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 populo ...

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 was developed as a

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

area, but this activity has declined markedly in recent years. There are residential areas to the east, alongside the MTR 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 Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hun ...

, 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, or 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 such as Sha Tin, T ...

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

Kau To Kau To Village () is a village on Kau To Shan, near Fo Tan, Sha Tin District, Hong Kong. Administration Kau To is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. History The village historically shared a single higher ...

and the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university a ...

(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 in the New Territories. It is managed by Hong Kong Jockey Club. Penfold Park is encircled by the track, and the Hong Kong Sports Ins ...

while across the Shing Mun River is City One Shatin.

Artistic community

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

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater Chin ...

, 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 ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races a ...

Jubilee Garden The Jubilee Garden is a large, open park big area in the center of Vadodara city, Gujarat, India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most ...

* Scenery Garden * Shatin 33 * The Grandville *

The Palazzo The Palazzo (also called The Palazzo at The Venetian) is a luxury hotel and casino resort located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is the tallest completed building in Nevada. Designed by the Dallas-based HKS, Inc., the hotel ...

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. See also * Kau Yeuk (Sha Tin) * Sui Wo (constituency) Re ...

* Lok Lo Ha * Pat Tsz Wo * Wo Liu Hang

Economy

A.S. Watson Group A.S. Watson Group (or A.S. Watson or ASW) is the world's largest international health and beauty retailer, with over 16,000 stores in 27 markets worldwide serving over 5.3 billion customers every year, and over 137 million loyalty programme mem ...

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 College (STC) is a co-educational international secondary school in Hong Kong and a member of the English Schools Foundation. Established in 1982 as the Shatin Annexe based in the campus of KGV School in Kowloon Tong, the school ...

Sha Tin Junior School Sha Tin Junior School () is a primary school run by the English Schools Foundation in Fo Tan, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. The school opened in 1988, and the founding principal Gordon Lewis remained in this post until his retirement ...

* 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 The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university and ...

Transportation

* Fo Tan station on the

East Rail line The East Rail line () is one of ten lines of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. It used to be one of the three lines of the Kowloon–Canton Railway (KCR) network. It was known as the KCR British Section () from 1910 to 1996 ...

Buses A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for ...

and

minibuses A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) 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 ...

*taxis

References

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