lung Yeuk Tau 03.JPG, Wall of Lo Wai
File:Fanling Wai 2012.jpg, Village pond of Fanling Ching Wai

Notable walled villages

Kat Hing Wai

Kat Hing Wai () is a noted Punti walled village in Yuen Long District of Hong Kong. It often mistakenly believed to be Hakka, whose people have similar traditions. However the Punti people were from Southern China and the first to settle in Hong Kong. Kat Hing Wai's residents speak Cantonese, rather than Hakka. Popularly known as ''Kam Tin'', from the name of the area, it is home to about 400 descendants of the Tang Clan, who built the village back in the 17th century.

Kat Hing Wai is a rectangular (100 m x 90 m) walled village. As a family stronghold, Kat Hing Wai has served the Tangs well through the centuries, protecting the residents against bandits, rival clans, and wild tigers. During the Qing dynasty, a five-metre high blue brick wall and four cannon towers were added to defend against bandits. Today, the village is still completely surrounded by 18-inch-thick walls, outside which are the remains of a moat. However, most houses within the walls have been rebuilt in recent years. There is only one narrow entrance, with a pair of iron gates.

Tsang Tai Uk

Tsang Tai Uk (), also known as Shan Ha Wai (), is another well-known Hakka walled village in Hong Kong, and one of the best preserved. It is located in Sha Tin, close to the south of the Pok Hong Estate, not far from the Lion Rock Tunnel Road. Built as a stronghold for the Tsang Clan, its construction started in 1847 and took around 20 years to complete. The village is built with granite, grey bricks and solid timber.

Sheung Shui Wai

Sheung Shui Wai (), also known as Sheung Shui Heung (), is one of the very few rural settlements having retained its original moat which was built in 1646. Characterized by its magnificent moat and landscape setting, the walled village is the core of the Liu clan, of which ancestors came originally from Fujian during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). The village is located in Sheung Shui.

Fanling Wai

Fanling Wai () is a walled village in Fanling built by the Pang () Clan. It is recognisable with the distinctive pond and layout including features such as cannons and watchtowers. All these elements were crafted to form an integral part of the village setting. Fanling Wai is the centre of the Pang Clan who arrived in Hong Kong late during the Song dynasty.Planning Department – Historical Background
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Nga Tsin Wai Tsuen

Nga Tsin Wai Tsuen () is a walled village in Wong Tai Sin, New Kowloon. It is the only walled village left in the urban built-up areas of Hong Kong. Nga Tsin Wai Tsuen is also the only remaining walled village in Kowloon. It is located near San Po Kong. On 18 July 2007, the government announced its plans to redevelop Nga Tsin Wai Tsuen.HK Yahoo News
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List of walled villages

Remaining walled villages in Hong Kong include:

North District

Sha Tin District

Tai Po District

Tsuen Wan District

Tuen Mun District

Wong Tai Sin District

Yuen Long District

Unconfirmed

The following villages are likely to have been walled villages, although it is not confirmed:

Other fenced villages

A number of old villages in Hong Kong have a wall, built for defensive or feng shui purposes, and an entrance gate, but are not considered as traditional walled villages. They include:

Non-walled 'wai'

The following villages are neither current nor former walled villages, despite the ''wai'' in their name:

* Fan Ling Nam Wai ()
* Fan Ling Pak Wai ()
* Fung Ka Wai ()
* Ha Wai ()
* Hok Tau Wai ()
* Kam Tsin Wai ()
* Kan Tau Wai ()
* Kat O Sheung Wai ()
* Kau Lung Hang Kau Wai ()
* Kau Lung Hang San Wai ()
* Kau Shi Wai (), renamed Fung Mei Wai ()
* Kei Ling Ha San Wai ()
* Kei Lun Wai ()
* Lo Wai (Tsuen Wan) ()
* Luk Keng Ha Wai ()
* Luk Keng Sheung Wai ()
* Mai Po Lo Wai ()
* Nam Pin Wai (Sai Kung) ()
* Nam Wai ()
* Pak Wai (Kam Tin) ()
* Pak Wai (Sai Kung) ()
* Pui O Lo Wai ()
* San Lung Wai ()
* San Tin Ha San Wai ()
* San Tin Sheung San Wai ()
* Sha Lo Tung Lo Wai ()
* Sha Tin Wai ()
* Shek Pok Wai ()
* Shek Tau Wai ()
* Sheung Kwai Chung Wai ()
* Shui Tsiu Lo Wai ()
* So Kwun Wat Lo Wai ()
* Tai Po Kau Lo Wai ()
* Tai Po Kau San Wai ()
* Tai Shang Wai ()
* Tap Mun Chung Wai ()
* Tap Mun Ha Wai ()
* Tap Mun Sheung Wai ()
* To Yuen Wai ()
* Tseng Tau Wai ()
* Tsing Chuen Wai (Yuen Long) ()
* Tsiu Keng Lo Wai ()
* Tsiu Keng San Wai ()
* Tung Chan Wai ()
* Tung Tau Wai ()
* Wong Chuk Hang San Wai ()
* Wong Ka Wai ()
* Wu Kau Tang Lo Wai ()

See also

* Housing in Hong Kong
* History of Hong Kong
* List of villages in Hong Kong
* Chinese clan
* Weitou dialect
* Dapengcheng, a walled village in Shenzhen
* Hakka walled village
* Kowloon Walled City

References

Further reading

*
*
* Wang, Weijen
"Axial Inversion – the transformation of the spatial structure and its ritual axis in Hong Kong's walled villages"
Hong Kong Papers in Design and Development, Vol.1, pp. 26–33, Dec. 1998
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walled Villages Of Hong Kong

Culture of Hong Kong
Hakka architecture