Kat Hing Wai () is a

Punti ''Punti'' ( zh, t=本地, j=bun2 dei6, l=locals) is a Cantonese endonym referring to the native Cantonese people of Guangdong and Guangxi. In Hong Kong, ''Punti'' designates Weitou dialect-speaking locals in contrast to non-Weitou speaker ...

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

Yuen Long District Yuen Long District (Hong Kong Government Cantonese Romanisation, formerly Un Long) is one of the districts of Hong Kong, districts of Hong Kong. Located in the northwest of the New Territories, it had a population of 662,000 in 2021. Geogra ...

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 village is popularly known as ''

Kam Tin Kam Tin, or Kam Tin Heung, is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It lies on a flat alluvial plain north of Tai Mo Shan mountain and east of Yuen Long town. It was formerly known as Sham Tin (岑田). Administratively, it is par ...

'', from the name of the local area. Kat Hing Wai is home to about 400 descendants of the

Tang Clan The Tang Clan of Hong Kong () is one of the Five Great Clans of the New Territories. The others are Man (), Hau (), Pang () and Liu (). The Tangs are one of the region's oldest families and can trace their lineage back 30 generations in Hong ...

, one of the " Five Great Clans" of the territory who settled here from China during the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

. The village walls were added in the 17th century.

Hong Kong Museum of History The Hong Kong Museum of History is a public museum that preserves Hong Kong's historical and cultural heritage. It is located next to the Hong Kong Science Museum, in Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong. The collections of the museum enc ...

The Tangs are Punti people descended from Southern China and were the first to settle in Hong Kong. Kat Hing Wai's residents speak the

Weitou dialect The Weitou dialect or Wai Tau dialect () is a dialect of Yue Chinese. It forms part of the Guan–Bao (Kuan-pao; , Tungkuan– Paoan) branch of Yuehai. It is spoken by older generations in Lo-hu and Fu-tʻien districts in Shenzhen, a ...

, a Yue dialect. Three other walled villages,

Wing Lung Wai Wing Lung Wai () is a walled village located in the Kam Tin area of Yuen Long District, in Hong Kong. Three other walled villages, Kat Hing Wai, Tai Hong Wai, and Kam Hing Wai are located nearby and were built around the same time. Administr ...

Tai Hong Wai Tai Hong Wai () is a walled village located in the Kam Tin area of Yuen Long District, in Hong Kong. Three other walled villages, Kat Hing Wai, Wing Lung Wai, and Kam Hing Wai are located nearby and were built around the same time. Administra ...

, and

Kam Hing Wai Kam Hing Wai () is a walled village located in the Kam Tin area of Yuen Long District, in Hong Kong. Three other walled villages; Kat Hing Wai, Wing Lung Wai, and Tai Hong Wai) are located nearby and were built around the same time. Administration ...

are located nearby and were built around the same time.

Administration

Kat Hing Wai 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

Kat Hing Wai was established during the reign of the

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

Chenghua Emperor The Chenghua Emperor (9 December 1447 – 9 September 1487), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Xianzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Jianshen, changed to Zhu Jianru in 1457, was the ninth emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1464 ...

(r. 1464–1487). The walls enclosing Kat Hing Wai were built by Tang Chue-yin () and Tang Chik-kin () in the early years of the

Kangxi The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ye ...

reign (1661–1722) of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. The

Six-Day War (1899) The Six-Day War was a brief war fought between the United Kingdom and several ''punti'' clans of the New Territories in Hong Kong from 14–19 April 1899. Several ''punti'' clan leaders were opposed to the British takeover of the New Territo ...

was fought between the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

and the major ''punti'' clans of the

in Hong Kong on 14–19 April 1899. The Tang Clan joined other ''punti'' clans in resisting the British takeover of the New Territories and established a defensive position at Kat Hing Wai. After the British defeated the ''punti'' clans, the iron gates were symbolically dismantled and shipped to London to be put on display. Following repatriation requests from the Tang Clan in 1924, the gate was eventually returned in 1925 by Sir Edward Stubbs. As a celebration, Kat Hing Wai displays a tablet as an account of this incident by the entrance. Because of this, Kat Hing Wai became a unique place where have a strong icon in both architectural and historical background to be studied.discoverhongkong.com
(see this page for access details)

Features

Kat Hing Wai is a quasi-rectangular () walled village with seven meters high brick walls, originally used to protect from pirates and another clans' invasion. The village area is about eighty-meter square (i.e. a square with a side length of 80 meters). As a family stronghold, Kat Hing Wai has served the Tangs well through the centuries, protecting the residents against bandits, rival

clans A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

, and wild tigers. During the Qing dynasty, a five-metre high blue brick wall and four cannon towers were added to defend against bandits. Today, the village is still completely surrounded by 18-inch-thick walls, outside which are the remains of a moat. However, most houses within the walls have been rebuilt in recent years. There is only one narrow entrance, with a pair of iron gates that were removed by the British in 1899 and only one was eventually returned in 1924. The current standing gates are a mismatched pair, the left hand side originally belongs to

and was given to Kat Hing Wai as a gift when the right gate was returned.

Conservation

Kat Hing Wai is a private property. The Acting

Secretary for Home Affairs The Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs is the head of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau of the Government of Hong Kong, which is responsible for local issues, and the provision of community and youth services. List of office holders Regist ...

stated in 2002 that the

Antiquities and Monuments Office The Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) is a Hong Kong government organization established in 1976 under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance to protect and preserve historic monuments. Housed in the Former Kowloon British School, the AMO ...

was negotiating with its owners in order to obtain their agreement to preserve the walled village as a monument. In 2010, the entrance gate, the shrine, the four watchtowers and the enclosing walls of Kat Hing Wai were collectively listed as Grade I historic buildings.

Education

Kat Hing Wai is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 74. POA 74 has multiple aided schools and one government school: Yuen Long Government Primary School (元朗官立小學).

Access

Route:

Kam Sheung Road station Kam Sheung Road () is an MTR station on the , located between Pat Heung and Kam Tin in Hong Kong. It is situated between Tsuen Wan West and Yuen Long stations. Kam Sheung Road was the location for the KCR West Rail's opening ceremony. Histor ...

Kowloon Motor Bus The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating Bus services in Hong Kong, franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes, with over 4,000 buses ...

bus routes 51, 54, 64K and 251M.

References

External links

Delineation of area of existing village Kat Hing Wai (Kam Tin) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)
*

. Hong Kong Traditional Chinese Architectural Information System
Kat Hing Wai
* Pictures by the

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 ...

shrineentrance gatenorthwest watchtowernortheastsoutheastsouthwest

Historical photos of Kat Hing Wai
at gwulo.com
Pictures of Kat Hing Wai
(personal website)
Kat Hing Wai video tour
{{Coord, 22.43971, 114.064011, display=title, region:CN_type:city Walled villages of Hong Kong Kam Tin Villages in Yuen Long District, Hong Kong