bay
A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...
on the northwest
coast
A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...
naturist resort
A naturist resort or nudist resort is an establishment that provides accommodation (or at least camping space) and other amenities for guests in a context where they are invited to practice naturism – that is, a lifestyle of non-sexual socia ...
. The difficulties involved in getting to the bay on foot with its high surrounding hills, or by small boat because of turbulence in the nearby sea, made it an ideal place for nudists to swim and sunbathe. Because of the resort, the bay once became an attraction for hikers even after the activities ceased.
''Wok Tai'' in
Cantonese
Cantonese is the traditional prestige variety of Yue Chinese, a Sinitic language belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family. It originated in the city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) and its surrounding Pearl River Delta. While th ...
means the bottom of the '' wok'', a round-bottom pan. The bay is thus named because its ''wok'' shape.
Nudism
In 1932, Herbert Edward Lanepart (), a
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
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 club moved to Wok Tai Wan in 1936, because the lease on Heung Fan Liu was expiring and the building of Shing Mun Reservoir in 1935 had lowered the level of the river and made the water murky.
Between 1938 and 1941, he used his boat to take his nudist club members to the bay to continue their gathering. The number of members reached its height at around 20.
During the
Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began when the governor of Hong Kong, Mark Aitchison Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of British Hong Kong, Hong Kong to the Empire of Japan on 25 December 1941. His surrender occurred after Batt ...
(1941–1945), he lost his boat and the club's activities were interrupted. He rented boats instead to take the members to the bay and reformed his club as a sunbathing club 1950s.
On 1 January 1968, all nudist activities halted owing to insufficient participants.
Tsing Ma Bridge
The bay remained largely silent in the 1970s and 1980s, and only occasionally explorers came to find its past.
The bay became more accessible when Hongkong United Dockyards (HUD) was built closer to the bay in 1976. Tsing Yi Road was extended to the dockyard.
The early 1990s saw construction of the Tsing Ma Bridge, an integral part of the Port and Airport Development Strategy. The suspension bridge spans from the hill at the back of Wok Tai Wan. Wok Tai Wan was reclaimed for building one of the two towers of the bridge and for a pier supporting the road from the tower to the hill.