Yuen Long Town (formerly Un Long Town or Un Long Hui) is located in the district centre of

Yuen Long District Yuen Long District (formerly romanised as Un Long) is one of the districts of Hong Kong. Located in the northwest of the New Territories, it had a population of 662,000 in 2021 Geography Yuen Long District contains the largest alluvial pla ...

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

, Hong Kong. It is the heart 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 N ...

and

Yuen Long New Town Yuen Long New Town is a new town in the northwest New Territories, Hong Kong. It was developed from the traditional market town of Yuen Long Town () from the late 1970s onwards. As it is located in the centre of Yuen Long Plain, the to ...

, with a population of around 200,000.

Geography

Yuen Long Town is located in the centre of Yuen Long. It was built on

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

and is divided into an eastern part and a western part by the

Shan Pui River The Shan Pui River (also known as Yuen Long Creek) () is a river in Yuen Long, New Territories, Hong Kong. It has many tributaries, most of them starting from inside Tai Lam Country Park. It passes six villages and is joined by a few more stre ...

; it is also divided into a northern part and a southern part by

Castle Peak Road Castle Peak Road is the longest road in Hong Kong. Completed in 1920, it runs in the approximate shape of an arc of a semi-circle. It runs West from Tai Po Road in Sham Shui Po, New Kowloon, to Tuen Mun, then north to Yuen Long then east ...

. The most prosperous part of Yuen Long Town is to the east of Shan Pui River, near Castle Peak Road. Many different types of shops can be found there, gaining the nickname "

Mong Kok Mong Kok (also spelled Mongkok, often abbreviated as MK) is an area in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The Prince Edward subarea occupies the northern part of Mong Kok. Mong Kok is one of the major shopping areas in Hong Kong. The area is characterised ...

of the west".

History

Yuen Long Town was called Un Long Hui early in the 20th century. It was the main

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

in Yuen Long at the time, located in the urban heart of Yuen Long. After the development of

, the name "Yuen Long Town" has been used only occasionally. Nevertheless, big companies like

Kowloon Motor Bus The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes. It is a subsidiary of Transport International. ...

, and the District Council still use "Yuen Long Town". Some road signs still have "Yuen Long Town" on them, but most of those were erected in the 1990s. Most of the road signs now use "Yuen Long" instead of "Yuen Long Town". Yuen Long Town developed from Yuen Long Kau Hui (literally Yuen Long Old Market) and Yuen Long San Hui (literally Yuen Long New Market). In 1972, the government included Yuen Long Town into the Government's town expansion scheme. Many buildings sprang up at the time, leading to a high number of buildings over 20 years old in Yuen Long Town. Since 1978, Yuen Long New Town has been built over the original Yuen Long Town, with the New Town being the district centre of the New Territories northwest. Many new facilities, for example the Yuen Long Police Station, the Yuen Long Town Hall, and the Yuen Long Stadium, were built on the lesser developed western side of the Shan Pui River.

Transport

In the past, Yuen Long Town relied on main roads like

, Tuen Mun Road, Lam Kam Road,

Route Twisk Route Twisk is a steep and tortuous dual-lane road in Hong Kong, linking Tsuen Wan and Pat Heung via Shek Kong. It joins Kam Tin Road and Lam Kam Road north in Kam Tin, and ends in the Tsuen Kam Interchange south in Tsuen Wan. It was named fo ...

and Route 9. The Yuen Long Highway and the San Tin Highway are used to connect to other areas in Hong Kong. However, because of the dependence upon Castle Peak Road and Tuen Mun Road, an accident on either road would put traffic to a complete standstill. However, after the completion of Route 3 (via Tai Lam Tunnel) in 1998, the traffic improved by a great deal and many destinations could be reached in reduced time.

Main roads

* Yuen Long Highway

Public transport

Rail

Since 1988, the Light Rail has been serving the area between

Tuen Mun Tuen Mun or Castle Peak is an area near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in what is now Hong Kong and can be dated to the Neolithic period. In the more ...

and the heart of Yuen Long, having been an essential part of everyday life for commuters. In December 2003,

West Rail line The West Rail line () was a rapid transit line that formed part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong until 27 June 2021. Coloured magenta on the MTR map, the line ran from Tuen Mun to Hung Hom, with a total length of ...

went into operation. It only takes around 20 minutes for residents in Yuen Long Town to go to Nam Cheong, near

Sham Shui Po Sham Shui Po is an area of Kowloon, Hong Kong, situated in the northwestern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, north of Tai Kok Tsui, east of Cheung Sha Wan and south of Shek Kip Mei (). It is located in and is the namesake of the Sham Shui ...

. In August 2009, West Rail line extend to

Hung Hom Hung Hom () is an area in the southeast of Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong. Including the area of Whampoa, Tai Wan, Hok Yuen, Lo Lung Hang and No. 12 Hill are administratively part of the Kowloon City District, with a portion west of Hu ...

, via

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

and

East Tsim Sha Tsui Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an urban area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsim ...

. In June 2021, the West Rail line combined with the

Ma On Shan line The Ma On Shan line () was a rapid transit line that formed part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. Coloured brown on the MTR map, the line acted as a branch of the East Rail line that connects the new towns of ...

and become the

Tuen Ma line The Tuen Ma line () is a rapid transit line that forms part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. Coloured brown on the map, the Tuen Ma line is in length, making it the longest line of the MTR network. It has a total o ...

Bus

Yuen Long is served by many bus routes, mostly operated by the KMB.

Daytime services

* ** Long Ping station, Yuen Long station * ** Five Light Rail stops (

, Tai Tong Road, Hong Lok Road, Fung Nin Road and Shui Pin Wai), four routes (610, 614, 615, 761P) within Yuen Long Town where people can interchange with

at Yuen Long. * Buses ** KMB: 53, 54, 64K, 68, 68A, 68E, 68F, 68M, 68X, 76K, 77K, 264R, 268A, 268B, 268C, 268P, 268X, 269D, 276, 276P, 869, 968 (harbour crossing), 968A (harbour crossing), 968X (harbour crossing), B1 (boundary crossing) ** MTR Bus: K65, K66, K68, K73, K74 ** LWB: A36, A37, E36, E36A, E36P, E36S ** NLB: B2 (boundary crossing) *

Public light bus The public light bus or minibus is a public transport service in Hong Kong. It uses minibuses to serve areas that standard Hong Kong bus lines cannot reach efficiently. The vehicles are colloquially known by the code-switch ' (Van Jái) lite ...

** Green minibuses *** 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 44B, 71, 72, 73, 74, 74A, 75, 76, 77, 78, 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 608, 609, 611, 612 ** Red minibuses ***

(Chi Lok Fa Yuen),

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

, Sheung Shui (via

or Fan Kam Road),

Sheung Tsuen Sheung Tsuen () is a village in the Pat Heung area of Yuen Long located along Route Twisk and Kam Sheung Road in the New Territories, Hong Kong. Administration Sheung Tsuen is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. ...

(via Kam Tin Road or Kam Sheung Road), Tai Tong,

Tai Po Tai Po is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It refers to the vicinity of the traditional market towns in the area presently known as Tai Po Old Market or Tai Po Kau Hui () (the original "Tai Po Market") on the north of Lam Tsu ...

Tsuen Wan Tsuen Wan (formerly also spelled Tsun Wan) is a town built on a bay in the western New Territories of Hong Kong, opposite of Tsing Yi Island across Rambler Channel. The market town of Tsuen Wan emerged from the surrounding villages and fl ...

Lok Ma Chau Lok Ma Chau or Lokmachau is an area in Hong Kong's New Territories. It is the site of a major pedestrian (linked directly to the Hong Kong rapid transit network) and road border crossing point between Hong Kong and mainland China. Administra ...

and

Kwun Tong Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowl ...

Overnight services

* Buses ** KMB: N269 ** LWB: N30, NA36 ** Harbour crossing: N368 * Public light bus ** Green minibus: 606S, 607S, 610S, 616S

Taxis

Yuen Long is served by urban red taxis and NT green taxis. The red taxis provide service to Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, whereas the green taxis provide connections within NT. Both types make connections to Hong Kong International Airport.

Public housing

* Yuen Long Estate

Education

Yuen Long Town Centre (East) is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 74. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and one government school: Yuen Long Government Primary School (元朗官立小學).

References

External links

Yuen Long District CouncilElectoral boundaries Yuen Long DistrictThe Incredible Journey of Yuen Long
{{coord, 22, 26, 40.09, N, 114, 01, 32.88, E, region:HK, display=title Yuen Long Populated places in Hong Kong Places in Hong Kong