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 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 ...

, 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 ...

. The New Town covers the neighbourhoods of Sha Tin, Tai Wai, Fo Tan, Tai Shui Hang, and Ma On Shan. The Shing Mun River runs through the middle of the town.

Development history

Development was started in the 1970s, and currently covers an area of 35.87 square kilometres with a total developed area of about . As of 2004, it has a population of around 640,000 people. The town centre houses a mall, New Town Plaza, the Sha Tin Public Library,

Sha Tin Town Hall Sha Tin Town Hall is a town hall at the town centre of the Sha Tin District in Hong Kong. It is located near Sha Tin station, Sha Tin Park and New Town Plaza. It is part of the podium complex which includes the Sha Tin Town Hall, Sha Tin Publ ...

, and other community facilities.

Urban planning

Despite Sha Tin New Town including Ma On Shan, and the town itself is sometimes known as Sha Tin-Ma On Shan, Ma On Shan town has its own urban planning plan or Outline Zoning Plan (OZP), the "Ma On Shan Outline Zoning Plan". The plan was amended most recently in 2020. Neighbourhoods such as Sha Tin, Tai Wai, Fo Tan are included in the "Sha Tin Outline Zoning Plan". The

Science Park A science park (also called a "university research park", "technology park", "technopark", "technopolis", "technopole", or a "science and technology park" TP is defined as being a property-based development that accommodates and fosters ...

Pak Shek Kok Pak Shek Kok () is a place in Tai Po District in Hong Kong, located between Ma Liu Shui and Tai Po Kau, close to Cheung Shue Tan and facing Tolo Harbour (Tolo Harbour, Tai Po Hoi). The Kowloon–Canton Railway, Tolo Highway, Hong Kong Science P ...

development, also located in Sha Tin New Town, has its own OZP too, but part of the area of that development is located in Tai Po District.

Transport

Highways, roads and tunnels

The road transport between Sha Tin New Town and Kowloon relies on the

Lion Rock Tunnel The Lion Rock Tunnel, the first major road tunnel in Hong Kong, is a twin-board toll tunnel, connecting Hin Tin, Sha Tin District, Sha Tin in the New Territories and New Kowloon near Kowloon Tong. It has two southbound lanes, and there are ...

(completed in 1967),

Tate's Cairn Tunnel Tate's Cairn Tunnel is a four-lane road tunnel in Hong Kong. Constructed as part of Route 2, it links Diamond Hill, New Kowloon with Siu Lek Yuen, Sha Tin, New Territories East. It opened on 26 June 1991. Its toll plaza is situated on ...

(completed in 1988), the Shing Mun Tunnels, and Tai Po Road. The Tolo Highway was opened in September 1985. It connects Sha Tin Road and Tai Po Road, forming a connection system between the New Town and Tai Po New Town. Tate's Cairn Highway also connects Ma On Shan with Tolo Highway. The opening of Sai Sha Road in October 1988 provided a connection between Sha Tin and Sai Kung. The T3 Highway ( Tsing Sha Highway) and the Cheung Sha Wan to Sha Tin section of Route 8 between was completed in March 2008.

Public transport

The New Town has numerous bus routes connecting to the city centre and metro stations from various populated zones in the New Town. Beside bus services, minibus services are provided as well for residential areas with fewer people.

KCR (now East Rail line, MTR)

KCR, which has since merged with the former MTR, was essential to the development of new town. There are five East Rail line stations within the new town, namely Tai Wai, Sha Tin, Fo Tan, Racecourse and

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. Part of the Tuen Ma line also lies within the New Town, namely the section from Hin Keng station to the eastern terminus of Wu Kai Sha station. Passengers are able to transfer between the East Rail line and Tuen Ma line at Tai Wai station.