Tai Wai Village (), also known as Chik Chuen Wai (), is a

walled village A walled village () is a type of large traditional multi-family communal living structure found in China, that is designed to be easily defensible. It is completely surrounded by thick defensive walls, protecting the residents from the attack ...

in the

Tai Wai Tai Wai (Chinese: 大圍 ) is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong, located between Sha Tin and the Lion Rock, within the Sha Tin District. With three rapid transit stations, one of which an interchange station serving two lines, fiv ...

area of

Sha Tin District Sha Tin District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. As one of the 9 districts located in the New Territories, it covers the areas of Sha Tin, Tai Wai, Ma On Shan, Fo Tan, Siu Lek Yuen, and Ma Liu Shui. The district is the most ...

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 ...

Location

Tai Wai Village is located next to

Tai Wai station Tai Wai station is an interchange station on the and the of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. The station is located in Tai Wai, Sha Tin District. History The first iteration of Tai Wai station along the Kowloon–Can ...

and the main commercial streets of the

area.

Administration

Tai Wai Village is a recognized village under the

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 ...

Small House Policy The Small House Policy (SHP, ) was introduced in 1972 in Hong Kong. The objective was to improve the then prevailing low standard of housing in the rural areas of the New Territories. The policy allows an indigenous male villager who is 18 ye ...

History

Tai Wai Village, where the name of the area came from, was the largest and oldest

Sha Tin Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project. The new ...

. It was built in 1574 during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

, and was called Chik Chuen Wai () at the time. It was originally made up of 16 families, Wai (), Chan (), Ng (), Yeung (), Wong (), Lee (), Hui (), Cheng (), Tong (), Yuen (), Yau (), Lam (), Lok (), Tam (), Mok () and Choy (). The Wai family, being the largest family, is thought to be the direct descendants of the famous founder general of the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

Han Xin Han Xin (; ? – early 196 BCE) was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the ...

, who purportedly fled there to escape executions ordered by

Emperor Gao of Han Emperor Gaozu of Han (2561 June 195 BC), also known by his given name Liu Bang, was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning from 202 to 195 BC. He is considered by traditional Chinese historiography to be one of ...

's empress

Empress Lü Zhi The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

. The Han descendants changed their surname into Wai by splitting the word Hon () in two halves and took up the character on the right hand side. The Cheng family, on the other hand, originated from a place called

Xingyang Xingyang () is a county-level city in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, South Central China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Zhengzhou. It is situated 15 kilometers to the west of Zhengzhou city proper. The population of ...

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, China. Located in northern Henan, it is one of the nine National central city, national central cities in China, and serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational center of the province. Th ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

which is the place where

Chang'e Chang'e ( ; ), originally known as Heng'e (), is the goddess of the Moon and wife of Hou Yi, the great archer. Renowned for her beauty, Chang'e is also known for her ascending to the Moon with her pet Yu Tu, the Moon Rabbit and living in the Mo ...

supposedly flew to the Moon. It is also the birthplace of

Li Shangyin Li Shangyin ( zh, c=李商隱, p=Lǐ Shāngyǐn, 813858), courtesy name Yishan ( zh, c=義山), was a Chinese poet and politician of the late Tang dynasty, born in the Henei Commandery (now Qinyang, Henan). He is noted for his imagist and "n ...

, one of the most famous poets in the late

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. Tai Wai was mentioned in the 1688 '' Xinan gazeeter'' and it appears on the "Map of the San-On District" published in 1866 by

Simeone Volonteri Simeone Volonteri () (June 6, 1831 – December 21, 1904) was an Italian missionary and a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Life Simeone Volonteri was born in Milan, Italy. He joined the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions in 1855. He w ...

. At the time of the 1911 census, the population of Tai Wai Village was 350. The number of males was 164.

Features

The village was walled to protect the villagers from bandits, pirates and/or unfriendly neighbours. It was rectangular in shape with 4 watch towers at its four corners. The towers and the walls have long been demolished leaving only the entrance gate and part of the front wall. The houses inside the walls are in rows, and many houses have been built outside the walls due to later development.SCL - NEX/2206 EIA Study for Tai Wai to Hung Hom Section, Final Environmental Impact Assessment Report
4. Cultural Heritage Impact
October 2011 Historic and traditional buildings include the Entrance Gate, a Hau Wong Temple, the Wai Ancestral Hall and several old houses. The Entrance Gate is listed as a Grade II historic building.

Antiquities Advisory Board The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with the responsibility of advising the Secretary for Development, Antiquities Authority on any matters relating to antiquities and monum ...

List of the 1,444 Historic Buildings with Assessment Results
/ref> A Hau Wong Temple is located within Tai Wai Village. Originally sited outside the walled village, it was moved inside during the reign of Xianfeng (1850–1861). The current temple has replaced an earlier temple, probably built in 1884 and demolished in 1982. The Wai Ancestral Hall was built in the 18th or 19th century, outside of the village walls. The houses at Nos. 1, 2 and 3 First Street are listed as Grade III historic buildings.

References

External links

Delineation of area of existing village Tai Wai (Sha Tin) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)
*

. Historic Building Appraisal
Entrance Gate of Chik Chuen WaiPictures
*

. Historic Building Appraisal
Nos. 1, 2 and 3 First Street, Tai WaiPictures of Nos 1 and 2Pictures of No. 3
{{coord, 22.375674, 114.178627, display=title Walled villages of Hong Kong Tai Wai Villages in Sha Tin District, Hong Kong