Ap Chau
Ap Chau, also known as Robinson Island, with a size of 0.04 km² is an island in the Crooked Harbour, in the north-eastern New Territories of Hong Kong. It is located in Ap Chau Bay and is under the administration of North District. The island had 8 inhabitants as of June 2008. To promote tourism, in April 2018 the Ap Chau Story Room opened for public visits on Sundays and public holidays. Islets located close by include Ap Chau Pak Tun Pai, Ap Chau Mei Pak Tun Pai, Ap Lo Chun, Ap Tan Pai and Kau Tau Shek.Name
Robinson Island was named after Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead, who was the 5th Governor of Hong Kong from 1859 to 1865.History
The village on the island was set up by American preachers from the then Taiwan-based True Jesus Church in order to shelter fishermen and their families who converted to Christianity in the 1960s. Being so close to mainland China, before the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong the island was a magnet for illegal immigrant swimmers, one reason being that the well lit public lavatory block was something of a beacon at night. The single primary school on the island opened in 1958. There used to be over 700 inhabitants called the Tanka, an originally non-Chinese ethnic minority who were mostly fishermen but most have moved over to cities in the United Kingdom such as Newcastle upon Tyne, Leicester, Sunderland, Elgin and Edinburgh. The church on the island is still active.Features
Fresh water in Ap Chau is obtained from mainland China using an underground pipe.
