Wo Hop Shek () is an area in the south of
Fanling
Fanling ( zh, t=粉嶺; also spelled Fan Ling or Fan Leng) is a town in the New Territories East of Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the North District. Fanling Town is the main settlement of the Fanling area. The name Fanling is ...
, Hong Kong. It consists of villages and recently developed housing estates. The area is famous for its large public cemetery,
Wo Hop Shek Public Cemetery, on the nearby hillside. Every year, during the
Ching Ming Festival
The Qingming Festival or Ching Ming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English (sometimes also called Chinese Memorial Day, Ancestors' Day, the Clear Brightness Festival, or the Pure Brightness Festival), is a traditional Chines ...
and
Chung Yeung Festival
The Double Ninth Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday observed on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese calendar. According to Wu Jun, it dates back to the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD).
According to the ''I Ching'', ''nine'' ...
, many people come to visit their ancestors.
Railway
In 1950–1951, a
Wo Hop Shek Branch (
和合石支線) (in fact only a long siding) of
Kowloon–Canton Railway
The Kowloon–Canton Railway (KCR; ) was a railway network in Hong Kong.Legislative Council information paper CB(1)357/07-08(0 THB(T) CR 8/986/00, CB(1)1749/07-08(0/ref> It was owned and operated by the Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation (KC ...
was built to transport bodies of
civilian
A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is war crime, illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civi ...
s killed in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, and later to cater the visitor in
Ching Ming Festival
The Qingming Festival or Ching Ming Festival, also known as Tomb-Sweeping Day in English (sometimes also called Chinese Memorial Day, Ancestors' Day, the Clear Brightness Festival, or the Pure Brightness Festival), is a traditional Chines ...
and
Chung Yeung Festival
The Double Ninth Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday observed on the ninth day of the ninth month in the Chinese calendar. According to Wu Jun, it dates back to the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD).
According to the ''I Ching'', ''nine'' ...
. The whole
single track
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
branch was built upon an
embankment. It branched off south of
Fanling station
Fanling () is a List of MTR stations, station on the of the Hong Kong MTR. It is next to Fanling Town Centre, and is only a short walk away from Fung Ying Seen Koon, a well-known Taoism, Taoist temple. The Fanling Highway was built from 1983 ...
, at the start of the curve. The station at Wo Hop Shek was the most modern of all stations in Hong Kong at the time it was built, and instead of being a brick built structure as other stations were, it was of cement and steel. Special vehicles were built to carry the bodies. The branch was abandoned after the railway was electrified in 1983. No traces can be found now of the line, but the site of the station survives as a roundabout. The start of the branch is now marked by a red gate visible on the Fanling side of the
Jockey Club Road bridge, which used to be a level crossing.
Gallant Garden
In 1996,
Gallant Garden
Gallant Garden (), in Wo Hop Shek Public Cemetery at Wo Hop Shek, Hong Kong, was established in November 1996 for civil servants who lost their lives on duty. In 2000, permanent earth burial was extended to both civil servants and non-civil serva ...
(or ''Ho Yuen'', in Cantonese), in
Wo Hop Shek Public Cemetery, was established for the
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
s who die of injuries during their duty. In 2000, permanent earth burial was extended to both civil servants and non-civil servants who died of exceptional bravery on duty. There is also a big Buddhist-Taoist monastery built near the cemetery. There are many shops in the villages which makes stone graves.
Housing estates
They are mostly
public housing estates built after 1983, as reflected on the fact that part of the original
trackbed
The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. Background
According to Network Rail, the trackbed is the layers of ...
of the railway branch is occupied by two of the estates.
*
Avon Park
*
Cheong Shing Court
*
Dawning Views Dawning can refer to:
* Dawning Information Industry Company Limited, a Chinese supercomputer manufacturer, also known as Sugon
* Dawning (album)
* Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by ...
*
King Shing Court
Wah Sum Estate () is a public housing estate in Wo Hop Shek, Fanling, New Territories, Hong Kong, near Flora Plaza and Wo Hing Sports Centre. It consists of two residential buildings built in 1995.
King Shing Court () is a Home Ownership Scheme ...
*
Wah Ming Estate
Wah Ming Estate () is a mixed TPS and public housing estate in Wo Hop Shek, Fanling, New Territories, Hong Kong, near Wa Mei Shan and Wo Hing Sports Centre. It consists of seven residential buildings built in 1990. The flats in the estate were s ...
*
Wah Sum Estate
Wah Sum Estate () is a public housing estate in Wo Hop Shek, Fanling, New Territories, Hong Kong, near Flora Plaza and Wo Hing Sports Centre. It consists of two residential buildings built in 1995.
King Shing Court () is a Home Ownership Scheme ...
*
Yan Shing Court
Wah Ming Estate () is a mixed TPS and public housing estate in Wo Hop Shek, Fanling, New Territories, Hong Kong, near Wa Mei Shan and Wo Hing Sports Centre. It consists of seven residential buildings built in 1990. The flats in the estate were s ...
*
Yung Shing Court
Wah Ming Estate () is a mixed TPS and public housing estate in Wo Hop Shek, Fanling, New Territories, Hong Kong, near Wa Mei Shan and Wo Hing Sports Centre. It consists of seven residential buildings built in 1990. The flats in the estate were s ...
Villages
*Ho Ka Yuen
*Wo Hing Tsuen
*Wo Hop Shek New Village ()
*Wo Hop Shek Village ()
Wo Hop Shek Village
Wo Hop Shek 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 ...
.
At the time of the 1911 census, the population of Wo Hop Shek Village was 48. The number of males was 21.
References
External links
Orthophoto of Wo Hop Shek in Google MapDelineation of area of existing village Wo Hop Shek (Fanling) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)
Restricted areas of Hong Kong red public minibus
{{NorthDistrictHK-geo-stub