The Aberdeen Floating Village is a

fishing port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

located in the

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

area of the Southern District of

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 ...

. The port contains approximately 600 junk boats used for

residential A residential area is a land used in which houses, housing predominates, as opposed to industrial district, industrial and Commercial Area, commercial areas. Housing may vary significantly between, and through, residential areas. These include ...

and commercial purposes. As of 2025, approximately 6,000 people reside in the vicinity of the Port area.

History

Since the 19th century, Aberdeen has been an important fishing port in Hong Kong and remains the only fishing port in the Southern District of Hong Kong. Over one-third of the fish caught in Hong Kong are processed in Aberdeen port. In the 1990s and 2000s, the population of the Aberdeen Floating Village community decreased due to the rapid development of fisheries in the

Guangdong Province ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

, as well as an overall increase in operating costs within Hong Kong proper. The total population of boat dwellers in Hong Kong was estimated to be 2,000 in 1841, 150,000 in 1963, and 40,000 in 1982. The majority of the people with boats do not permanently reside on their boats but instead use them to fish during the day, as most of the descendants of the original floating people have relocated to land-based accommodations. During the Pacific Typhoon Season in June and July and the corresponding Fishing Moratorium Period, more than 1,000 fishing vessels from the village are anchored in safe harbor at the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter.''"Development of the Fishing Industry in Aberdeen"'' from sign at Aberdeen Floating Village, Published by: Southern District Council, Hong Kong. Date visited: October 12, 2009.

Citizens

The majority of the floating village's residents belong to the Tanka (蜑家) community, who migrated to Hong Kong from

Southern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone between ...

between the 7th and 9th centuries. The term 'Tanka' is an

exonym An endonym (also known as autonym ) is a common, name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language, or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate them ...

of Cantonese origin translated literally as "egg people" - originating from the fact that the group historically paid taxes with eggs instead of currency. While the Tanka people use this term to refer to themselves, its usage by outsiders is regarded as derogatory compared to more neutral terms such as ''shuishangren'' (水上人), meaning "people living on water". The village is also home to members of the Han-descended Hoklo (福佬人) ethnic group. There are many other people in Aberdeen Village who neither live nor work on boats, though nearly all residents have a regular diet of fresh

seafood Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...

, widely available for sale from docked fishing boats, market stands, or

seafood restaurants Seafood is any form of Marine life, sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including Fish as food, fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of Mollusca, molluscs (e.g., bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters, and mussel ...

. Aberdeen Harbor was formerly home to the famous Jumbo Kingdom Floating Restaurant, which closed in 2020 due to the

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

before capsizing and sinking in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luz ...

. However, the neighboring Tai Pak Floating Restaurant continues to operate. On land, the parks along the waterfront are well-known places for residents and visitors to

exercise Exercise or workout is physical activity that enhances or maintains fitness and overall health. It is performed for various reasons, including weight loss or maintenance, to aid growth and improve strength, develop muscles and the cardio ...

and socialize.''“A short guide to Aberdeen.”'' from sign at Aberdeen Floating Village, Published by: Southern District Council, Hong Kong. Date visited: October 12, 2009. Some of the Boat People operate

sampan A sampan is a relatively flat-bottomed wooden boat found in East, Southeast, and South Asia. It is possibly of Chinese or Austronesian origin. Some sampans include a small shelter on board and may be used as a permanent habitation on in ...

s along the waterfront and can be hired as tour guides, offering 20 to 30 minute boat rides to the nearby small islands or the points along the harbor, pointing out sights along the way. The standard fare ranges from HK$50 to HK$80 in Hong Kong Dollars.''"Lifestyles of Fishermen"'' from sign at Aberdeen Floating Village, Published by: Southern District Council, Hong Kong. Date visited: 12 October 2009.

Fishing

Fishermen earn their living from fisheries beyond the coast. Upon returning to port, hauls are handed over to the Fish Marketing Organization (F.M.O.) for

wholesaling Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

, direct sale to wet markets, or directly to seafood restaurants.

Trawling Trawling is an industrial method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats. The net used for trawling is called a trawl. This principle requires netting bags which are towed through water to catch di ...

is the most common method used by fishermen in the

and

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

, though the method used ultimately depends on the intended type of catch.''"Fishing Methods"'' from sign at Aberdeen Floating Village, Published by: Southern District Council, Hong Kong. Date visited: October 12, 2009. Hong Kong fishermen employ several techniques for

netting In law, set-off or netting is a legal technique applied between persons or businesses with mutual rights and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities, replacing gross positions with net positions. It permits the rights to be used to discharg ...

fish. One method, known as

gillnetting Gillnetting is a fishing method that uses gillnets: vertical panels of netting that hang from a line with regularly spaced floaters that hold the line on the surface of the water. The floats are sometimes called "corks" and the line with corks is ...

, involves pulling a long net from behind the boat. Another method,

seine fishing Seine fishing (or seine-haul fishing; ) is a method of fishing that employs a surrounding net, called a seine, that hangs vertically in the water with its bottom edge held down by weights and its top edge buoyed by floats. Seine nets can be dep ...

, has fishermen place a circular net into the water once they see a school of fish swim by. Long-lining consists of the fishing boat pulling a string, tagged with smaller fish, to lure other fish. For catching shrimp, fishermen have to trawl in a unique way, during which they throw small bags into the sea. However, shrimp trawlers account for only a small portion of the Hong Kong fishing fleet. Currently, the most common trawlers in Hong Kong are the Hang Trawlers, Sten Trawlers, Purse Seiners, and Gill-Netters. While they were originally sail-powered, most of the local fishing boat junks were mechanized after the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

. The Fish Marketing Organization (F.M.O.) provides fishermen with marketing services and retailers in the village. The wholesale fish markets operated by the F.M.O. are located along the Aberdeen Promenade.

Tourism

The scenery and seafood the fishing port of Aberdeen offers has led to its popularity as a tourist attraction. The Hong Kong Tourist Association and the

Government of Hong Kong The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the handover of Hong Kong. ...

have promoted Aberdeen in order to benefit the local economy.''"Development of tourism in Aberdeen."'' from sign at Aberdeen Floating Village, Published by: Southern District Council, Hong Kong. Date visited: October 12, 2009.

Ferries and Sampans

While, Aberdeen has been transformed into a semi-commercial district, it has in many ways maintained the atmosphere of an old fishing village. Riding traditional sampans around the typhoon shelter or crossing the waters to

Ap Lei Chau Ap Lei Chau or Aberdeen Island is an island of Hong Kong, located off Hong Kong Island next to Aberdeen Harbour and Aberdeen Channel. It has an area of after land reclamation. Administratively it is part of the Southern District. Ap Lei ...

is a particularly popular activity for tourists. The sampans to Ap Lei Chau accept the

Octopus Card The Octopus card ( zh, t=, j=baat3 daat6 tung1, is a reusable Contactless payment, contactless stored value smart card for making Electronic money, electronic payments in online or offline systems in Hong Kong. Launched in September 1997 to ...

. Along the Aberdeen Promenade are ferryboats to popular destinations such as

, Lamma, and

Po Toi Po Toi (commonly , originally ) is the main island of the Po Toi Islands and the southernmost island of Hong Kong, with an area of 3.69 km2. Name It is said that the island used to produce dried seaweeds (), which were shaped like the ...

. There are also shuttle ferries to the floating restaurants and

s for hire for sightseeing. Every morning the Aberdeen boat people catch fresh fish to make

fish ball Fish balls are balls made from fish paste which are then boiled or deep-fried. Similar in composition to fishcake, fish balls are often made from fish mince or surimi, salt, and a culinary binder such as tapioca flour, corn, or potato star ...

s, which are used to create the local Aberdeen specialty, "Fish Ball Noodles". Boat people use both traditional and modern methods of cooking fish ball noodles. Overlook Jumbo Floating Restaurant

Jumbo Floating Restaurant

The Jumbo Floating Restaurant was a tourist attraction in Aberdeen. It was a double-story boat that served Cantonese-style cooked seafood. The restaurant was temporarily closed during the COVID-19 outbreak of 2020. On 14 June 2022, the barge was towed out of Hong Kong to transfer the restaurants to new owners in

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

before capsizing in the

during stormy weather near the

Paracel Islands The Paracel Islands, also known as the Xisha Islands () and the Hoàng Sa Archipelago (), are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea and currently controlled by the People's Republic of China. The word ''paracel'' is of Portuguese origi ...

on 19 June 2022.

Aberdeen Country Park

The Aberdeen Country Park is built around the reservoirs on the southern side of Hong Kong and contains walking paths and promenades. The longest trail can be completed within an hour. The Hong Kong Tourist Association has an information center in the park's southern section providing maps and pamphlets.

Aberdeen Tin Hau Temple

The Tin Hau Temple in Aberdeen was founded in 1851 and is dedicated to the

Goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...

Tin Hau. Every April (on the 23rd day of the third

lunar month In lunar calendars, a lunar month is the time between two successive syzygies of the same type: new moons or full moons. The precise definition varies, especially for the beginning of the month. Variations In Shona, Middle Eastern, and Euro ...

), the temple hosts ceremonies for Tin Hau's birthday. During the ceremony, residents decorate their boats along the shore and perform

lion dance Lion dance ( zh, s=舞狮, t=舞獅, p=wǔshī, c=, first=t) is a form of traditional dance in Culture of China, Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a Asiatic lion, lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good l ...

s outside the temple.

Gallery

File:Chuen Kee Ferry.jpg, The ferry service running between Lamma Island & Aberdeen is operated by Chuen Kee Ferry. File:Tsui Wah Ferry Co.jpg, Ferry service between Aberdeen to Pak Kok Tsuen and Yung Shue Wan (Lamma Island) is operated by Tsui Wah Ferry Co. File:Jumbo Ferry.jpg, Shuttle boat from Aberdeen Promenade or from Sham Wan pier to Jumbo Floating Restaurant. File:Sampan transport.jpg, Small sampans are used as a common mode of transportation between Aberdeen & Ap Lei Chau Island. Image:Sightseeing Sampan at the Aberdeen floating village.jpg, A sightseeing Sampan. Image:Sightseeing Sampan.jpg, Sightseeing Sampan at the shore of Aberdeen side. Image:Sampan Interior.jpg, Inside a sampan being used as public transportation between Aberdeen & Ap Lei Chau Island. Note the Octopus Card scanner in the middle.

References

{{Reflist Aberdeen, Hong Kong Hong Kong Fishing ports