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Lin Ma Hang () is a village in the
Sha Tau Kok Sha Tau Kok () is a closed town in North District, Hong Kong. It is the last remaining major settlement in the Frontier Closed Area and is Hong Kong's northernmost town. Its residents are mostly descendants of Hakka farmers and Hoklo fisher ...
area of Hong Kong and is situated north of 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 ...
, next to the Shenzhen river, east of Heung Yuen Wai and west of Hung Fa Leng.


Administration

Lin Ma Hang 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 ...
. It is one of the villages represented within the Ta Kwu Ling District Rural Committee. For electoral purposes, Lin Ma Hang is part of the Sha Ta constituency, which is currently represented by Ko Wai-kei.


History

People originated in the village are the Yip (葉) (or Ip, Yap, Yapp), Lau (劉), Sin (冼) and Koon (官) (or Kwun). It is named after a
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
called Lin Ma (蓮麻) that can be found in the mid-level streams. Lin Ma Hang is part of the Four Yeuk (), which comprises Loi Tung,
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 ...
, Lin Ma Hang and Tan Chuk Hang. The centre of the Alliance is the Hung Shing Temple at Hung Leng. At the time of the 1911 census, the population of Lin Ma Hang was 516. The number of males was 199.


Abandoned lead mine

A lead mine was in operation in Lin Ma Hang starting in 1915.The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Hong Kong Branch
Pb–Zn ore was mined there. The mine operated intermittently between 1915 and 1958, producing 16,000 tonnes of lead metal and 360,000 ounces of silver. The Government rescinded the mining lease in 1962 and the mine was abandoned the same year.


Fauna and flora

The abandoned lead mine now holds one of the most important bat colonies in Hong Kong, and was designated as a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...
(SSSI) in 1994. The Lin Ma Hang Stream was designated as a SSSI in 2008. It supports 17 species of primary freshwater fish, representing 50% of all such species native to Hong Kong. The village is situated in the basin of the Robin's Nest () which is famous for its abundance in "Hanging Bell Flowers" (吊鐘花).


Building heritage

* The Residence of Ip Ting-sz is a declared monument * Old Bridge, Grade 3 historic building * Ip Ancestral Hall, Grade 3 historic building * Koon Ancestral Hall, Grade 3 historic building * Kwan Tai Temple, not graded * Lau Ancestral Hall, not graded * MacIntosh Fort on Kong Shan above Lin Ma Han, Grade 2 historic building


Access

Until 4 January 2016, the village was situated in the Frontier Closed Area and was therefore inaccessible to non-permit holders. Since 4 January 2016, the village was excluded from the Frontier Closed Area. Nonetheless, a portion of Lin Ma Hang Road, the access road to the village, between Wang Lek and Lin Ma Hang, still falls within the closed area. Therefore, permits are still required for anyone visiting the village by road to travel on this section of road. Green Minibus 59K from Sheung Shui Station operates to Lin Ma Hang. Passengers for Lin Ma Hang must have a closed area permit, or are required to alight at Wang Lek. A path (rough and with short steep sections in parts) parallel to the road outside the closed area has been built to allow non-permit holders to access or leave the village on foot. The village may also be accessed by hiking down from Robin's Nest.


International Bridge

There is also a small bridge, called the "international bridge" (國際橋) that crosses into Mainland China to allow local villagers on both sides of the border to cross and farm lots. It is located just outside the gate from the village to Lin Ma Hang Road. People using the bridge must have a special "Cross Border Farming Permit". The Mainland border post can be seen from the gate.Border Ecologies: Hong Kong's Mainland Frontier, p183


Gallery

File:LinMaHang02.jpg, Lin Ma Hang Village Office File:LinMaHang03.jpg, Village Office "Gold List" (recording villagers with a bachelor's degree or above) File:LinMaHang04.jpg, Red Lotus Pavilion (located opposite the village office) File:LinMaHang05.jpg, File:LinMaHang06.jpg, File:LinMaHang07.jpg, File:LinMaHang08.jpg, File:LinMaHang09.jpg, File:LinMaHang10.jpg, Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang11.jpg, Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang12.jpg, Interior of Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang13.jpg, Interior of Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang14.jpg, Interior of Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang15.jpg, Interior of Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang16.jpg, Interior of Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang18.jpg, Interior of Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang19.jpg, A sedan chair in Yip ancestral hall, used for marriage in ancient times File:LinMaHang20.jpg, Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang22.jpg, Traditional village houses File:LinMaHang23.jpg, Traditional village houses File:LinMaHang27.jpg, The pond facing the buildings (the pond water has been temporarily drained) File:LinMaHang24.jpg, Kai Ming Gate File:LinMaHang25.jpg, Inside the Kaiming Gate (Note: The black memorial tablet on the left has a long history) File:LinMaHang26.jpg, Black memorial tablet File:LinMaHang28.jpg, Abandoned house File:LinMaHang29.jpg, File:LinMaHang30.jpg, File:LinMaHang31.jpg, File:LinMaHang32.jpg, File:LinMaHang33.jpg, File:LinMaHang34.jpg, File:LinMaHang35.jpg, File:LinMaHang36.jpg, File:LinMaHang37.jpg, File:LinMaHang38.jpg, Overlooking Lin Ma Hang Village


References


External links


Delineation of area of existing village Lin Ma Hang (Sha Tau Kok) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)

Manchester Chinese Community: Lin Ma Hang Yip Clan

100 Mapping Ling Ma Hang, submitted as part of thesis for Master of Architecture by Yeung Shan Yan, Cindy


* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPV78AUFZ-M Video taken on 5 June 2003 of minibus driving to Lin Ma Hang. The latter part shows the road along the border. {{coord, 22.551265, 114.182689, scale:5000_region:HK_source:Google_type:city, display=title Places in Hong Kong Sha Tau Kok