Lam Tsuen () is an area in

Tai Po District Tai Po District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. The suburban district covers the areas of Tai Po New Town (including areas such as Tai Po Market, , Tai Po Industrial Estate, Tai Wo Estate), Tai Po Tau, Tai Po Kau, Hong Lok Yue ...

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 ...

, noted for its

Lam Tsuen wishing trees The Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees () are a popular shrine in Hong Kong located near the Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong, Tin Hau Temple in Fong Ma Po Village, Lam Tsuen. The temple was built around 1768 or 1771,Lam Tsuen River The Lam Tsuen River () is a river in Tai Po District, Hong Kong, with a length of 10.8 kilometres and a catchment area of approximately 21 square kilometres.Tai Po Hoi.

History

During 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 ...

, Lam Tsuen was a member of

Tai Po Tsat Yeuk Tai Po Tsat Yeuk () was an inter-village alliance (, yeuk) in today's Hong Kong.Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building AppraisalYau Ancestral Hall, Ng Tung Chai/ref> It collectively comprised 64 villages. History The alliance established T ...

(), an inter-village alliance that established Tai Wo Market () in 1892 in order to break the monopoly of the old

Tai Po Market Tai Po Market or Tai Po Hui () is the name of an area within the modern-day Tai Po New Town in the Tai Po District, in the New Territories, Hong Kong. However, its exact location changed from time to time. It is considered as the town centre of ...

() founded by 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 ...

Lung Yeuk Tau Lung Yeuk Tau (), commonly known as Lung Ku Tau () and also called Lung Ling () is an area located northeast of Luen Wo Hui in Fanling, New Territories, Hong Kong. Administration For electoral purposes, Lung Yeuk Tau is part of the Queen's Hil ...

().

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 ...

. Historic Building Appraisal
Yau Ancestral Hall, Ng Tung Chai
/ref>

Villages

Lam Tsuen is not a village in the political sense but rather a union of the 23 villages scattered across the

Lam Tsuen Valley Lam Tsuen Valley () is situated in the New Territories, Hong Kong, west of Tai Po New Town. Lam Tsuen and other villages are located in the valley. The Lam Tsuen River and its branches collect water from nearby hills. The area is suitable for cul ...

along with five indigenous (

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 ...

) villages and 18

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 ...

villages. Today, Lam Tsuen spreads over an area covering 26 villages: * Chai Kek () * Chung Uk Tsuen (), the oldest village in Lam Tsuen, was established more than 600 years ago. *

Fong Ma Po Fong Ma Po () is a village in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po District, Hong Kong. Fong Ma Po is a ''Punti'' village, where a Tin Hau Temple, the Lam Tsuen wishing trees and the former are located. Recognised status Fong Ma Po is a recognised village under ...

(, lit. "place for grazing horses"), a Punti village, where the

Tin Hau Temple Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong are dedicated to the Chinese goddess Tin Hau (), better known as Mazu (goddess), Mazu (). Over 100 temples are dedicated (at least partially) to Tin Hau in Hong Kong. A list of these temples can be found below. Famo ...

and the

Lam Tsuen wishing trees The Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees () are a popular shrine in Hong Kong located near the Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong, Tin Hau Temple in Fong Ma Po Village, Lam Tsuen. The temple was built around 1768 or 1771,Hang Ha Po Hang Ha Po () is a village in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po District, Hong Kong. Administration Hang Ha Po is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. Geography Adjacent villages: * Kau Liu Ha, to the northeast * San Uk Pai, to th ...

() *

Kau Liu Ha Kau Liu Ha () is a village in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po District, Hong Kong. Administration Kau Liu Ha is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy The Small House Policy (SHP, ) was introduced in 1972 in Hong Kong. The obje ...

() *

Lin Au Cheng Uk Lin Au, also known as Lin O ( or ), is a Hakka village in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po District, Hong Kong. It is one of the 23 villages in Lam Tsuen Valley.Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building AppraisalCheng Ancestral Hall No. 15 Lin Au, Tai Po/ref> ...

() *

Lin Au Lei Uk Lin Au, also known as Lin O ( or ), is a Hakka village in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po District, Hong Kong. It is one of the 23 villages in Lam Tsuen Valley.Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building AppraisalCheng Ancestral Hall No. 15 Lin Au, Tai Po/ref> ...

() *

Lung A Pai Lung A Pai (; ) is a village in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po District, Hong Kong. Recognised status Lung A Pai is a recognised village under the New Territories Small House Policy. References External links Delineation of area of existing village Lung A Pe ...

(), a Hakka village *

Ma Po Mei Ma Po Mei () is a village in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po District, Hong Kong. Administration Ma Po Mei is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. References External links Delineation of area of existing village Ma Po Mei (T ...

() *

Nam Wa Po Nam Wa Po () is a village in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po District, Hong Kong. Administration Nam Wa Po is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. It is one of the villages represented within the Tai Po Rural Committee. For electo ...

() *

Ng Tung Chai Ng Tung Chai (), also known as Wong Fung Chai (), is a village in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po District, Hong Kong.Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building AppraisalYau Ancestral Hall, Ng Tung Chai/ref> It is the departure point of a trail leading t ...

() * Pak Ngau Shek Ha Tsuen () * Pak Ngau Shek Sheung Tsuen () * Ping Long () * San Tong () *

San Tsuen San Tsuen () is a village situated in the north eastern New Territories of Hong Kong, to the west of the town of Sha Tau Kok. The village is inhabited by the Yau (, Hakka: khiu33) clan. It is a Hakka speaking village. San Tsuen was the village t ...

() * San Uk Tsai () * She Shan Tsuen () * Shui Wo () * Siu Om Shan () * Tai Om () * Tai Om Shan () * Tai Yeung Che () * Tin Liu Ha (), a Hakka village, which was subdivided into 2 villages: Sheung Tin Liu Ha (, Upper Tin Liu Ha) and Ha Tin Liu Ha (, Lower Tin Liu Ha) * Tong Sheung Tsuen () * Wai Tau Tsuen () Name: although the union of villages is called Lam Tsuen, however, the majority of villagers has the surname: Chong (), only a small proportion of residents are of surname Lam ()

Attractions

Wishing Tree

Wishing Tree is two camphor trees which were seen as "god" by the inhabitant. Traditionally, the villagers used to burn the joss paper and light up the candle under the trees for making wishes. In the legend, a woman who fell in ill dreamed that a god told her to visit Lam Tsuen and throw a piece of joss paper to the great tree. She followed the instruction and the women recovered. Afterwards, the people changed to toss the joss paper to the trees with their blessings written on it.

Tin Hau Temple

at Lam Tsuen was built in 1768 to honour

Tin Hau Mazu or Matsu is a sea goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. She is also known by several other names and titles. Mazu is the deified form of Lin Moniang (), a shamaness from Fujian who is said to ...

, the goddess of the sea, who calmed the sea to protect the fishermen. In the beginning, the villagers had inadequate capital to construct the temple but a rich man, Tang, paid for the construction cost after he knew the situation. Then, the villagers put ''Tang'''s monument into the temple for worship. The villagers see the temple as the most sacred place in their village and the Bun Festival is held in there in every nine years. The regular worship and ceremony are also held in the Tin Hau Temple in normal days.

Well-Wishing Festival

Well-Wishing Festival was developed from traditional ritual for the inhabitant to the most representative ritual for making wishes in Hong Kong. The festival is held in the first couple of weeks of Chinese New Year. In the festival, the people can make wishes by tossing the joss paper, making lotus lanterns and doing other interesting activities. To attract more visitors, the Well-Wishing Carnival is developed and people can enjoy the cultural performance such as lion dance, and food stalls and game booths in the festival.

Da Jiu Festival

In Da Jiu Festival, people pray for good weather, health and peace in their village. This festival is held in Lam Tsuen in every 10 years. It lasts for five days and six nights.

Education

Lam Tsuen is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 84. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and Tai Po Government Primary School (大埔官立小學).

References

External links

"Review of Egretries in Hong Kong", in ''Hong Kong Biodiversity'', Issue No. 14 March 2007, pp. 1-6.
{{coord, 22.4558, 114.1258, display=title Populated places in Hong Kong Hakka culture in Hong Kong

History

Villages

Attractions

Wishing Tree

Tin Hau Temple

Well-Wishing Festival

Da Jiu Festival

Education

See also

References

External links