Fo Tan () is an 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It was developed as a

light industrial Light industry are industries that usually are less capital-intensive than heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consumer goods. Most light industry products are produced fo ...

area, but this activity has declined markedly in recent years. There are residential areas to the east, alongside the

MTR The Mass Transit Railway system, known locally by the initialism MTR, is a rapid transit system in Hong Kong and the territory's principal mode of Rail transport in Hong Kong, railway transportation. Operated by the MTR Corporation (MTRCL), ...

line, and in the foothills to the west.

Etymology

Fo Tan is located around a river, the Fo Tan Nullah. Historically, a beach was revealed when the water receded. The area thus became known as "river beach" (). In

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

, this was pronounced "Fo Tan". It was later mistakenly called "Fire Beach" () due to similarities in pronunciation. This has further changed into "Fire Charcoal" () which is in current use, again due to similarities in pronunciation.

Location

North East South West To the south is

Sha Tin New Town Sha Tin New Town, also known as Sha Tin-Ma On Shan New Town or Sha Tin Town is one of the satellite towns and new towns of Hong Kong. It is within the Sha Tin District, the New Territories. The New Town covers the neighbourhoods of Sha Tin, ...

, with the small community of Wo Che in between. To the north is Kau To and the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public university, public research university in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. Established in 1963 as a federation of three university college, collegesChung Chi College, New Asia Coll ...

(CUHK). Nearby to the east is

Sha Tin Racecourse Sha Tin Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Sha Tin District, Sha Tin in the New Territories. It is managed by Hong Kong Jockey Club. Penfold Park is encircled by the track, and the Ho ...

while across the

Shing Mun River The Shing Mun River (Chinese: 城門河) or Shing Mun River Channel (Chinese: 城門河道) is a river in Sha Tin, Hong Kong. History The original Shing Mun River began at Needle Hill, and flowed into the former Tide Cove (Sha Tin Hoi), a sh ...

is City One Shatin.

Artistic community

Since 2001, as most industrial businesses have closed and moved to

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 ...

, more than 70 units in the utilitarian industrial blocks have reopened as artists' studios, creating a vibrant if well hidden local arts scene. Every January, a festival, Fotanian - Open Studio Programme, sees many of the studios open to the public. Guided walks lead visitors to these normally private working studios, which encompass a wide range of media and styles such as ceramic an
floral design
Fo Tan was chosen for artist spaces because the ceilings of the buildings are high and because it is in the middle of the New Territories.

Housing

Public housing estates

* Chun Yeung Estate * Sui Wo Court

Private housing estates

Private housing estates in Fo Tan include: *

Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Gra ...

* Jubilee Garden * Scenery Garden *

Shatin 33 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 ...

The Grandville ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

* The Palazzo

Villages

There are originally 24 Hakka villages. Villages in Fo Tan include: *

Fo Tan Village Fo Tan Village () is a village in the Fo Tan area of Sha Tin District in Hong Kong. Administration Fo Tan Village a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy The Small House Policy (SHP, ) was introduced in 1972 in Hon ...

Lok Lo Ha Lok Lo Ha () is a village and valley northeast of Wo Liu Hang in Fo Tan, Sha Tin District, Hong Kong. Administration Lok Lo Ha is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. History Lok Lo Ha was historically a sea-shore ...

* Pat Tsz Wo * Wo Liu Hang

Economy

A.S. Watson Group has its head office in the Watson House () in Fo Tan.

Education

Fo Tan is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 91. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money); no government schools are in this net. Schools in Fo Tan: * Sha Tin College *

Sha Tin Junior School The English Schools Foundation (ESF) is an organisation that runs 22 international schools in Hong Kong. It is Hong Kong's largest English-medium organisation of international schools. It was founded in 1967 with the passage of the English ...

* Jockey Club Ti-I College *

Hong Kong Sports Institute The Hong Kong Sports Institute () is a sports institute located in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. It is mandated to provide training to athletes, and also offers academic qualification in the field of sports training. The institute sponsors ...

* Chinese University

Transportation

Fo Tan station Fo Tan () is a station on the of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. It is located in the Fo Tan area of Sha Tin District, between and stations on the East Rail line's main branch. The is located parallel to Fo Tan, on t ...

on the

East Rail line The East Rail line () is one of the ten lines that form MTR, the rapid transit, mass transit system in Hong Kong. The railway line starts at Lo Wu station, Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau station, Lok Ma Chau, both of which are Border checkpoint, b ...

Buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

and

minibuses A minibus, microbus, or minicoach is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, the word "minibus" is us ...

*taxis

References

{{Coord, 22.39694, 114.19593, display=title Restricted areas of Hong Kong red public minibus