Chung Mei is an area on the Tsing Yi Island in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

. It is also the name of a village on the island.

Name

Chung Mei means the end () of a stream (), in

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding ar ...

. It might refer the stream of Liu To or a much shorter where the former villages sited. Both streams are located near the Tsing Yi Lagoon.

History

The original Chung Mei was located on the valley at the present-day Lam Tin Resite Village, below Tiger's Head (). Chung Mei was two villages. One was Ha Chung Mei (), namely "lower Chung Mei". Another was Sheung Chung Mei (), namely "upper Chung Mei". While Ha Chung Mei was sited near the Tsing Yi Lagoon, Sheung Chung Mei was sited higher on valley. The position of Ha Chung Mei is close to present-day TWGHs S. C. Gaw Memorial College. The stream of Liu To and Sheung Chung Mei made cultivation available. According to James Hayes, the cultivation on the island was mainly

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domestica ...

and

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been cultivated for many centurie ...

. Along the shore of Tsing Yi Lagoon, from the villages, to the east was Sheung Ko Tan and to the north was Tai Wong Ha. The

Tsing Yi Town Tsing Yi Town is located on the eastern coast of Tsing Yi Island, Hong Kong and is part of the Tsuen Wan New Town Tsuen Wan New Town is a new town in Hong Kong. It spans Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and the eastern part of Tsing Yi Island. ...

was at the northeast of Chung Mei, across the

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into '' coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons' ...

. In the 1980s, the villages were forced to re-site during the expansion of

Tsuen Wan New Town Tsuen Wan New Town is a new town in Hong Kong. It spans Tsuen Wan, Kwai Chung and the eastern part of Tsing Yi Island. Traditionally, the administrative officials of Tsuen Wan managed the area of Tsuen Wan proper, Kwai Chung, Tsing Yi Is ...

. The original Chung Mei and its surrounding was flatten and reclaimed for re-siting four villages on the Tsing Yi Island. The villages of Chung Mei was combined with Lo Uk () and relocated east on the higher ground above Sheung Ko Tan. The resited villages was named Chung Mei Lo Uk Tsuen () though they are administrated separately. Apart from villages, owing to the destruction of old Tsing Yi Town, many retailers have moved their shops into this village and formed a market. The market still operates everyday even though many new markets were built on the island. As the new establishment of the village, the name of Chung Mei also commonly refers to its present site and surrounding villages, rather than its former location.

Administration

The original Chung Mei Tsuen was composed of indigenous inhabitants of

Chan Chan may refer to: Places *Chan (commune), Cambodia * Chan Lake, by Chan Lake Territorial Park in Northwest Territories, Canada People *Chan (surname), romanization of various Chinese surnames (including 陳, 曾, 詹, 戰, and 田) * Chan Cald ...

() family. They have representatives in the Tsing Yi Rural Committee, a composition organisation of

Heung Yee Kuk The Heung Yee Kuk, officially the Heung Yee Kuk N.T., is a statutory advisory body representing establishment interests in the New Territories, Hong Kong. The council is a powerful organisation comprising heads of rural committees which repre ...

. But after the relocation, many outsiders moved in. The villages thus also has to create one representative for non-indigenous inhabitants. The villages of Chung Mei and Lo Uk are recognized villages under the

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 ...

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 ...

Surroundings

West of Chung Mei is an unnamed valley. To its east is resite village of Sheung Ko Tan and Tsing Yi Lutheran Village. There is one road named after the village, namely

Chung Mei Road Chung may refer to: Surnames * Chung (surname) * Jeong (surname), Korean surname * Zhong (surname), or Chung, Chinese surname * Cheung, or Chung, Cantonese surname Geography * Chung, Iran, a village in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Iran ...

. The road connects Ching Hong Road and

Tsing Yi Heung Sze Wui Road Tsing Yi Heung Sze Wui Road () is one of the oldest roads on the Tsing Yi Island, Hong Kong. It was built to connect Tsing Yi Town and Tsing Yi Bridge when the bridge was being built. The name "Tsing Yi Heung Sze Wui" derives from the local Cant ...

. It is one of major roads of the island. Across Chung Mei Road is

Cheung Hong Estate The following is an overview of public housing estates on Tsing Yi, Hong Kong including Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS), Flat-for-Sale Scheme (FFSS), Tenant Purchase Scheme (TPS) and Subsidised Sale Fl ...

, the largest

public housing estate Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

s on the island.

References

External links

Delineation of area of existing village Chung Mei Tsuen (Tsing Yi) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)

Delineation of area of existing village Lo Uk Tsuen (Tsing Yi) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)
{{coord, 22.351366, N, 114.10497, E, type:city, display=title Tsing Yi Villages in Kwai Tsing District, Hong Kong